Question:
BS1114,
I am sorry to hear that you are also having pain and symptoms. I will send a prayer that all goes well with your GI appt and that the doc will really listen to what you are saying.
Do you mind me asking what your symptoms are?
Good Luck
Trish
Answer:
Hi Trish:
I didn't see your comment to me before I posted my last comment.
My symptoms are basically, I started feeling some vague lower-left pain around mid-late August, nothing major, more just a little nagging/annoying. Looking back, I've also had bowel changes for a few months prior: much softer, more frequent BMs (I thought that was a GOOD thing because over my life generally i've had less frequent/harder BMs--isn't it funny how colon problems makes us suddenly talk about the grossest things?)
Anyway, I made an appt with my gyn around the beginning of sept., because I thought for sure it was a gyn problem (ovarian). The appt was for Oct. 2. Then, on sept 29, i woke up and the pain was much worse. To make a long story short, I decided to go to the ER (I thought maybe it was a ruptured ovarian cyst).
The ER essentially didn't find anything--they saw a couple minor ovarian cysts on ultrasound but nothing in the location or size to cause my symptoms. I went to my gyn exam as scheduled (the pain had gone back down to its pre-ER level) and all she did was prescribe me birth control pills.
The pain didn't go away so I made another appt with my gyn for 10 days later. The day before my appt, for the first time i noticed blood on my stool--not a lot, just a small streak. But enough to almost give me a heart attack. The gyn just kind of shrugged when i told her and I said, maybe this is a GI problem? She said, yeah maybe and asked if i wanted a reference (as you can see, she was not a really big help. I had to suggest to HER that maybe I should see a GI dr).
So I have a GI appt for Monday (5 days). Today again I saw a bit of blood on my stool. I've also had a big problem with "gas" pains in my upper abdomen--more like sharp stabbing pains as opposed to the dull ache in the lower-left area. Today these "gas" pains also ran down my left side--right where my colon is, I guess.
Now of course I'm racking my brain to think of every GI problem I've had lately--have there been other strange symptoms? The main thing I can think of is 2 yaers ago I went to the ER with intense, stabbing pain in my upper abdomen--seemed like a gall bladder type thing but they didn't find anything. The pain went away and I never pursued it (my internist reviewed the report and said it was probably just a temporary spasm) but now I'm kicking myself for not seeing a GI dr. at that time.
So that's my story!! I'd LOVE to hear more about you and your symptoms--and how your tests go.
This is causing me so much stress--I can't sleep, it's horrible. I want all the tests but I'm just terrified of having the dr. come up after and say, it's cancer. I don't know how I can take it if that's what it is. I'm hoping and praying it's ANYTHING else.
Answer:
Hi Trish:
I just wanted to let you know how similar your symptoms sound to mine. I have a GI appt on Monday and I both can't wait and am terrified--I want answers but I'm so scared what the answers will be.
Reading all these posts have alerted me to how important is to DEMAND a colonoscopy even if the GI dr blows me off for some reason (I don't know if he will; I haven't ever seen him before).