Persistance

[Amenace]

Hi All

I am not sure where to put this because it doesnt really have anything to do with me or an IBD but rather how a mis-diagnosis can really alter the rest of your life.

My closest girlfirend was having severe abdominal pain for almost 2 years and each time she went back to her doctor she kept being told it was IBS.

She insisted on second and third opinions until she met a specialist who wasn't prepared to diagnose until he performed further tests and colonoscopies.

They found she had polyps, loads of them and one large one that was cancerous. They performed bowel surgery removed the polyps and cleaned out the rest of the crap in her bowel (sorry dont know the exact medical terminology). When she came out of surgery they advised that she would have to wear a bag for a while and also undergo 8 months worth of Chemo.

Today marks the day when her long journey has been won. Her Chemo finished 2 weeks ago, he CT scan showed all was clear and she today has had her operation to remove the bag and reconnect her. All this and she is only 38. Sure she will be monitored for potentially the rest of her life but if she had of waited 6 months longer to have the colonoscopy the results would have been completely different, they doubt she would have been here with us now.

I guess the point i am trying to make is that if something doesn't feel right, then keep asking questions, keep seeking further opinions. No one knows their body better than the people who live and breathe in them.

Keep safe and well.
Lola
xxxx

 

[seaofdreams]

I'm so glad this story has a good ending.
Congrats to your friend for her strength and perseverance.
It's a good lesson to a lot of us here. We tend to let things go for so long and it puts our future health and well being at risk.

 

[Entchen]

Wow, Lola, thanks for sharing. Congratulations to your friend on getting through all that.

 

[DustyKat]

Hey Lola,

Thanks for sharing and posting this story. Thank goodness your friend has come out of it OK. You are right, you have to be your own best advocate and listen to your gut feeling above all else. There's no shame in being proven wrong but it can be a helluva a price to pay at times to listen to others and deny your own feelings.

Dusty.

 

[StarGirrrrl]

So nice to read a happy ending, thanks for sharing Gives the rest of us hope i'm sure.

 

[Astra]

Hiya Lola

Thank you so much, and a happy ending too!
I had a dx of IBS for 15 years, and in all that time I was scarring and becoming more ill, you're so right, persistence and insistence paid off for me too, or I would probably be dead now!
we know our own bodies, we know when things aren't right, it just needs a sympathetic doc to listen and address, without this, we haven't got a leg to stand on!
And.. we have to stop treating these docs like Gods, that what they say is Gospel (dx IBS) and not to be afraid to question their professional opinion, and ask for a second opinion.
xxx

 

[rottengut91]

Hiya Lola

Thank you so much, and a happy ending too!
I had a dx of IBS for 15 years, and in all that time I was scarring and becoming more ill, you're so right, persistence and insistence paid off for me too, or I would probably be dead now!
we know our own bodies, we know when things aren't right, it just needs a sympathetic doc to listen and address, without this, we haven't got a leg to stand on!
And.. we have to stop treating these docs like Gods, that what they say is Gospel (dx IBS) and not to be afraid to question their professional opinion, and ask for a second opinion.
xxx

Amen to this. It's time that everyone stops thinking that our doctors are the know alls. If not for persistence and insistance, many, many peolple would not be here today or suffer unduly. Especially many young people dx with cancer. Many doctors take the watch and see approach because statistics don't coincide with the younger population getting a certain type of cancer. These people, not to mention their loved ones, pay a high price for such nonchalance.
They are human, just like us, they don't not know everything. It's high time we start speaking up for ourselves.