Symptoms...?

[trinity]

My husband has an appointment with a doctor next week...seems like forever.

He recently told me he has had constipation and a hard time having bowel movements for the last 3 months. His stool seems to be more narrow..not the same all the time but definitely not what it used to be....definitely smaller. When he wipes there is blood on the paper....quite a bit as though he is bleeding. He has pain but it seems to be more in his lower back and hips not his abdomen as much..again this is daily but not constant..just frequent....His fatigue has been going on for probably 2 years and has seen the doctor about that but nothing has come of those visit. Has anyone had this combination of symptoms and if so any suggestions?

[Magnolia]

Your husband needs a colonoscopy. He's got several symptoms that could be colon cancer. Of course, it could be something less serious, but the only way to be sure is to look inside. What kind of doctor is he seeing? A gastroenterologist? Primary care? Can he get a referral to a gastroenterologist? Be sure that the doctor knows that the stools are getting thinner. That will perk up a doctor's ears. Constipation, blood, and skinny poops SHOULD get anyone a colonoscopy. Do let us know how it goes.

[trinity]

He is going to a GP for starters...I have been pushing for an appointment this week but sometimes its so hard to get into see a doctor in decent time period they are so busy. Thanks for your feedback at this point any information is helpful at handling this straight on. I will keep you posted.

[Magnolia]

A good primary care doc (GP) should be able to get the ball rolling. Good luck. Be sure to let us know what happens.

[trinity]

Well GP said that it may be nothing since when speaking of narrow stool its usually more "worm like" if its cancer or something serious..not sure if this is always true. He goes for another full physical and blood test Thursday and will be scheduling a colonoscopy just in case....not sure what to think now.

[Magnolia]

Colonoscopy's good. The narrow stools you usually see with cancer are described as "pencil thin", but I would never rule out cancer based on seeing a different presentation. I had StageIII colon cancer and pretty much no symptoms at all. The doctor is right, this may be something less serious, but he's certianly right to schedule a more complete check-up and a colonoscopy. Keep us posted.

[Guest]

I had blood in my stool for years. It got worse in the last year. And when I wiped I had blood on the paper. I thought it was hemorroids and had been told I had them years earlier. Now that I look back, in the last year I have had stools that were not necessarily thin but had a groove in them, liked it rubbed agains a tumor. Now I know why. I have stage III rectal cancer. If there is anyway you can go right to a GI doctor that would be best. I went to a couple of doctors in the emergency room when I had heavy rectal bleeding and one refused to do a rectal exam, one thought it was hemorrhoids, and the third finally referred me to a GI. Sometimes regular doctors don't catch it.

[Magnolia]

If a colonoscopy is being scheduled, a consultation with a GI doc usually goes along with that, doesn't it?

[bud]

small stool and blood were my only symptoms, and they found a 6" tumor that had broken through the the colon wall. Glad you are getting the colostomy..[size=18][/size][size=12][/size][color=blue][/color]

[trinity]

Well....my husband has been to the GP and he sent him home with 2 tests to take into a lab...one was the fecal occult blood test and the other is a stool CNS. They sent him to a dietician as well. This past week its been diaharrea with blood daily for him. So not sure what is next...or what is up here.

Bud I am sorry for what you must be going through..thanks for the post...its really awful how colon cancer is so silent in many ways and the symptoms are so far into the stages. Are you going through therapy now?

[Magnolia]

Trinity, didn't you say a colonoscopy was in the plan? It may take some time to set up. In the meantime the stool samples can be collected. An infection COULD be the culprit. Then comes the Oh-so-lovely prep. The scope itself is not so bad as long as he's well sedated. My sister was having similar symptoms some time back and she had C.diff. That's a nasty colon infection. Not a good thing to have, but curable with antibiotics. It's a serious infection and needs prompt attention. Your doc is right to be culturing the stools. He can't be jumping to ANY conclusions here. A "differential diagnosis" is a list of all the things it COULD be. The idea is to do enough tests to start eliminating some stuff from the list. Once you start narrowing down the list, you begin to know what you're dealing with. With luck, you'll hit the right diagnosis early on.