View Full Version : Is this Colon or Pancreatic Cancer or Just IBS?
Hello, I am a 37 y/o nurse. To give you a short history, I had a breast cancer scare last September 2016. My mom died of BC when I was only 6 y/o so just imagine my anxiety. I am married with 2 kids ages 6 and 10. Anyway, doc says the findings on my breast MRI was probay benign. After this, I started having anxiety, on every little aches and pains. I had severe lower back pain I had to call 911 coz I couldnt move. This was in November. Then because of the pain meds, I was extremely constipated and I was passing hard stools. I had hemorrhoids in January 2017 because of this. Same month I ran a half marathon. Shortly after, I began having intermittent left lower abdominal and pelvic pains. I self diagnosed myself of ovarian cancer. Went to OBGYN, both my pelvic and transvaginal ultrasounds were clear. I was still having abdominal pain, so I saw my PCP who said it might be kidney stones, Oh geez I self diagnosed myself of kidney cancer. Well my urine tests and kidney ultrasound were both clear. I did all blood tests including a liver panel everything normal except for a slightly elevated TSH which my PCP is not so concerned about. My abdominal pain continues, it is intermittent pain, dull and nagging. And what confuses me is that it changes position from left lower to left upper. I saw a GI doc and asked me if I want to try a proton pump inhibitor and something for IBS and see which one will work. He also offered a CT scan, colonoscopy and endoscpy if meds wont work. I tried the PPI, it gave me a sort of relief but pain comes back usually before my period. Now there is flank pain and sometimes back pain. So I am so anxious if this is Pancareatic CA or Colon CA. I am ot jaundiced, no nausea vomiting, no weight loss, no pale stools. My BM is regular now. I have gallbladder stones though which were discovered during the kidney ultrasound but GI doc says it has nothing to do with my pain since the gallbladder is on the right side. For now I am still taking the PPI. Am I crazy?
paranoid-viking
05-06-17, 10:55
Regarding flank pains: by a quick google search I found that pancreatic cancer or ovarian cancer is not among the 20 most common reason for this pain so it is more likely to be something else if it really is a ilness. A lot of pai in the body simply has no explanation.
No, you are not crazy, you have health anxiety like most others in here and we take every discomfort symptom more seriously than the rest of the population.
However, have you been taken abdominal ultrasound and CT scanning? You said you have been offered it but not if you actually went through woth it.
Pancreatic cancer is very uncommon in people at 37, it is a disease for much older people.
Does your pain comes and go or is it persistent? Every doctor has told me that cancer symptoms is not somethng that comes and goes but that it is progressing and making you more and more ill.
You say that your BMs are regular(means normal right?)now right? If it was colon cancer or pancreatic cancer I am sure stools would not all of a sudden return to normal.
If this is some reasurrance, none of those who feared pancreatic cancer on various internet boards; as far as I have checked, and believe me I have checked it;turned out to have it. It is very frightening; I am scared of it myself, but the odds are in our favour. The symptoms of pancreatic cancer you read about is very general and normal symptoms of other things; it mostly is other thing; jaundice is the only symptom that really screams that something is seriously wrong. Most of the time, more than 90% of the time indegestion problems or stomach problems is cause by something much less serious than PC.
But just to be on the safe side you should go through the abdominal ultrasound test. If it sees the pancreas clearly and find nothing wrong they will usually not refer you to CT. And take the colonoscopy aswell to reule out colon cancer. And please keep us updated.
countrygirl
05-06-17, 11:31
Could it be related to ovulation? I am now post menopause but all the time before I had severe one sided pain most months lasting for a few days at a time, not necessarily in the middle of my cycle either. I had endless tests and hospital admissions and it turned out to be that when my right ovary produced an egg it also produced a fluid filled cyst at the same time, this caused pain which became much worse when I ovulated as the fluid irritates the area and takes about 3-5 days to resolve. I called it my walking on eggs pain as if I put my foot down too hard or went from sitting to standing the pain made my eyes water.
It was only when I entered peri menopause and stopped ovulating that the pain went away and proved to me their diagnosis.
It was totally harmless to me but painful.
The pain level is still the same around 2 or 3 over 10. It is still intermittent like how it started in February. I don't have other symptoms. My BM is daily or every other day. The color is normal but sometimes it floats and I know floating stools are not a good indication. I am just so confused that the pain is changing location from lower left to upper left, now the flank. The pain doesnt wake me up at night. It is not aggravated by eating or drinking also. I am so scared to go for CT scan because of what they may find. Per my GI doc, if they dont find anything on CT, he will advise colonoscopy and endoscopy. My GI dont play I guess. He is not like other doctors who would stop treating you if CT scan says clear. If the pain is still there, he says we need to find the culprit. It is me who has a problem because I have scanxiety. Can anxiety really cause physical symptoms?? Im just wondering how all these started when I had the breast cancer scare. It's ridiculous! One medical problem to another. Im tired of thinking Im going to die soon.
---------- Post added at 08:17 ---------- Previous post was at 08:15 ----------
Hello countrygirl, my first hunch was it is because of ovulation or an ovarian cyst. But my OBGYN told me my utrasound's negative. Even papsmear's negative.
paranoid-viking
06-06-17, 13:22
Yes, anxiety is causing physical symptoms. Because your muscle gets tense when you worry causing real pain. And upset stomach - it is common knowledge that anxiety causes an upset stomach. There is an old saying that goes "he was so scared he sh*t his own pants". That expression has an origin. Many people goes through a lot of pain but nothing - absolutely nothing is detected after every possible test the health system knows. And I think that is observed in a lot of people with anxiety.
If your doc recommend CT you should definitely hace a test. And if you are scared; which I would be of course you should bring someone with you.
The best of luck to you.
Hello All, just an update. I am still waiting to do my abdominal CT Scan. The pain is more on the left flank and left back now. I know right it is crazy. From lower left abdomen to upper left abdomen and then now flank and back. My bowel movements are still okay. I go every day or every other day. Sometimes my stool would float, most of the time it sinks. I just want to ask, I know stool are suppose to be brown, but how about a mustard color stool? I mean it is between brown and yellow. My abdomen doesnt hurt after I eat. Although I try to eat small frequent meals now. I am still very worried about pancreatic cancer. I am still scared to do the CT Scan but I dont have much choice now I guess if I really want to know where the pain is coming from. The other day my urine was cloudy, so I am kinda thinking I have UTI. The last time I had my urine tested was in Feb, and it was fine.
You do not have colon or pancreatic cancer and I dont even think you have IBS but what you do have is bad anxiety if it was pancreatic cancer you would be very ill very quickly have you not considered that your aches and pains could be muscular or even structual problems like poor posture or muscle imbalances or even hip/pelvis misalignment the problem with anxiety is we fall into a trap believing that every single pain or mark is the worst case scenario.
It is perfectly normal to have floating stools it just means there is a excess amount of oils present which hasn't been absorbed properly because the stool is passing through the colon too quickly due to the nervousness and anxiety. Dont think too much about it and get help for your anxiety.
I had a severe backpain last November. This pain is so common with nurses. You might be right. The pain on my abdomen is just so weird. My question is, I tried relaxing. I even went on vacation trying not to think so much. But the pain is still there. Anyway, I got in touch with my GI doc and Im scheduled for a complete abdominal ultrasound and repeat urinalysis next week. If there is something is wrong with my pancreas I could have had other symptoms like diarrhea and nausea vomiting right?
I have an update. After talking to my doctor, he had me do a complete abdominal ultrasound and a urinalysis with culture. The abdominal ultrasound didnt show anything sinister except of course my gallbladder stones which I know already. The results says the VISIBLE PORTIONS of the pancreas are normal. I felt a little relieved but I know ultrasound is not a good test for checking the pancreas. My urinalysis shows RBC of 3-5, Leukocytes 3-5,squamous epithelial cells 3-5, traces of bacteria so I might have UTI but not that bad. I have very minimal pain on my left side still, comes and goes. Im taking IBgard for IBS (trial to see if the pain is being caused by IBS) but it doesnt seem to work and it makes me feel acidic. Im still very anxious about this pain. What could it be? Should I stop from here? But I dont want to do invasive tests like colonoscopy or endoscopy. I had good news though, I followed up with my breast surgeon and did a follow up mammo and ultrasound of my breasts, It was negative. So yey!
Another update. My urine culture results are out. I have >100,000 CFU/ml gram positive Lactobacillus growth in my urine. I emailed my doc and he said that Lactobacillus is a normal contaminant in urine tests. As a nurse, I know this. But >100000 is significantly high. So I dont know if this is considered a UTI or what. Can UTI be causing my abdominal and flanks pain? I am back to being scared of colon cancer. Because if the doc says my urinalysis and culture results are okay then that leaves me with only the colon not being checked. They checked every organ in my abdomen and pelvis except the colon. Oh and I had pencil thin stools too the other day. This is the 2nd time I had pencil thin stools. My stools come back to normal size though after a day or 2.
AnxiousRN,
Firstly, kudos for being a medical professional and being able to perform your job while having HA. That has to be challenging seeing and treating patients that may have the very things you fear.
Secondly, this fear... Having read your threads, I see the very familiar catastrophizing and reassurance seeking behaviors of HA. I also see the familiar pattern of questioning the test results. You, as a medical professional know better than that. With respect, it almost seems like you want to prove the doctors and tests wrong. You may not mean that but that's how it comes across to me. Would a colonoscopy really help? I don't think so as you'll just find something else to worry about.
Abdominal pain in the 2-3 range is not extreme and can be attributed to some bad gas as well as IBS and other stress related abdominal symptoms.
Why can't this be an anxiety related symptom and why, since that very probable based on your tests, would you not seek help with your anxiety? Seems to me doing that coupled with perhaps some diet modification would help alleviate the symptoms.
I hope you find some peace, both physically and mentally.
Positive thoughts
Thanks for the reply Fishmanpa. I want you to know that since my pain started in Feb, a lot of my friends have told me it might be anxiety. And I accepted it at some point. I went on vacation with family. I went out with friends. But despite this, the pain keeps coming back. How I wish it is really just anxiety. Wishing it was just anxiety-related is what led me to this forum. If it is just IBS caused by anxiety, why is IBgard not working? Yesterday I had one episode of diarrhea. Today I had a perfectly normal stool in the morning. And then I went out with friends and we ate in a restaurant and in just 2 hours, I had an explosive diarrhea. Ive also been experiencing very loud bowel sounds for months now. As in other people can hear it and it is embarassing.
What's your diet like? Have you been keeping a food diary? Stomach issues are a VERY common symptom of anxiety and even for people without it. My wife and I suffer with relux, take a PPI and we adjusted our diet to the FODMAP (http://www.ibsdiets.org/fodmap-diet/fodmap-food-list/) diet. It's definitely benefitted us.
Medically you're clear. Take the IBS med, keep a food diary. There may be things you're consuming, a certain eating habit, times etc that are causing symptoms. Check out the FODMAP diet. it's not difficult at all.
Positive thoughts
My GI gave me Dexilant to try for a week. This was a month ago. I believe Dexilant is a PPI. It worked for a couple of weeks but pain returned. This is the reason why my GI doc gave me the IBgard thinking it was not gerd or ulcer thats causing pain but IBS instead. I am on an elimination diet for my gallbladder. I am currently removing pork, eggs, milk and coffee from my diet. This works for my gallbladder, I dont experience pain on my right side any longer. But now Im.more concerned with my pain on the left. You gave me hope. I should try the FODMAP diet. Ive read it online before. Also, I want to ask you, with your GERD, do you experience loud rumbling and loud bowel sounds? Somwtimes mine us also highpitched.
Also, I want to ask you, with your GERD, do you experience loud rumbling and loud bowel sounds? Somwtimes mine us also highpitched.
I do occasionally but my wife had all sorts of symptoms including bloating, loose stools and a rumbly belly. We've been doing quite well for while now concerning symptoms due to dietary changes. The only time we run into trouble is when we eat something we know we shouldn't or too late in the evening. An OTC remedy like Maalox helps with breakthrough reflux. We also don't eat anything after 6pm 99% of the time and if we do, it's something simple like crackers or a piece of fruit. Eating a larger meal late in the day is asking for trouble when you have gastric issues. I also added a daily dose of Miralax and that's helped regulate me much better. Less symptoms due to constipation etc.
Positive thoughts
Another update. My GI had me take Augmentin because of my urinalysis results. The pain disappeared for 3-5 days. I also been following a strict FODMAP diet for 2 weeks now. But hell, the pain is back yesterday. The pain is like around 1-2 inches left of my navel. What should I do now??? Should I ask for a CT scan?
Hello
I have had these same issues plus diarrhea off and on for almost 3 months. I have been referred to the GI doc, but can't get in until late September.
Your anxiety and mine are so different as I cannot wait for the scan to rule bad things out. Doctors just look at me with raised eyebrows anymore.
Please let me know if you have any updates.
:scared15:
*****Remember when you were young and doctors looked in your ears nose and throat with every visit? Why don't they do that anymore?
as someone who went through the pancreatic cancer scare after having necrotic pancreatitis , i will assure you , you don't have p c. colon cancer can be easily checked out with colonoscopy but i doubt you have that with normal bowel movement. i b s from all the stress could be but again you don't seem to follow the pattern for the either. i would start taking yoga and try meditating along with the protein pump inhibitor and see if you feel better. you self diagnosed yourself several times like all of us on here. i don't think our track record on being correct in our diagnosis is good. sending good thoughts
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