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Jay.E

Colon cancer worries

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Hello everyone,

I hope you're all doing fine and enjoying the summer. So, here I am again somewhat angry with myself because I did what I swore to never do again: Google my symptoms...ugh! But alas, I did it and now my anxiety is slowly creeping back. I apologize in advance for any yucky details lol. I've been having frequent bowel movements, so much so that I actually made a joke about being constantly on the toilet. At first, I wasn't too worry about it. I thought that maybe the magnesium supplements I take are acting as laxatives and causing the frequent bowel movements. The consistency changed a bit as well, they seem to be broken into smaller pieces, not thinner but rather just smaller pieces instead of just one long piece. I kept feeling like I wasn't emptying my bowels properly, and that sort of worried me a bit, but not too much. Than last week, I started feeling this pressure in my rectum, and after a few days I had burning sensation, itching, and irritation pain in my anal area. At first, I was convinced this is was all due to hemorrhoids, since I could feel the external ones. I assumed that the pressure might be due to internal ones as well. 

But then I made the mistake of googling trying to find some home remedies....and lo and behold I found out some of those symptoms can be signs of Colon or anal cancer. And my anxiety went up the hill immediately. I mostly worry about the frequent bowel movements/feeling of not emptying my bowels and the rectal pressure. I was so certain this was due to hemorrhoids and the magnesium supplements, I really didn't worry at first. But, now I have those new fears.

Did any of you ever deal with similar symptoms? I'm trying to not let the anxiety take a hold and cloud my judgement. 

Thanks in advance

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hi my dear, 

 

talking to an expert here. I  am loosing my mind into the colon cancer fear. But as you might now, we hypocondriac can be really rational with everybody except ourselves.

From what i read... Your stool is pretty normal, it's impossible to think our stool will look the same every day of our life. Some years ago a crazy guy made a blog where he photographed his stools, and you could see they are different every day. 

2 - the pressure in the rectum is WITHOUT QUESTIONS due to hemorrhoids, because i had them too for a short period and that's exactly the feeling they give you (like you always have to go to the bathroom)

3- you didn't tell us how many times a day you normally go and you are going now, but it may be your anxiety causing you to go more.

 

4-how old are you?

I am in TOTAL FEAR thinking i have colon cancer, so i understand you perfectly. If you want to message me you are welcome

 

Hugs

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10 hours ago, garypayton said:

hi my dear, 

 

talking to an expert here. I  am loosing my mind into the colon cancer fear. But as you might now, we hypocondriac can be really rational with everybody except ourselves.

From what i read... Your stool is pretty normal, it's impossible to think our stool will look the same every day of our life. Some years ago a crazy guy made a blog where he photographed his stools, and you could see they are different every day. 

2 - the pressure in the rectum is WITHOUT QUESTIONS due to hemorrhoids, because i had them too for a short period and that's exactly the feeling they give you (like you always have to go to the bathroom)

3- you didn't tell us how many times a day you normally go and you are going now, but it may be your anxiety causing you to go more.

 

4-how old are you?

I am in TOTAL FEAR thinking i have colon cancer, so i understand you perfectly. If you want to message me you are welcome

 

Hugs

Hello garypayton,

Thank you for your response, I really appreciate it. I'm trying to not allow the anxiety to get me into that infernal vicious cycle of worries and doubts, but easier said than done lol. I've had hemorrhoids before, so I'm used to the pain and the irritation, but the pressure is a new one for me. It is really uncomfortable, and it is making me nervous. I usually go about 3 times a day, but lately I seem to be going a bit more like 4-5 times (I haven't really been counting, it is more of an approximation). I turned 40 this year, hence my current trepidations. I read about flat stools and that made me nervous. I looked at the Bristol Chart and from what I understand the abnormal stools are the ones that are thin like pencils. That is not the case with mine, they are just softer and they seem a bit flatter than usual , I'm usually at #4 and #5 on that chart, but lately they look like a flatter #5 to me. I really can't trust my own eyes anymore, anxiety is such a pernicious condition, it makes you doubt everything. 

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I can tell you I’ve had ALL of those symptoms over the last year and a half, and in the spring I had a ton of tests (multiple blood tests, stool tests, X-ray, ultrasound, cat scan) and everything was totally clear. 

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6 hours ago, Ms.Honey said:

I can tell you I’ve had ALL of those symptoms over the last year and a half, and in the spring I had a ton of tests (multiple blood tests, stool tests, X-ray, ultrasound, cat scan) and everything was totally clear. 

Hello Ms.Honey,

I'm so glad to hear everything turned out ok for you. It must have been nerve wracking to deal with these symptoms. The two things that really got me worried are the pressure, and the changes in the shape/frequency of my stools. I'd like to think this is due to hemorrhoids and the magnesium supplements I'm taking, but I still worry. Did you experience any changes in your stools? Mine seem softer and they look a bit flatter than usual...which is making me worried. I feel like I constantly want to have a bowel movement. It is so frustrating :(

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I had those pencil thin stools for 2 months straight last year. and yes, changes all the time. My doctor blames anxiety and IBS. 

What if you stop examining your bowel movements for a few days? See if it improves. Anxiety really wreaks havoc on your digestive system!

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5 hours ago, Ms.Honey said:

I had those pencil thin stools for 2 months straight last year. and yes, changes all the time. My doctor blames anxiety and IBS. 

What if you stop examining your bowel movements for a few days? See if it improves. Anxiety really wreaks havoc on your digestive system!

I saw my GP today and he thinks the magnesium supplements are probably acting as laxatives and increasing my bowel movements, which then irritates my hemorrhoids. He also thinks that the pressure and the feeling of not emptying my bowels properly are caused by the hemorrhoids. He wants me to go off the magnesium and wait for 2-3 weeks for things to go back to normal. If the changes persists after that, he is willing to send me for a colonoscopy. He didn't seem to worried, so I take that as a good sign. 

It is interesting you've mentioned anxiety doing a number on the digestive system. I've noticed that anytime those worries about colon cancer come back to mind, my stomach gets upset and I feel like popping lol. I've suspected for a while that I might have IBS. I alternate between constipation and diarrhea (often mild) too often, and I've seen plenty of mucus with my stools. I'm going to stop obsessing about my stools, and just let things settle down on their own like you suggested.  

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On 7/26/2019 at 3:13 AM, Jay.E said:

I saw my GP today and he thinks the magnesium supplements are probably acting as laxatives and increasing my bowel movements, which then irritates my hemorrhoids. He also thinks that the pressure and the feeling of not emptying my bowels properly are caused by the hemorrhoids. He wants me to go off the magnesium and wait for 2-3 weeks for things to go back to normal. If the changes persists after that, he is willing to send me for a colonoscopy. He didn't seem to worried, so I take that as a good sign. 

It is interesting you've mentioned anxiety doing a number on the digestive system. I've noticed that anytime those worries about colon cancer come back to mind, my stomach gets upset and I feel like popping lol. I've suspected for a while that I might have IBS. I alternate between constipation and diarrhea (often mild) too often, and I've seen plenty of mucus with my stools. I'm going to stop obsessing about my stools, and just let things settle down on their own like you suggested.  

I'm so glad you are trying to stop obsessing.

I still just can't LOL. Today I had pellets stools and it makes me crazy. I read is a common IBS symptom. 

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2 hours ago, garypayton said:

I'm so glad you are trying to stop obsessing.

I still just can't LOL. Today I had pellets stools and it makes me crazy. I read is a common IBS symptom. 

I can definitely relate. It is so hard to stop the compulsion to check and examine, which only fuels the anxiety. Ms.Honey is right, anxiety does a number on our digestive system, add to that our altered perception of reality, and it is a powerful cocktail for health anxiety. Even thinking about my worries immediately makes my stomach upset. I'm so afraid of having a bowel movement now, because I fear what it might look like LOL. This is madness. So, I'm trying to take it slow, take a deep breath, and reduce my anxiety. Hopefully that will make things better. 

I hear IBS has a lot of the symptoms we are worried about, and it is closely related to anxiety. So, more than likely a lot of use hypochondriacs have IBS as well. 

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