The Colon Club

Hey guys, I know this is going to seem so minor but I’m sitting here in full panic meltdown and have no one else to talk to. I woke up to find my husband wasn’t in bed but lying down on the couch because he felt bloated and didn’t want to wake me. Apparently he felt bloated yesterday too but it faded so he didn’t mention it. My brain is wired to think bloated=intestinal blockage=cancer so as silly and minor as this seems it’s freaking me out. He’s going to call both his oncologist and surgeon to let them know so they can advise us but all I can hear is my brain screaming that he needs an emergency colonoscopy or scan or something.

All I can think right now is that this is cancer or reconnection issues from his ostomy take down. It doesn’t help that we recently had good news, he’s supposed to start a new job next month wth better hours and pay that could change our life for the better, so my anxiety is trying to convince me that of course it’s something horrible because we arent allowed to have that good of news without something bad happening to ruin things. (Yes I know I need to talk to someone, it was on my list of things to do when the new insurance kicks in)

I honestly can’t think of a normal reason for being bloated two evenings in a row, I tried googling it which was no help. There could be perfectly normal reasons for being bloated like this right?

I don't know anything about ostomies becuase my husband did not have one, but I wanted to say that I read your post and I'm sending positive vibes your way. Hope someone with helpful information chimes in.

I am so sorry Living with cancer can be so challenging at times. Does he drank a lot of carbonated beverages? That can cause bloating. I got a soda stream for Christmas and I've noticed it I drink to much of it, I'm a bit bloated.

Try not to panic, but to talk to his Onc. Hoping it's nothing serious.

Lee

I think feeling freaked out is very reasonable. However, don't let it take over and send you in to full blown panic mode where you're picking out caskets.

Either it's something or it's nothing. You can't change it by being all spun up, but I realize that's easy for me to say. I don't have to deal with anxiety!

Take a deep breath, give your husband a hug and you guys will be okay.

I was talking to a coworker this morning and while part of this is definitely cancer-anxiety the other part is that anxious feeling of waiting for the shoe to drop. If I listened to my rabbit-brain we'd be hunkered down and not doing any life-changing things just in case something happens. But after the support from this board and family we decided to push forward and move on, things have been going well and we are so excited for his new job opportunity. But my rabbit-brain has been whispering to me about what a bad idea this is, if something happens we won't be covered by FMLA and he could end up with no job or health insurance. I just haven't been listening to it because I didn't want irrational fear to keep us from living life. Insert two bouts of bloating and now cancer-anxiety brain and rabbit-brain are conspiring to keep me in a panic Mobius strip.

Thank you guys for the positive vibes, he has left a message for both doctors and we're just waiting on a response. He did have a bunch of soda and junk food this weekend as we had a large get together with friends. His CEA and liver function levels were going down in November so that has to give me hope too. I just need to find a way to ground myself in reality.

He did have a bunch of soda and junk food this weekend as we had a large get together with friends. His CEA and liver
function levels were going down in November so that has to give me hope too. I just need to find a way to ground myself in reality.

That will do it! Has there been any issues with bloating after eating your cooking? Hope you find a way to boil that
bunny that's giving you a hard time.

Congrats on the new employment.

crikklekay wrote:...... I just need to find a way to ground myself in reality.

Read the last 3 lines in your signature.

I know, it's a hard life we've been dealt and bad thoughts always seems to sneak in. But my eyes see more positive than negative in you and hubbie's situation.

Cheers,
mob

Bowel surgery can really mess up your digestive system. I think bloating is pretty common in CRC survivors. It's always worth getting checked out if it's concerning you, though. Has your husband had a reversal or does he have a bag?

I can’t add anything new other than I am praying for you guys and junk food and soda do not sit well with me post surgery.

Dave

John talked with his surgeon who told him to treat it as regular constipation, the Oncologist nurse just mentioned to call back if it persists. He's feeling a lot better this morning so hopefully it was just normal indigestion.

del wrote:Bowel surgery can really mess up your digestive system. I think bloating is pretty common in CRC survivors. It's always worth getting checked out if it's concerning you, though. Has your husband had a reversal or does he have a bag?

He had a colostomy bag but was reversed in October. When he had the bag bloating was a constant struggle because his stoma had shrunk down to 10 mm in diameter, but so far his gut hasn't given him any troubles since reversal. Maybe he found the limits of his newly repaired digestive system? I guess since he was handling food so well we thought his system was back to "normal" now. I hope that's it, he's eating smaller meals at the moment with no soda or junk food allowed to see if normal food will make him bloat again or not. Being blocked and bloated is how we found his cancer in the first place so I'll probably be a little wary of bloating for a while haha.

Are you feeling any better about it now?

I so understand you and feel what you feel. Its enough for my hubby to make a sigh or if he goes to bathroom more than he normally does or he complains of bloating i become a total freak. All his doctors' offices know how i am already and the first thing they tell me when i call is please don't panic. I noticed that my husband gets bloated when we eat out( probably MSGs) and if he eats a little spicy even a small amount, he spends most of his day in the bathroom with not much results. Fiber like dry beans or broccoli makes him gassy and gives him painful discomfort in his intestines. He never had any of this food issues before his surgery not even when he still had the tumor inside him. So I guess surgery comes with a full package of digestive issues. Its a good think you are taking all the steps to make sure nothing serious is going on with your husband
Hopefully it is nothing serious and what will help you in the future, is to take notes of everything he eats during the day so you can identify what foods cause the bloating.

AmyG wrote:Are you feeling any better about it now?

A little! It's nice to have others confirm that CRC survivors have bloating problems, and he's feeling a lot better now. He's still taking a colace once a day, so if over the weekend when he stops taking it if he still doesn't get bloated I'll feel a lot better. I'll still be holding my breath a little until his quarterly test results come back next month, but until then I'm doing pretty well.

Nohogirl we are definitely on the same page! I remember when John started having foot pain all of a sudden during treatment and it looked like the bone was protruding a little, I was terrified he had bone mets or something. But an x-ray revealed it was just a small bunion, and the pain was from wearing new shoes which were a little too small. I felt pretty silly, but I can't help it.

crikklekay wrote:

AmyG wrote:Are you feeling any better about it now?

A little! It's nice to have others confirm that CRC survivors have bloating problems, and he's feeling a lot better now. He's still taking a colace once a day, so if over the weekend when he stops taking it if he still doesn't get bloated I'll feel a lot better. I'll still be holding my breath a little until his quarterly test results come back next month, but until then I'm doing pretty well.

Nohogirl we are definitely on the same page! I remember when John started having foot pain all of a sudden during treatment and it looked like the bone was protruding a little, I was terrified he had bone mets or something. But an x-ray revealed it was just a small bunion, and the pain was from wearing new shoes which were a little too small. I felt pretty silly, but I can't help it.

I hear you dear. Same here. I made our surgeon sent us to a dermatologist right after my hubby was discharged from hospital from his LAR surgery just because one of his moles on his shoulder looked weird to me. I know the surgeon probably thought this lady went crazy (from the way he looked at me) but i couldn't care less. For me the most important thing was to get it checked and take immediate actions if needed or if it is nothing, have a piece of mind. People who have not dealt with cancer may think we are crazy but for us we know what beast can be hidden behind minor symptoms. Don't feel bad. My excuse is I better be safe than sorry.

[quote="Nohogirl]

I hear you dear. Same here. I made our surgeon sent us to a dermatologist right after my hubby was discharged from hospital from his LAR surgery just because one of his moles on his shoulder looked weird to me. I know the surgeon probably thought this lady went crazy (from the way he looked at me) but i couldn't care less.[/quote]

This reminds me of when I used to work behind the scenes preparing reports in histopathology labs, quite often with skin biopsies
the clinical notes would read, "funny looking mole".