Exam issues

Double Whammy
Double Whammy Member Posts: 2,832 Member
in Uterine/Endometrial Cancer #1
This is really embarassing, but I have a really personal concern I need to ask about. I have myself worked up into a frenzy again because it's exam time (Monday). It has nothing to do with the typical worry about "what if they find something", but that does still cross my mind. The problem is I'm now 65 years old (that's a good thing), and I have issues with loose stools from time to time (never know when or why). I'm always a wreck that something embarassing is going to happen during the exam. Of course, nerves can make this situation worse. I put myself on clear liquids the day before an exam and take Imodium the day of an exam to aleviate the worry.

Does anyone else have these worries and what do you do about it? My solution does give me some peace of mind, but I still hate the whole exam ordeal. And for some reason, I'm seeing a new gyn oncologist Monday. . .

Suzanne

Comments

  • seaturtle
    seaturtle Member Posts: 41
    #2
    Exams
    Hello- I am also 65 and do not have that problem But I have had gas and hesitated to have an exam of any kind. Took Gas-X like candy (lol). I did talk to the physician about it, and she wasn't fazed at all, just said she'd put an extra sheet over me.

    I think you should just tell them. It can't be the first time by any means, and they usually can suggest something and make you less fearful.
  • nancibee
    nancibee Member Posts: 59 Member
    #3
    Exam Issues
    I have a frequent stool problem. I just finished radiation last week and am hoping it will go away. I haven't pooped during an exam yet since I haven't had any. But I would be willing to bet it is nothing my doctor hasn't experienced before and would be totally nonplussed about.

    When I had my hysterectomy, they made me drink that stuff to clear out my bowels. I pooped all over myself just before being wheeled into the operating room. The team was more concerned about starting on time than me being messy. They said they cleaned the patient up anyway.

    Imodium is ok. The radiation oncologist told me it was probably all I needed if I had bowel issues. I couldn't handle clear liquids though. I like my food too much.

    Hopefully, your new gyn/oncologist will ease the exam ordeal. Being comfortable with him/her is key in my opinion. The nurses in the hospital described my gyn oncologist as an angel and I am completely comfortable in discussing any concerns with her. Probably would have caught my cancer a year earlier if I had felt the same with my gynecologist when she frowned and asked me about my sex life. In retrospect, I think she saw some internal bleeding or something that concerned her but did not press me.
  • DoonyL7
    DoonyL7 Member Posts: 33
    #4
    Hi there,
    I am living with this also right now. I am doing radiation and it has rasied havoc on my bowls. I am living on Imodium when I know I need to leave the house. I have discussed the possiblity of an "accident" with the radiation staff. I myself would have been mortified but they seem to not be concerned. I hold my breath for the 30 mins I am there....L
  • txtrisha55
    txtrisha55 Member Posts: 693 Member
    #5
    I fear the gas problem!
    I hate having the exam but my gyn onc dr told me not to worry about it. It is human nature to do all the bodily functions. I did fart one time as I was having to inch down the exam table and I was Mordified and very said I was sorry a couple of dozen times. She just said it happens and don't worry about it. Talk to the dr and explain what is going on and your fears. They get it all the time, I am sure. Unless they are a new doctor and never seen a patient before they have seen / heard it before. They would not have gone into the field if they did not expect to have something unusual happen to them. Wishing you the best. trisha
  • beila
    beila Member Posts: 97 Member
    #6
    today is Monday
    Nov 5....and aside from being your exam day, is my birthday!!

    so fatigued from the doxil, that cant get out of bed

    wondering how your exam went

    Beila
  • janh_in_ontario
    janh_in_ontario Member Posts: 151 Member
    #7
    beila said:

    today is Monday
    Nov 5....and aside from being your exam day, is my birthday!!

    so fatigued from the doxil, that cant get out of bed

    wondering how your exam went

    Beila

    Happy Birthday!
    Happy Birthday Beila
    I am sorry to hear you are feeling so fatigued. I live in the Vaughan area of TO - is there anything I can do to help you? Please let me know if I can help.
    Jan
  • janh_in_ontario
    janh_in_ontario Member Posts: 151 Member
    #8
    beila said:

    today is Monday
    Nov 5....and aside from being your exam day, is my birthday!!

    so fatigued from the doxil, that cant get out of bed

    wondering how your exam went

    Beila

    Happy Birthday!
    Happy Birthday Beila
    I am sorry to hear you are feeling so fatigued. I live in the Vaughan area of TO - is there anything I can do to help you? Please let me know if I can help.
    Jan
  • janh_in_ontario
    janh_in_ontario Member Posts: 151 Member
    #9
    beila said:

    today is Monday
    Nov 5....and aside from being your exam day, is my birthday!!

    so fatigued from the doxil, that cant get out of bed

    wondering how your exam went

    Beila

    Dupe
    Dupe GRRRR
  • beila
    beila Member Posts: 97 Member
    #10
    janh_in_ontario said:

    Happy Birthday!
    Happy Birthday Beila
    I am sorry to hear you are feeling so fatigued. I live in the Vaughan area of TO - is there anything I can do to help you? Please let me know if I can help.
    Jan

    fatigue
    thank you very much, Jan...that is very kind of you.

    Do you happen to know of any free services like light housekeeping, etc provided by OHIP, or the Cancer Society , etc?
    I know they provide rides to chemo, but wondering if there is anything else

    Beila
  • Double Whammy
    Double Whammy Member Posts: 2,832 Member
    #11
    janh_in_ontario said:

    Dupe
    Dupe GRRRR

    I survived!
    My "pre exam protocol" worked great as usual and it's really no big deal to do this because it gives me such peace of mind. Empty is a good thing for me before that exam. You see, my very first visit with the gyn onc, I was a basket case and had been making many trips to the bathroom before the appointment. After the exam there was poop on the paper on the table! I was horrified. I was able to call in the nurse who helped me get it out of there before the doc returned to talk to me after I got dressed. It was awful. I will never get over it. Some time after surgery, I figured out that a bowel without much to move, would be a quiet and cooperative bowel. It is what it is. I have irritable bowel syndrome and have been to docs in the past for this. Seems related to food, fat, and stress. So I will continue with my exam prep until I don't have to do them anymore.

    Only 5 more exams remaining, now at 6-month intervals.

    Thanks for "listening".

    Suzanne
  • Ro10
    Ro10 Member Posts: 1,561 Member
    #12
    Double Whammy said:

    I survived!
    My "pre exam protocol" worked great as usual and it's really no big deal to do this because it gives me such peace of mind. Empty is a good thing for me before that exam. You see, my very first visit with the gyn onc, I was a basket case and had been making many trips to the bathroom before the appointment. After the exam there was poop on the paper on the table! I was horrified. I was able to call in the nurse who helped me get it out of there before the doc returned to talk to me after I got dressed. It was awful. I will never get over it. Some time after surgery, I figured out that a bowel without much to move, would be a quiet and cooperative bowel. It is what it is. I have irritable bowel syndrome and have been to docs in the past for this. Seems related to food, fat, and stress. So I will continue with my exam prep until I don't have to do them anymore.

    Only 5 more exams remaining, now at 6-month intervals.

    Thanks for "listening".

    Suzanne

    Suzanne
    Glad you survived your exam, and that it was a good one. Glad you know what kind of preparation you need to do to save yourself from
    Embarrassment. We are always here to listen. In peace and caring.
  • LizGrrr
    LizGrrr Member Posts: 127 Member
    #13
    Double Whammy said:

    I survived!
    My "pre exam protocol" worked great as usual and it's really no big deal to do this because it gives me such peace of mind. Empty is a good thing for me before that exam. You see, my very first visit with the gyn onc, I was a basket case and had been making many trips to the bathroom before the appointment. After the exam there was poop on the paper on the table! I was horrified. I was able to call in the nurse who helped me get it out of there before the doc returned to talk to me after I got dressed. It was awful. I will never get over it. Some time after surgery, I figured out that a bowel without much to move, would be a quiet and cooperative bowel. It is what it is. I have irritable bowel syndrome and have been to docs in the past for this. Seems related to food, fat, and stress. So I will continue with my exam prep until I don't have to do them anymore.

    Only 5 more exams remaining, now at 6-month intervals.

    Thanks for "listening".

    Suzanne

    LOL you are not alone
    As my radiation onc said to me before my last exam 'if you've been looking forward to this you need a mental examination'. That was the first time any doc had come out and confirmed that pelvics are really no fun at all. I was most appreciative!

    I'm always afraid of a breach in pelvic exam etiquette - farting, pooping, leaking, too un-waxed, too trimmed... My last pelvic was unexpected; I thought we were just going to talk about my CT so imagine my horror when they said to strip from the waist down. I protested "But I haven't shaved my legs!!!" They laughed and said the doc really doesn't care.

    I felt a bit like the horse in Horse Whisperer when at the end RObert Redford makes the horse fall down then sits on its neck. "He has to know he's faced his worst fear and lived through it." I may never shave before an exam again!

    Liz in Dallas

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