Hi,
I’ve had a bit of a scare and I probably jumping the gun a bit by posting here already.
so the past few weeks I’ve had numerous episodes of bleeding. I do have piles. One morning I woke up wet and discovered blood all over my back passage. Was worried but blamed piles. Then about a week later I woke at 5:45 am with really bad tummy pain and needed the toilet, I had really bad diarrhoea that day, pretty much every hour was on the toilet. Then later that day I went for another bowel movement I felt like I had a poo but when I wiped it was blood and clots on the tissue. I looked in the toilet and there was no poo it was a slimy bloody mess in the bowl - no poo that I had felt come out. That then happened again that day. I was really worried but told myself I had a bad tummy. The next day I had another poo and checked, again blood. Looked like jam, it felt like poo but again there was no poo just a red mucous stuff in the bowl. It looked like little clots. I then went 2 days with no bowel movements. The third day I had a bowel movement, wiped. Blood. Loads. Looks in the toilet and the bowl was full of bright red blood, I couldn’t see the bottom of the bowl for the blood. Later that day it happened another 2 times, exactly the same, bowl full of blood. I talked to my mum and she phoned the gp for me.
Here’s an important part. I’m in early 40’s, the same age that my mum was when she went through bowel cancer.
dr arranged immediate blood test, FIT test and have a face to face appointment with her on Tuesday coming. She said my results should be back by then.
now I do have tummy pains, not unbearable they feel like mild period cramps. I have also had the feeling for a while that my bowels aren’t completely empty when I go. The last bleeding I had was Monday (the day gp was contacted) I also have mild lower back pain. My tummy does keep knotting like I need to pass a bm.
also this time last year I had about a month of trouble with my bowels. It happened every morning when I had to do the school run, I’d suddenly need the toilet and it was incredibly urgent. It caused me so much anxiety and there was 3 or 4 episodes where I didn’t make it in time. I had to take spare trousers with me which made me feel horrible. But that passed and I didn’t think too much of it again until all this.
anyway I’m scared. My mum went through bowel cancer (she has been clear for over 10 years now) and I’ve not felt well for a long time. Suffered chronic fatigue with no known cause. I never feel “well”
I’m sitting here feeling like I need to go to the toilet again. I’m kind of fed up with the amount I’m going lately, like I’ve never gone so much. The last couple of days my bm’s look ok and no blood but I’m going alot and my tummy doesn’t feel right, it kind of just always feels like I need to poo.
mom a single parent of 4 children and it’s such a worry. I’m not sure I’m physically or mentally strong enough to battle cancer. I keep thinking how there’s been so many cases of cancer in my immediate family (mums side) and it’s been a while since we lost a family member and I feel like it’s now my turn.
I thought I could post here because I don’t know if this is going to be the start of a cancer journey. But I guess it might be and well, you’ll all understand. Thanks for reading.
Hi Pink Spark
Welcome to the Online Community and to the Bowel cancer forum.
It is absolutely fine to be posting here- you are worried about some bowel symptoms and worried about cancer. So do not be afraid to post on here.
Having symptoms such as yours are naturally concerning and you have done the right thing in getting them checked. Whilst having tests done and waiting for results is never great- it is really important to find out what's causing these symptoms.
These symptoms can be caused by reasons other than cancer but they normally try to rule out the most serious potential causes first. Because you have a close relative who has had bowel cancer ( and other family members affected by cancer) I would imagine that they would probably advise further testing - for my Mum it was blood tests and a colonoscopy. I can not remember if she had a FIT test. Once these tests were done she was then seen by a consultant fairly quickly.
I can remember going through testing for my own cancer and thinking I would not be strong enough to face it or cope with it but in the end once I had an explanation for my symptoms and a plan of action- I did feel a bit better. It was the worrying and not knowing that I found hardest.
It must be a worry to be single mum to 4 children.
I hope that your appointment on Tuesday goes ok and that it brings some answers. In the meantime if there is anything you need then please do ask. If talking things through would help then I can recommend the Support Line. (detail below)
Jane
Hi PinkSpark
I am really pleased that you were taken seriously at the appointment and that they have put you on the urgent list for a colonoscopy. As it's been a week, I would hope you should hear something in the next few days. If you don't there is no harm in calling the hospital. The waiting is tough, I understand but once the colonoscopy is done it should bring answers one way or another. Whatever is causing the symptoms, once you have a plan things will feel a bit more in control.
I am really sorry that you had an accident and can understand how it has made you feel. I had pelvic radiotherapy treatment and had a few near misses.
Sometimes the fear of it happening again and it can help to be prepared. Finding out where the closest toilets are if you need to go somewhere can help. Wearing pads (or look into incontinence pants- Tena do some) and take clean undies with you and wipes in case they are needed. I also have a Macmillan can't wait card and a Radar key which means access to disabled toilets. They tend to have more space and cleaner if you do need a change. I have never had to use them but it was reassuring to have them.
You could ask your doctor whether you could have any meds that would help- but I am not sure whether they would want to do that with the colonoscopy coming up. During radiotherapy I was prescribed 4 different meds to stop the diarrhoea- and it worked. You could also ask whether it would be worth eating a blander diet for the next few days- similar to when you have had a tummy bug and are starting to eat again,
Jane
I wonder if "period pants" may be worth looking into. From the outside they look like normal knickers and are made of cotton but they have a thick line with a lot more coverage at the back. Anything that helps you feel more confident while you are waiting for the testing has got to be a good plan.
Thanks for all the replies. Had a really bad day today because I’m letting it get to me all of a sudden. I’m having horrible images in my mind and I can’t shake them. I am dreading my results and ca
t shake this horrible feeling of dread. I start my bowel cleanse diet tomorrow ready for Saturday. I’m going to be a mess come Saturday
