Should I be worried?

[rissaheard33]

For almost 8 months I've been dealing with extreme nausea and bowel changes. My appetite has changed tremendously and I've lost close to 25 lbs since December.

I recently spent a week in the hospital due to stomach pains, nausea, vommiting and a whole other slew of symptoms. The doctor wrote it off as a stomach ulcer and GERD but recommended I get an endoscopy. They did do CT scans but nothing alarming came up. I'm only 21 but my mom was diagnosed with esophageal cancer when she was 35 and my great grandmother was diagnosed with colon cancer before 50.

I won't be seeing my GI specialist until April 17 and the suspense is killing me. I'm wondering if I should also ask for a colonoscopy or if I'm just freaking myself out.

I know I haven't been diagnosed with anything and I don't mean to throw myself into this but I'm just a bit nervous. Thank you all!

[PainInTheAss]

You shouldn't be worried, but you should get a colonoscopy and from a colorectal surgeon, not a GI. GIs handle the entire digestive track, but colorectal surgeons specialize in the colon and rectum. They do a lot more colonoscopies

My daughter, 19, has had similar symptoms, and I took her to my colorectal surgeon and we got a colonoscopy. The GI we saw first only prescribed a laxative.

It is a big relief knowing it isn't something very serious. But IBS is no picnic either. We have been controlling symptoms with dietary changes, fiber pills, probiotics, stool softeners and peppermint tea. With IBS, the colon can spasm and waste stops moving and too much water is removed and constipation happens. This causes nausea, abdominal pain and weight loss. She lost something like 15 to 20 pounds. Diarrhea can go around the constipation so you can actually have constipataion and diarrhea at the same time. She uses enemas sometimes to get constipation out if that happens. I feel bad for her, but I'm so glad it's not cancer. If we had not done the colonoscopy, I would be really worried about what was going on with her. With IBS, you can react to food immediately after you eat it so the problems start in the stomach and cause colon spasms, which cause nausea and even vomiting. It's a clusterf***.

By the way, I got a CT scan and they missed my tumor. CT scans are not very helpful for the pelvic area. You really need a colonoscopy.

[rissaheard33]

You shouldn't be worried, but you should get a colonoscopy and from a colorectal surgeon, not a GI. GIs handle the entire digestive track, but colorectal surgeons specialize in the colon and rectum. They do a lot more colonoscopies

My daughter, 19, has had similar symptoms, and I took her to my colorectal surgeon and we got a colonoscopy. The GI we saw first only prescribed a laxative.

It is a big relief knowing it isn't something very serious. But IBS is no picnic either. We have been controlling symptoms with dietary changes, fiber pills, probiotics, stool softeners and peppermint tea. With IBS, the colon can spasm and waste stops moving and too much water is removed and constipation happens. This causes nausea, abdominal pain and weight loss. She lost something like 15 to 20 pounds. Diarrhea can go around the constipation so you can actually have constipataion and diarrhea at the same time. She uses enemas sometimes to get constipation out if that happens. I feel bad for her, but I'm so glad it's not cancer. If we had not done the colonoscopy, I would be really worried about what was going on with her. With IBS, you can react to food immediately after you eat it so the problems start in the stomach and cause colon spasms, which cause nausea and even vomiting. It's a clusterf***.

By the way, I got a CT scan and they missed my tumor. CT scans are not very helpful for the pelvic area. You really need a colonoscopy.

Thank you so much for responding! I spent another night in the ER last night due to horrible abdominal pain and lower back pressure. They did ANOTHER CT which showed that I was seriously constipated. They also gave me a rectal exam this time. Before this visit I was told I might have a stomach ulcer and in another visit I was told it could be diverticulitis. Now I am told its IBS like your daughter. He prescribed me a laxative as well.

This time the doctor recommended that I also get a colonoscopy as well as an endoscopy. I will definitely look into seeing a surgeon instead. Thank you so much for responding!

[DarknessEmbraced]

I'm glad you're getting an endoscopy and a colonoscopy so you will find out what's going on.*hugs*

[PainInTheAss]

You shouldn't be worried, but you should get a colonoscopy and from a colorectal surgeon, not a GI. GIs handle the entire digestive track, but colorectal surgeons specialize in the colon and rectum. They do a lot more colonoscopies

My daughter, 19, has had similar symptoms, and I took her to my colorectal surgeon and we got a colonoscopy. The GI we saw first only prescribed a laxative.

It is a big relief knowing it isn't something very serious. But IBS is no picnic either. We have been controlling symptoms with dietary changes, fiber pills, probiotics, stool softeners and peppermint tea. With IBS, the colon can spasm and waste stops moving and too much water is removed and constipation happens. This causes nausea, abdominal pain and weight loss. She lost something like 15 to 20 pounds. Diarrhea can go around the constipation so you can actually have constipataion and diarrhea at the same time. She uses enemas sometimes to get constipation out if that happens. I feel bad for her, but I'm so glad it's not cancer. If we had not done the colonoscopy, I would be really worried about what was going on with her. With IBS, you can react to food immediately after you eat it so the problems start in the stomach and cause colon spasms, which cause nausea and even vomiting. It's a clusterf***.

By the way, I got a CT scan and they missed my tumor. CT scans are not very helpful for the pelvic area. You really need a colonoscopy.

Thank you so much for responding! I spent another night in the ER last night due to horrible abdominal pain and lower back pressure. They did ANOTHER CT which showed that I was seriously constipated. They also gave me a rectal exam this time. Before this visit I was told I might have a stomach ulcer and in another visit I was told it could be diverticulitis. Now I am told its IBS like your daughter. He prescribed me a laxative as well.

This time the doctor recommended that I also get a colonoscopy as well as an endoscopy. I will definitely look into seeing a surgeon instead. Thank you so much for responding!

I'm glad you're getting one, too. We almost ended up in the ER after she ate asparagus cooked in butter and dark meat chicken. That's when I started looking into diatary changes. Apparently, foods high in fat (and some other foods) can trigger the spasms. It's not surprising that you are constipated. Also, my son was backed up like that and did not have IBS. It took months of laxatives, prune juice and stool softeners to clear his system out and he didn't have any problems after that. We tried that with her first, and it did not work, so we knew something else was going on. I suggest you check out some websites by IBS patients if that ends up being your diagnosis. I learned the most from that. She does really well on rice based foods so she eats a lot of sushi and feels much better, but still does probiotics, fiber pills and stool softeners. You learn by trial and error which foods cause problems and which don't.

I hope you feel better!