# 19 years old newly diagnosed and need reassurance PLEASE



## danielvarian (May 23, 2014)

Hello Guys,
My name is Daniel im 19 years old and I come from a small town in Ireland called Cork City.
I have always had anxiety issues including GAD (due to childhood experiences) and now Health Anxiety.

Here is how it started. About 5-6 weeks ago on a Tuesday night i was sitting at home having about 8 cans of cider(as i normally would have). Went to bed.
When i woke up the next morning i had severe pain in my right side and had to pee like forty times a day. My GP checked me and i had no sign of urine infection or whatever. She sent me to the hospital for possible kidney stones. Abdominal ultrasound showed nothing and was sent home having "Overactive Bladder". I then started getting pain in my lower back and tailbone. Had a lumbar MRI done and that was also clear.

Then last week I realized i could never empty my bowels fully (always felt like i had more to do) i know its gross lol.
I started freaking out due to the abdominal pain, morning nausea, and change in bowel habits.
I went to my GP with my father on Fri as i woke feeling extremely nauseous ( heart rate resting is normally 66bpm) and went up to 115bpm because i had a panic attack. The GP said i have IBS, and that colon cancer at my age is virtually unheard of unless i have family members with it. (and no red alert signs) I am not passing any blood. And im seeing mucus when i wipe
















I also have tailbone pain, and the feeling of bubbling in my lower tailbone (also able to feel it fill for some reason) I frequently have to use tons of toilet paper to clean myself properly (im sorry i know thats gross). One big bm a day and they get smaller and smaller throughout the day.

I recently received more proper blood test results showing that i have no signs of anemia and everything else was perfect including thyroid and liver etc. My doc reassured me that due to the results and not having warning symptoms that it is IBS (ill say this all started before i started my final first year exams for college(the urinary symptoms) and then the bowel symtpoms.

I really need reassurance that this will get better


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

It can get better, but dealing with the anxiety will help with that rather than letting it run wild with you.


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## danielvarian (May 23, 2014)

Is there anyone who even has the same symptoms at me?

I see stories of 19 year olds who died due to their GP's misdiagnosis.

Im absolutely terrified.

And the way this started and the fact that it started with bladder problems makes me think i have a tumor pushing on my bladder or the tailbone


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Sensations can sometimes fool you (so the bubbling tailbone thing is a bit odd), but basically sounds like a lot of functional GI problems.

FWIW, most of the time tumors cause no pain and no sensations until long after they screw up your blood work, but I don't think anything I say will reassure you. I think your anxiety may want to keep you panicked. (which it usually does).

Sure if you want to ruin your well-being, mental health and eventually physical health scaring yourself half to death with every thing you can find to convince yourself you will be dead in a week you can do that. But consulting Dr. Google until you find deaths you can twist to sound like it must be you, and you'll be dead really soon and not at all listening to any of the tests the human Dr says indicate you are one of the very common with a not very scary (if obnoxious) disorder....is good for keeping up the panic. But I'd do something about the anxiety, it really does make all symptoms of anything worse than they would be without the panic, and eventually it is detrimental to your health and well being.


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## danielvarian (May 23, 2014)

I keep thinking that I have a blockage in my colon because I wake up nauseus every morning


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## danielvarian (May 23, 2014)

Bump


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## LvYouLo (May 27, 2014)

I was just diagnosed, at 17. Took 7 months to figure it out, but to help my bloating I follow the celiac disease diet(no gluten). Gluten is an inflammatory and I am so swollen that it is a nessesary precaution, not many people have to go to those extremes from what I have read. I drink OPC which is a saint to me now to help with everything, I used to have panic attacks every night and I don't know if it is a coincidence or not but when I started drinking OPC-3&Calcium (I also can not drink milk) I have been so much better. It has Red Wine extract and all this great healthy stuff. I hope you learn what works for you. It is tough, but also try not to eat as much as you did before. I did last night and I was crying all last night because of the pain. Good luck


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## LvYouLo (May 27, 2014)

And for nausea, I take a ginger root capsule every morning, I and never nauseated anymore (unless I forget to take it)


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Not eating for 7-8 hours in a row can make you nauseated.

To even begin thinking about a blockage see the following questions.

Are you having 5- 10 days without passing any stool at all followed by sudden watery diarrhea (so no change over through solid or mushy stools just nothing then water)? This may be a sign of a partial blockage

Are you vomiting up feces? This usually indicates a complete blockages

Has it been a day or more since you passed gas? This usually indicates a complete blockage and you get this before you start vomiting.

Just being a bit nauseous is not a sign of a blockage all by itself.


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## danielvarian (May 23, 2014)

I am absolutely terrified.

My doc ordered 3 more blood tests, celiac, liver function.and bone profile.

If nothing comes up im being sent to a GI which could take months.

I will be dead from colon cancer before then.


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## danielvarian (May 23, 2014)

And it feels like gas is getting stuck in my rectum or lower back towards the tailbone.

I keep thinking this is due to a blockage.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Probably just gas not being moved effectively like happens in most people with IBS. Or you are just over-feeling normal sensations from areas that fill up from time to time.

Really, dying of colon cancer in the next couple of weeks is so unlikely it would be like being struck by a meteor and lightening at the same time.

Are you sure you want to be reassured? Or is your anxiety just doing what it has to do to keep you panicked?


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## danielvarian (May 23, 2014)

Kathleen M. said:


> Probably just gas not being moved effectively like happens in most people with IBS. Or you are just over-feeling normal sensations from areas that fill up from time to time.
> 
> Really, dying of colon cancer in the next couple of weeks is so unlikely it would be like being struck by a meteor and lightening at the same time.
> 
> Are you sure you want to be reassured? Or is your anxiety just doing what it has to do to keep you panicked?


Yes I would like to be reassured, I even ate a sandwich and i had pain left and right of my bellybutton and felt like my stomach was going to explode.

Give me some good reasons that this isnt colon cancer.


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## danielvarian (May 23, 2014)

Please.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Colon cancer is a disease of the elderly. It take usually 10 to 15 years from when you first get a polyp to when that polyp goes bad (if it ever does as most never do) and you get a tumor.

Colon cancer generally does not cause a lot of pain. Tumors have no nerves and by the time it starts pressing on things to where it causes pain you are in pain most of the time, not just after eating a sandwich. Also by the time it is disrupting the function of other organs and causing pain, it is also making you very ill and in ways that show up in your blood work.

IBS by definition causes pain and discomfort. Unless you are saying there is a massive cover up and 10% of all people 20-30 die of colon cancer and NO ONE has noticed they do not all have colon cancer.

Cancer is not the only thing in all the world that causes pain. It does at the end, but most of the time you have a tumor you will not feel a thing. FWIW most of the time if a lump hurts that is a very good sign as tumors do not feel pain.

IBS often causes pain after you eat because the colon is always in every human more active after meals and increased colon activity increases pain in people with IBS.

But your anxiety will probably find a way to convince you all of this means even more certainly you have colon cancer and are on the verge of immediate death. Because that is what anxiety does. It makes every logical argument grounded in data irrelevant or turns it into yet another reason why your worst fear is the only possibility.


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## danielvarian (May 23, 2014)

I had liver function tests done at the hospital recently, would CC throw those out of the normal range?


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## danielvarian (May 23, 2014)

please tell me


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Probably not (now cancer does spread so sometimes things start going progressively wrong but usually you see abnormalities all over the place)

Lots of things can mess up liver enzymes even what you have been eating or drinking lately (or any medications you take).

Were they so high you are jaundiced (yellow) or your doctor said they needed more tests? Or did they say no big deal which is usually that range between 95% of healthy humans and where illnesses show up. Every so often people are just a bit out of range. Either they drank just one too many beers or they gained a few pounds, or took some OTC medication that tossed it off, or they are just one of those people that tend to run a bit high even when everything is fine.


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## danielvarian (May 23, 2014)

No, they came back fine !


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

That should be reassuring, right? They do tend to go up for a lot of reasons, most of them generally harmless so that they are in good shape (being sensitive to going high) should be a good thing.


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## danielvarian (May 23, 2014)

Yes but i cannot get over the fear due to the 8 pound weight loss in 6 weeks.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Were you eating more than normal when you lost the weight?

Or do you tend to eat less the more fearful you feel, or when you are in pain?

8 pounds in 6 weeks is just 500 calories a day less than you need and if your appetite is down it isn't that hard to do.

And there are lot or other much more likely reasons to lose weight unexpectedly (thyroid issues, diabetes starting up, etc) than endstage undetectable cancer that is not doing anything else to your health at all.


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## danielvarian (May 23, 2014)

Kathleen M. said:


> Were you eating more than normal when you lost the weight?
> 
> Or do you tend to eat less the more fearful you feel, or when you are in pain?
> 
> ...


I havent really been eating at all.

This could be due to the anxiety, or due to the fact im afraid im going to have to have bowl movements afterwards.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

If you lose weight when you don't eat, that is normal weight loss.

Medically relevant weight loss (indicates something abnormal going on) is when you lose weight when you are eating as much or even way more than usual and still losing weight.

Normal weight loss is a sign your body is working correctly.


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## danielvarian (May 23, 2014)

If cc was present in the rectal region, would it cause bleeding?


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Colon cancer anywhere in the colon causes bleeding, but usually in tiny amounts you can't really see and show up on a stool tests (but iron in your diet can also make that show up positive.

Small amounts of bright blood on the stool or on the TP are almost always the much much much much much more common hemarhoid or in some cases the relatively common anal fissure (small tear).

Do you want to bet on having something that 10% of people tend to have (or more) or something that may be a one in a million chance of having?


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## ali_13 (Jun 1, 2014)

Hi Daniel, my names Ali. I live in California, and also suffer from IBS. I just want you to know that it may take some time, but things have the possibility to be much more manageable for you. Start doing research online. What sorts of foods do you eat? Consider diet changes if you eat a lot of junk. Add a good probiotic to your diet (everyone responds differently to various brands). Maybe take calcium? I haven't started taking it yet, but have heard good things about it helping solidify poop. I've also read a bit about peppermint being helpful, as well as clay...but i'll have to look into that a bit more haha. Soluble fiber might do you good as well. I don't know how else to help, but feel free to message me. I am new to this site. Sending healing vibes your way!


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## ali_13 (Jun 1, 2014)

oh, also imodium, and lomotil. look into those two pills. imodium can be taken more frequently, but I only take lomotil when i'm having a really bad day, and you need a prescription for lomotil.


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