Norovirus twice in 2 months?!?

[Button1]

Hi guys,

I've been trying to stay off this wonderful website in an effort to stay off google altogether. I have slipped up a few times but on the whole I've been doing ok.


What's stressing me out is that I've got sickness and diarreah for the second time in 2 months : ( I don't cope well with these things because my health anxiety is focused on bowel cancer so anything digestive sets me off : ( my friend told me someone she knows has got it so it must be doing the rounds again. Having had it a couple of times before it certainly feels like norovirus. My irrational fear is what if this is the start of something? Are people dismissing my symptoms as a stomach bug when they're actually a sign of bowel cancer?


There isn't any blood by the way.


Thanks for listening, again! X

[Button1]

Anyone?

People are telling me I couldn't possibly have a tummy bug again so soon and neither my son or husband have it : ( in panic mode now that I'm ignoring something :(

[Uncertain27]

Who told you it's impossible? My family had a sickness and diarrhoea bug twice in two weeks in January! Two of us managed to have it only once but the others definitely had it twice.

[Button1]

Lots of people : ( I haven't been able to take my meds today so not sure if that's why I'm struggling to cope. I've definitely got symptoms of a bug but I'm scared.

[Jonoh]

I think it's entirely possible to get it twice. I don't see why not? Can I ask what we're your symptoms? I think I've caught a stomach bug but not sure.

[sparkle_1979]

I've had it twice and my little girls three times since Xmas

[Button1]

My symptoms are watery diarreah, I've vomited 4 times, stomach and back pain, in fact my whole body feels like I've got flu..and I'm unbelievably tired. It hit me suddenly yesterday morning.

I hate this : (

[Button1]

Feeling alot better today but very woozy- is that normal?

I take it the fact that no one is telling me to go to the docs means that people don't think it's serious?

[Lilharry]

Hey button1 - thank you for reply to my thread. I understand now that you're worried about bowel cancer. YOu really don't need to worry about it, unless you have a family history of it. I think it's totally possible that you could get sick twice in 2 months. I also think you should go to the doctor to alleviate your fears and talk to them about your worry of bowel cancer so they can assess your symptoms and tell you not to worry. It won't be bowel cancer, trust me. I know my post may have scared you a bit and I would say push for a colonoscopy if you had any blood, but otherwise there really isn't anything to worry about. Hope you feel better soon.

[Button1]

Lilharry, your post didn't scare me! I'm glad to be able to try and help.

I did have an episode of rectal bleeding in December (saw a bit of blood 3 times) but nothing since. I was constipated and it started after passing a v uncomfortable stool. I went to the docs and they found quite a large anal fissure. I've been on sertraline for 2 years on and off and the docs won't refer me for any tests because they think it will only make my HA worse. I've had CBT but to be honest it didn't help.


I'm a bit stuck now because I just don't know what will make me better now : (

[Lilharry]

Would you want to go through a colonoscopy? If you think it would alleviate your fears it could be worth it. 2 years of suffering from your fear is just the pits. Maybe you should push for one if you think it would help you get on with your life. I wish I'd had one years ago. Bleeding is common and only a worry if it's persistent, even then doctors don't worry unless you have a family history. It's the genetic factor that's the real worry.

[Button1]

The doctor won't send me for a colonoscopy. She's quite clued up on HA and is opposed to tests for reassurance. I've gotten around this before by visiting different doctors and through this got an x-ray, ultrasound and blood tests. My doctor has examined my belly and gave me a rectal exam. No one thinks there's anything wrong.

My husband is also opposed to me having anything invasive done and feels that the NHS doesn't hve the money to test people who don't hve the symptoms to warrant it. He also thinks I'd be delaying someone who really did need one...I feel like he has a point.


I'd love to have a colonoscopy in theory, to know that there's nothing there (if there isn't) would be amazing. My doctor and CBT counsellor both believe that I'd either disregard the results (I did this with my x ray and ultrasound) or I'd become obsessed with something else and the cycle would continue. Also what kind of example would I be setting my baby? I don't want him growing up in fear : (


I don't have a history of bowel cancer in my family. It doesn't seem to make a difference to my head though. I've made another doctors appointment for next week but I don't know what more they can do...

[Lilharry]

I agree with what they're saying, but this is your life. Do you think it would give you the relief you need? It's a tough one. Your fear is irrational so if you could get your head around that, that would be ideal, but suffering is real too so you really really need to do what is best for you. Push for it if you think it would help you.

[Button1]

My head says what you are saying Lilharry. My fear is that I won't get through the waiting process- waiting for the test, waiting for results etc. the people treating me feel I could do myself harm : ( and then what? I think I've got a brain tumour so I request an MRI or a problem with my liver so another ultrasound? I'm caught between my rational brain and my HA. I do want to know there's nothing wrong with my bowels, desperately but since I was 16 I've 'had' breast cancer (my previous obsession), a brain tumour, spine cancer, pancreatic cancer, kidney and bladder cancer...I just don't know that tests for reassurance are the answer for me? I don't know, i need to know im ok, this dominates every day of my life but..I go round in these circles every day..

[Lilharry]

Okay in that case it sounds like a colonoscopy is not the way to go. Have you had a go at this online module for health anxiety? It's really good and might help you get your head around it and give you the relief you need http://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/resources/infopax.cfm?Info_ID=53

[Button1]

I've did those modules as part of my CBT- it just didn't help and my therapist agreed we hadn't cracked it. I just cannot deal with not knowing whether I have something or not. I just can't. And to tell me to list all the other things I'm more likely to have doesn't help. I know that I might have IBS instead of bowel cancer but I can't deal with not knowing the definite answer to that. It's not an option for me to dismiss it or not focus on it, it's just not. I don't know how to change that mindset permanently. It's on my mind all the time...

[Lilharry]

What about starting something like yoga? You need to make more space in your head for relaxation and you have to practice really hard at it. You're not going to change your thought patterns over night, which I'm sure you know, but if start by making just a tiny space each day for relaxation and keep it up it will become more an more and part of your life. It just a new habit. Don't give up on yourself. Redo those modules and try some yoga on youtube. It might feel just awful the first time you do it, but you have to give yourself a break and a chance to form new habits. Anything meditative will take your focus off the negative thoughts even for just a little while.

[Button1]

I have an 8 month old baby and luckily my husband can look after him on Mondays and Tuesdays when I go to a bootcamp and Pilates. I do a buggy bootcamp on Wednesdays and a session with my personal trainer on Thursdays so I do have some productive headspace but my thoughts are always with me. Do I have pain? Will I have pain? Do I feel tired/ weak? Is it because I have cancer? Will I be bleeding when I go to the loo after my session? Will it be because of cancer? Will I be brave enough to check it out? Every time.

I will look at the modules again- I have them printed in a booklet at home. It's not that I don't want them to work I'd do anything to be better. It's just it hasn't clicked at all. Part of me wonders if that is a safety mechanism because I do have what I fear.

[Lilharry]

Yes, it's definitely a safety mechanism and it's a control thing - you can't let your body do it's own thing without you controlling every little thing about the way it feels. You have to trust that it works perfectly well on it's own. To me it sounds like the bootcamp etc are just adding to your anxiety. The more medative forms of exercise, particularly yoga, actually help to train and calm your mind as well as your body. Same with relaxation exercises. I started jogging at the beginning of this year to help with my health anxiety and it just made it worse. It doesn't help that I'm suffering from chronic fatigue either. I would feel awful afterwards and that would set off a whole new string of thoughts about what was wrong with me - why couldn't I even go for a simple run without feeling awful? The relaxation exercises and yoga on the other hand give me a respite from the thoughts because that's what they're designed to do. I think it's also really important to have a philosophy on life. Maybe spend some time actually writing down what is important to you in your life, how you want to feel, what you want to focus on. Write a list of those things and when you start having intrusive thoughts, refer back to your list and say "hang on, that thought doesn't fit in with where I want to be so I need to try and focus on something else." Again, that's not something that's going to work instantly, but if you keep practicing it will help over time.

Sorry, I'm not presuming to have all the answers and obviously I don't know what you have tried and what you haven't, but don't give up - keep going with those positive things you are doing because they are life time habits you need to form and they're not going to magically change your life overnight, but you will see small changes over time.

[Button1]

Thanks lilharry- I know you've got alot going on at the moment and the time you've put into helping me is amazing. I hope you're doing ok today?

Basically my life is for my son. I live for him and want to spend all my time with him. I want only the best for him in his life and I want to live to see him enjoy all the amazing things he has coming to him. My fear is that this won't happen, that I'm going to be taken from him and him from me. In some ways his arrival has made my HA all the more stubborn and terrifying.