Worried I have bowel cancer

[fizzgog]

I know this is probably a common thread but unfortunately I do have some genuinely alarming symptoms.

a little bit about me: I'm 29, have had crohns (terminal ileum) for about 10 years, haven't had surgery and haven't had a colonoscopy since I was diagnosed. Am currently on azathioprine 50mg a day.

at the weekend I noticed I was losing weight unintentionally, for a long time I was about 11st7 (I'm 6ft btw) then I went up to 12st and stayed there for a while but now I'm 11st9 and dropping and can't seem to put weight on.

Then I noticed I was getting diarrhoea but without the usual accompaniment of discomfort or pain and also I was having yellowish stools which I've never had. then on Moday i went for a number 2, had diarrhoea, wiped and noticed a smear of blood on the tissue. obviously I panicked. It's frustrating but I cant remember if I saw blood in the toilet. Ive checked ever since monday every time I go and havent seen a trace of blood. and the yellowish stools seemed to have disappeared. I do have quite bad jock itch on my buttocks which can get dry and crack so I thought it could be that but I'm not so sure.

I phoned one of the members of my specialists team..but at that time I thought i might have something wrong with my liver. he assured me that was unlikely. he said as i wasnt having any pain he wasnt too worried. he also mentioned blood...i didnt know what to say because I wasn't 100% sure that the blood was coming from inside.

I'm seeing my gp later today...should I push for a colonoscopy or just ring my specialist again and be up front about the blood situation?

 

[DEmberton]

Was the blood bright red? That means it's from the anus, i.e. a fissure or soreness, not surprising if you've had diarrhoea. Blood from further up would be darker.

I wouldn't worry about losing a few pounds. Obviously if it continues it might be a sign of Crohn's getting worse.

 

[Jabee]

I am surprised you haven't had any colonoscopies since your diagnosis, as crohn's can be silent but still do damage. I would definitely get a colonoscopy so that your specialist can see exactly what's going on in there. It sounds like the crohn's is active again.

 

[Scipio]

Blood is always a worrisome sign, but since you've already been diagnosed with Crohn's it's far more likely that the blood is due to some complication of the Crohn's rather than bowel cancer. There is a saying in medicine: When you hear hoof beats think of horses not zebras. In your case Crohn's is the horse and bowel cancer is the zebra.

In any case you need to find out what is going on down there and why there is blood. So I agree that colonoscopy is definitely in order.

 

[ronroush7]

Yes

 

[fizzgog]

I saw my gp on wednesday and thought I'd mention the jock itch thing. She had a look and said i had a cut on the crease so thought it might be that causing the bleeding on moday. I'm not trying to be difficult but I dont think its that.

I then tried to phone my specialist again and he asked the receptionist to get me to ring the ibd nurses. they said theyd send out a stool sample kit and a more specific blood test. they informed that I havent had a colonoscopy yet because they apparently give you one after 10 years so i was due one in the near future anyway.

whats puzzled me with all this is that I havent had any pain. i did have a little flare up about 3 or 4 weeks ago but thats it. I've had a lot of episodes of pain and discomfort since being diagnosed so why not now when I'm getting this problem?...

i havent been eating much this week due to stress/depression/anxiety. but my stools since monday have been pretty normal. until today... i decided to have chicken soup with bread, then another slide of bread. it literally went right through me...back to d again...granted bread in the past has given me stomach upset from time to time but this was pretty bad!

 

[DEmberton]

I always find soup messes up my digestion. Strange as that may sound.

Re: pain, maybe if the food is going straight through you there isn't any pressure anywhere to cause pain.

 

[Sofienetta]

if your symptoms are severe or you also feel generally unwell or the symptoms keep coming back – see your doctor

 

[Cross-stitch gal]

I would make sure to get a colonoscopy to be sure. But, as far as the blood goes. I too get blood occasionally without pain. And, usually the blood for me means stress. With your worrying/concern or anything else that causes stress it could have caused you to see blood. And, with the blood sometimes comes the weight dropping. When the stress goes down, the blood should too and your weight should start returning to normal also.

With this much concern I would make sure to get checked. But, I'm thinking it might just be your IBD acting up a little and not a real flare. Just keep a watch on it and please keep us updated. Take care.