Colonoscopy Soon, Am I Overreacting?

[Christinethebean88]

Hello all! First I’d like to say thank you to everyone for sharing on this forum and being so open to answering questions from newbies. I’ve been lurking here for a while and it’s been really helpful!

I should first say that I have not been diagnosed with colon cancer, I’ve just been experiencing some weird symptoms and have an appointment with a gastroenterologist on Tuesday, most likely leading to a colonoscopy (don’t worry, I haven’t let Dr. Google get to me!).

A little background: First, I’m a 30 year old female, I’m overweight but otherwise healthy. There is possibly some history of colon cancer on my mother’s side, but I’m not sure. I’ve been experiencing some stomach problems since roughly November, before that everything was very regular and normal. Gas, bloating, loose stools/diarrhea along with much more urgency, and lots of mucus. Also, this very strange sensation when gas was moving downward. It’s hard to explain but it was very specific and I’d never experienced it before, it was like the gas was stuck in one spot for a period of time on my left side and then would very suddenly and quickly drop past that spot. I know that sounds generically like how gas moves through the body, but it was a very strange and foreign sensation. It came on so suddenly and was so bad at first (I was embarrassed at work for several days because my stomach would not stop making the loudest noises in the world) that I thought for sure I had a mild stomach bug and it would clear itself up. Eventually it got a little better (no more loud stomach) but when it didn’t go away I started doing some research and settled on it probably being something like IBS. So for the past several months I’ve been trying to adjust my diet to see what foods triggered it. It would get slightly better and slightly worse at varying times, but there didn’t seem to be any kind of pattern to it.

Then, about 3 weeks ago I spotted blood for the first time. I wasn’t sure it was blood at first because it wasn’t bright red the way I’m used to seeing blood. It was a dark dark maroon color and seemed to be mixed with the mucus. Not an overly alarming amount, but definitely noticeable. I saw this for two days and on the afternoon of the second day, I saw my doctor. She did a test and confirmed that it was indeed blood, then referred me for a consult with a gastroenterologist because she wants me to have a colonoscopy. I set up the consult right away and I meet the gastroenterologist Tuesday.

Here’s where I start questioning myself. Ever since the appointment with my regular doctor, my stomach symptoms have been better than they have since November. I still notice some amount of dark maroon blood roughly every 3-4 days and there’s still a lot of mucus, but other than that I feel almost normal. Even the strange gas moving sensation hasn’t reared its head once.

Am I going crazy? Can symptoms come and go so suddenly like that? I know it sounds bad to want the symptoms to come back, but I just feel so crazy for finally going to the doctor just to have them virtually disappear. I have every intention of still going to my appointment on Tuesday and still getting a colonoscopy, I guess I’m just wondering what other people’s experience with symptoms are. Did anyone have their symptoms come and go so suddenly like this? Should I still have the colonoscopy at my age if the symptoms are gone?

[Maggie Nell]

No, you're not going crazy. Body has a mind of its own. Trust the colonoscopy will
shed light on what you feel when gas hits that 'speed bump' in your colon. That's how
I described it to my doctor.

[boxhill]

What you've described sounds like an excellent reason to have a colonoscopy. You definitely need to find out what's going on, no matter what it is, and get it dealt with.

I don't think you are overreacting at all. Good luck!

[O Stoma Mia]

For your up-coming colonoscopy, here are some sources you can read in preparation. The most important point is to follow the prep instructions carefully in order to insure a "squeaky clean" colon that will allow the doctor to see all of the details clearly. If your problem is indeed in the rectum or colon, the doctor will be able to see what it is and take pictures of the affected area.

Colonoscopy - What to Expect

10 Questions You Need to Ask About Colonoscopy

Frequently Asked Questions About Colonoscopy and Sigmoidoscopy

Colonoscopy preparation guide UnivMich

Frequently Asked Questions about Colonoscopy

Common Colonoscopy Questions... Answered!

Ask About The Quality Of Your Colonoscopy It Matters
.
Sample colonoscopy prep instructions
http://coloncancersupport.colonclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=53348&p=422050#p422050

There are several options for prep solution, some of which are easier to handle than others. You can ask your doctor to prescribe one of the less distasteful ones

Colonoscopy Prep Solutions
.http://coloncancersupport.colonclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=58394&p=460250#p460250
..
.

[DarknessEmbraced]

I'm glad you're having a colonoscopy and that you'll get answers.*hugs* I had horrible cramping and maroon colored blood mixed with mucus in my stools and then just maroon colored blood and mucus. It's definitely worth getting checked out.

[del]

No, you aren't overreacting. You are doing the right thing by getting a colonoscopy. Your symptoms could be caused by lots of things other than cancer, but blood and especially mucus in your stools is not normal and should always be investigated.

[Christinethebean88]

Thank you all so much for the support, it made me feel a lot less crazy! I had a good appointment with the GI today and he agreed right away that I need a colonoscopy, so I’m just waiting to have that scheduled. Can’t wait to get this all figured out!