The Colon Club

Hi, thank you in advance for reading my post.

I am a 21-year-old female college student who has been visiting my school's health clinic periodically for over a year now. I finally had an appointment with a gastroenterologist two days ago who recommended I get a colonoscopy, which will happen on the 23rd. One of the symptoms I had that I believe made him decide for me to get the test was intense diarrhea that occurred every hour or so for over a week that also woke me up during the night, every hour or half hour, with intense stomach pain. My question is, has anyone experienced this, or has anyone heard of this being related to any conditions? I am especially looking for an possible explanation that isn't cancer, so I can be somewhat less anxious for the next few days.

Some of my other symptoms are fainting (probably a side-effect of instances of intense stomach pain), general dull stomach pains most of the time, sporadic instances of diarrhea, and occasional blood on the toilet paper.

Again, really hoping for any explanations that might ease my mind until my colonoscopy. Thank you for your time, and any thoughts you have for me.

I had something like that a few years ago and it turned out to be a duodenal ulcer that was diagnosed by endoscopy (not by colonoscopy).

It's good you're having a colonoscopy because it will help pinpoint the problem if it in fact originates in the large intestine. Be sure to follow the prep instructions closely because it is very important to have a perfectly clean colon for the procedure. Here is a link to some info on colonoscopies:

http://coloncancersupport.colonclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=53348&p=422050#p422050

I haven't experienced anything like what you've experienced. I went into the hospital for bleeding and it turned out to be rectal cancer.

Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative colitis is what comes to my mind as other conditions.

Maggie Nell wrote:Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative colitis is what comes to my mind as other conditions.

Also, if what you have is an ulcerative condition it might be possible to diagnose it by a simple breathalyzer test for Helicobacter Pylori This bacteria is the underlying csuse of certain types of gastroinestinal ulcers.

http://coloncancersupport.colonclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=53654&p=425693#p425693

If the colonoscopy finds Chron's Disease or ulcerative colitis, these are benign non-cancerous conditions. However...they are on the list of risk facters for colon cancer and could eventually lead to cancerous polyps if left untreated fot a long time:

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/colon-polyps/basics/risk-factors/con-20031957

I'm sorry you're going through this!*hugs* I'm glad you're getting a colonoscopy so you will know what's going on.*hugs*