narrow stool, pain, colonoscopy upcoming

kellykebby
kellykebby Member Posts: 3
in Colorectal Cancer #1

Hello, My name is Kelly. I figured I would say hi. I have a gut feeling, no pun intended, that I will be back needing support. I am not doing too well. Some days are better than others...I’ve had inflammatory bowel disease for thirty years and wasn’t medicated for twenty-nine years because i was no longer bleeding but I guess it never really goes away as evidenced by lots of diarrhea over the years as well as a bad flare or two. In April I had a bad flare of pain in left lower quadrant and waited a bit to see if it would die down. The pain went away but not the diarrhea and narrow stools, sorry tmi. Because the symptoms are not manifesting as they have in the past I am worried. I’m supposed to get a colonoscopy every three years and I had one two years ago where they found two polyps. I guess I just assumed that if there was something bad happening beyond crohn’s I’d be bleeding. Now, come to find out about half of people with colorectal cancer don’t bleed. And me, no blood, not a trickle for two years, so we’ll see. If it turns out to be IBD, I will try to do all I can to change my diet and other things to avoid surgery, but if it turns out to be cancer, that’s a whole other story. I’ll try to be strong either way.

My colonoscopy is on May 31st. Does anyone have any advice for me? and what can I expect if it turns out I do have a colorectal tumor? Do they operate right away or wait a week or two? I'm a mess. How many of you have had crohn's for a number of years? And what were your initial symptoms if you had a sigmoid tumor? Kel

Comments

  • Trubrit
    Trubrit Member Posts: 5,804 Member
    #2
    Welcome to the forum...

    and sorry you find yourself here. 

    It is a fearful time, for sure.  Advice is basic, try to not get yourself worked up over this. I know, easier said than done. But if it is Cancer, then you don't want to upset your body with stress. Cancer feeds on stress. 

    Also, try not to read too much on the internet. Allot of info out there, is terribly out of date. New tretments are coming along every day (well, a bit of an exagertation, but you know what I mean). 

    As for what happens 'if' you are diagnosed, it all depends on what is found. For some, treatment starts before surgery, in the hope of shrinking the tumour before exicing it.  For others, it has to be removed because of blockage. 

    What to do as you wait for your colonoscopy? I doubt I could say much to help you. Eat well and be happy. 

    I hope we never see you again - and I mean that in the best way possible. 

    Good luck on the 31st. 

    TRU

  • kellykebby
    kellykebby Member Posts: 3
    #3
    Trubrit said:

    Welcome to the forum...

    and sorry you find yourself here. 

    It is a fearful time, for sure.  Advice is basic, try to not get yourself worked up over this. I know, easier said than done. But if it is Cancer, then you don't want to upset your body with stress. Cancer feeds on stress. 

    Also, try not to read too much on the internet. Allot of info out there, is terribly out of date. New tretments are coming along every day (well, a bit of an exagertation, but you know what I mean). 

    As for what happens 'if' you are diagnosed, it all depends on what is found. For some, treatment starts before surgery, in the hope of shrinking the tumour before exicing it.  For others, it has to be removed because of blockage. 

    What to do as you wait for your colonoscopy? I doubt I could say much to help you. Eat well and be happy. 

    I hope we never see you again - and I mean that in the best way possible. 

    Good luck on the 31st. 

    TRU

    Trubrit

    Thanks for your reply, and you are sweet to tell me you hope to never see me again, lol. Yes, it is a scary time. Did you have a blockage or bleeding when you were dx?

  • Woodytele
    Woodytele Member Posts: 163
    #4
    Hopefully it's not a tumor

    if it is, they will probably schedule a CT scan asap, then if it is cancerous, ( on non cancerous blockage) you will be scheduled for surgery asap, probably in a week or so. The sooner the better. 

  • kellykebby
    kellykebby Member Posts: 3
    edited May 2017 #5
    Thanks

    Thanks, I feel like there is a blockage left center beneath my bladder and only diarrhea and very thin stools can pass through. Feels like it gets stuck there. I'll be surprised if it is only a stricture at this point, because the statistics are not in my favor. Trying to maintain and continue working, getting my house clean, etc. Listening to NPR to calm me although the Trump things are not calming...

  • Trubrit
    Trubrit Member Posts: 5,804 Member
    #6
    kellykebby said:

    Trubrit

    Thanks for your reply, and you are sweet to tell me you hope to never see me again, lol. Yes, it is a scary time. Did you have a blockage or bleeding when you were dx?

    Oh dear! I meant to add...

    I hope we never see you again 'after the 31st'

    I didn't have any real symptoms until about a week before I was admitted to the ER.  And then the Doctor there, just told me I was constipated (which, of course, I already knew) and sent me home.  Luckily, I had a really good PCP and he set me up with a GI doctor within days, and the day after the GI Doctor, I had my colonoscopy, which showed an almost complete blockage.  I was in surgery soon after. 

    Looking back (what do they say - Hindsight is 20/20) I was bloated for months. And I kept getting constipated, though not to the point I was when I was diagnosed.  If only I had know! Actually, if only I had had my first colonoscopy at 50, instead of putting it off until I was 54 because I was scared of needles.  Oh well! Water under the bridge. 

    Wishing you all the luck in the world.  IBD is a bad enough condition, but its better than Cacner. 

    TRU

  • Bellen
    Bellen Member Posts: 281 Member
    #7
    Bowel stricture

    I have a stricture in my small intestine caused by pelvic radiation that I had several yrs ago.  My surgeon said that my narrow stools are a result of this narrowed, scarred area in my bowel.  This stricture has caused about 8 partial blockages (extremely painful spasms that last for hrs).  

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