Hi all,
Been lurking some off and on for the last month or so. I try to stay off here to not further my anxiety but want to say the positivity in this forum is incredible and all of you are stronger people than I am.
33/m with no first degree history of cancer. My maternal grandfather died of colon cancer and my paternal grandfather had a polyp removed. Currently, waiting on a colonoscopy on 11/17. My mom and dad are both clear as of now.
Had a golf ball sized perianal abscess in July 2012 that was incised and a follow up minor drainage in April 2013. Follow-up with CR surgeon in Dec. 2013 due to pain which was likely from internal hemms according to her. Haven't seen her since.
Have had some bathroom issues over the years, mostly constipation related where I would miss a day or have a unremarkable BM and need some Miralax or fiber to clear me out. I've noticed some little white stringy pieces on the side of the stool that would wave or wiggle in the water which I'm assuming is mucous but never really thought to much of it because there was no blood in the stool or diarrhea. Saw a PA at the GI office in December 2014 for some pressure in my lower left quadrant and she did an X-ray and said I had a lot of stool stuck in my colon so she ordered me prep liquid and told me to flush myself out. Went on with my life.
Fast-forward to 2017. In late March, I noticed that I had begun to feel really full after I ate and had some bloating. Also, had noticed changes in my stool as it appeared flatter on the sides with a pointed top sometimes and a lot of poorly digested food in it. I took some antibiotics for a prostatitis flare-up in February (have battled with flare-ups for about 5 years) and figured I had SIBO or candida overgrowth from the Bactrim that had nuked my gut. I took some herbal supplements to try and get my gut in line which worked for a few weeks and then the bloating, fullness, heaviness and bowel issues got worse. It actually was bad enough that I couldn't eat large amounts and sometimes didn't have an appetite. I went back to the GI office to see a first available PA and she did an X-Ray of my abdomen which showed very little stool burden and nothing else bad. She tested me for H. Pylori and did a lactulose breath test which both came back negative. I waited, hoping this would resolve on it's own but it hasn't. I've had up and down bowel movements with some long, normal shaped poos, flatter poos, rarely would I have a pencil thin one but have, and mostly just soft broken up pieces that were easy to pass. No straining, just sometimes to empty it all out but would be left feeling like there was a little bit more to push out, but couldn't. My appetite has come back to where I'm eating normal meals now but still feel fuller afterwards than when I was normal. It feels like the food sits in my stomach just below my sternum and weighs me down for a few hours after I eat.
I have generalized anxiety and some mild depression, so this has exacerbated those problems. I decided I needed to see a real GI physician going forward in early September as I got married 9/30/17 and was very worried before the wedding. I saw my PCP in between and he sent me for a CT scan of my abdomen and pelvis and full lab workup in late August. Labs came back normal. Not anemic. CT was also normal. Only thing worthy of note was "Bowel: The small and large bowel demonstrate no focal wall thickening or dilatation. There is moderate colonic stool burden, primarily within ascending and transverse colon. The appendix is unremarkable." and "Spleen: Top normal to borderline prominent spleen measuring 14.2 cm AP diameter, slightly increased from the prior study." The radiologist, PCP and GI didn't think anything to worry. Nothing fishy anywhere else or enlarged lymph nodes. My GI said he would do a colonoscopy if it would give me peace of mind, so I definitely wanted to do one to check.
I continue to have bloating, heaviness in my lower abdomen, pressure in my lower left quadrant above my hip almost, a feeling of inflammation in my stomach and intestines and recently what I thought was possibly blood in my stool last weekend (although, I couldnt tell for sure due to food being in the stool). I've had no blood streaks on my TP when wiping but occasionally have some hard flecks of brown, reddish, orange which I assume is food vs blood? My bowel movements are still all over the place. I've been mostly normal, but will have some with flat sides and some with mucus strings. A few times, I've used a latex glove to inspect them and they have still had lots of undigested/poorly digested food and some have had a lumpy end that first came out followed my softer stool behind. The lumpy section has had some stringy things inside holding it together which I'm not sure if it's mucus or kale/spinach/lettuce, as I eat a lot of salads and greens. I am just very fearful that I'm going to get the scope and have to tell my wife of barely 2 months that I have cancer of the colon or rectum because per Dr. Google, my symptoms match up almost perfectly.
Sorry for the long winded response. Any advice would be appreciated and thanks for listening.
-C