Young person struggling to schedule a colonoscopy

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Xchristie
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2019 4:49 pm

Young person struggling to schedule a colonoscopy

Postby Xchristie » Thu Jan 10, 2019 5:31 pm

Although I haven’t been diagnosed with anything as of yet, I would like a bit of advice...I am in no way a hypochondriac, and I usually avoid seeing doctors at all costs.
I’m a 25 year old girl and I noticed I’ve had some digestive problems for a while, but this year I noticed them more frequently..still thought nothing of it until October when one day I woke up and was very fatigued for no real reason (which hasn’t gone away a single day since then!)..at the time I also noticed I was passing a lot of gas (Which I have also dealt with everyday since then)..I decided to go to urgent care because I was tired of feeling so fatigued, got my hemoglobin checked (10.8) and iron (15 mg/dL), said I was slightly anemic but nothing much was out of the ordinary. Basically refused to listen to any of my problems and acted like I was wasting his time. So, went a couple more weeks hoping I would get over things, until i passed a significant amount of blood. It was all over my toilet paper and covered my stool. Again, I went to see a doctor immediately! She too was very dismissive, said all my tests looked perfect and said I was so healthy there was no way something was wrong with me. Said I probably had hemorrhoids. When a colonoscopy was brought up, she said “she highly recommends not taking pointless tests” :cry:
Since then I have passed another large amount of blood, but was told it was most likely because of the iron supplements I had just started taking.
I haven’t gone to the doctor since then, but none of my symptoms have improved and I’ve honestly felt worse, with lower back pain and now pelvic pain that has been mostly persistent for about 3 days. I have another doctor appointment planned but I’m worried they won’t take me seriously again :( at the very least I want to argue for a sigmoidoscopy.

I am very new at this, I don’t go to doctors often and I know nothing about scheduling these kinds of appointments.

Just a little vent about my story because not being taken seriously when you feel this ill is beyond stressful!

del
Posts: 119
Joined: Thu Mar 03, 2016 11:21 pm
Location: Sydney, Australia

Re: Young person struggling to schedule a colonoscopy

Postby del » Thu Jan 10, 2019 9:49 pm

I'm sorry to hear what you are going through. There are many reasons for bleeding and it is usually not cancer, but it should be investigated rather than just assuming it is hemorrhoids. I would suggest you see another doctor and insist on a referral to a GI doc (gastroenterologist). The GI doc will do a colonoscopy if they are concerned. I don't want to scare you, but I had to see 3 different doctors, who were all dismissive due to my age (33 at diagnosis), before I could get a referral. The last doctor thought that I might have an inflammatory bowel disease, which is why I finally got the referral.
Male, 33 @ dx, stage 1 RC (T1N0M0 mod. diff. 0/29 LNs)
2016-02 - Cancerous polyp removed during colonscopy, 0.5 mm margin
2016-03 - ULAR & TME surgery, temp ileostomy
2016-04 - DVT, pulmonary embolism
2016-11 - Ileostomy reversal
2018-10 - Another DVT & PE
2021 - 5 years of clean scopes/scans/bloods

AmyG
Posts: 371
Joined: Tue Dec 25, 2018 8:08 pm

Re: Young person struggling to schedule a colonoscopy

Postby AmyG » Thu Jan 10, 2019 10:20 pm

If your insurance doesn't need a referral, you can always find a GI doc in network and schedule an appointment.

That's what we did and he saved me from a total obstruction!!

Good luck to you.
42 dx @ 9wks pregnant w/baby #8 8/18
Sigmoid colon resection 9/18
Adenocarcinoma, G2, T3N0M0..or so we thought
KRAS/BRAF wild
Liver biopsy is malignant, stage iv now boys!
Delivered healthy baby 3/19
FOLFOX + Avastin 5/19
CEA 167 to 24 after 4 rounds
Liver resection 8/28/19
NED!! CEA 2.3
CEA 5.8 idk wtf is up with that, but everything else is clear!
CEA 3.7 make up your damn mind...
CEA 1.5 that's a new low!

erins
Posts: 44
Joined: Sun May 27, 2018 12:41 pm

Re: Young person struggling to schedule a colonoscopy

Postby erins » Thu Jan 10, 2019 11:04 pm

Ok, I’m a bit older, but had some similar symptoms (including the ‘slight’ anemia)

What worked for me was that I went to an urgent care clinic and directly asked for a referral to a GI doctor. Sometimes your GP will try to see the best case scenario—urgent care doctors tend to see just the symptoms. Ask for an occult blood test to prove that there’s bleeding.

Another thing to do, and yes it’s a bit gross, is to take pictures of your BM. Yes, it’s weird, but showing my GI doc those pictures convinced her to send me for a colonoscopy. Just be sure those pictures don’t get posted to Instagram or anything!

It’s very likely not cancer—but getting peace of mind is important, and if there’s something else going on, a colonoscopy can help alleviate your symptoms. Good luck!
38 yr old female
Rectal bleeding for 1 month—>
5/4/18 colonoscopy found mass in sigmoid colon
5/21/18 LAR
stage 2a, 0/17 lymph, clean margins
T3N0M0 G1
LVI neg, PNI neg, MSS
9/21/18 CEA 0.8
11/16/18 CEA 0.8 & CT clear
12/7/18 iron infusion
2/1/18 iron improved, CEA stable.

DarknessEmbraced
Posts: 3816
Joined: Sat Nov 01, 2014 4:54 pm
Facebook Username: Riann Fletcher
Location: New Brunswick, Canada

Re: Young person struggling to schedule a colonoscopy

Postby DarknessEmbraced » Sat Jan 12, 2019 1:44 pm

I'm sorry you're going through this!*hugs* When you see the other doctor I would insist on a referral to a gastroenterologist. I would also insist on a colonoscopy so you can find out what's going on.*hugs* Good luck.
Diagnosed 10/28/14, age 36
Colon Resection 11/20/14, LAR (no illeo)
Stage 2a colon cancer, T3NOMO
Lymph-vascular invasion undetermined
0/22 lymph nodes
No chemo, no radiation
Clear Colonoscopy 04/29/15
NED 10/20/15
Ischemic Colitis 01/21/16
NED 11/10/16
CT Scan moved up due to high CEA 08/21/17
NED 09/25/17
NED 12/21/18
Clear colonoscopy 09/23/19
Clear 5 year scans 11/21/19- Considered cured! :)

Xchristie
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2019 4:49 pm

Re: Young person struggling to schedule a colonoscopy

Postby Xchristie » Wed Jan 16, 2019 6:15 pm

Thanks for the comments guys, right now I am just trying to focus on calming my nerves before the appointment and telling myself that there’s no absolutely no point in worrying, wether it’s good or bad news.

Erins, that is a very smart idea!! I am absolutely going to take pictures to show the doctor, it will hopefully help so they take me more seriously.


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