Worried I have stomach cancer

[countrygirl]

I posted about stabbing pains at waist level left of centre. I've got constant low grade stabbing pains in the one spot and a feeling of wind all the time both up and down. Everytime I eat as the food hits my stomach I get the awful stabbing pains back and then gurgles and wind up and down and sometimes have a bowel motion,then the bad pains go back to the low grade stabbing ones. I am due a colonoscopy in three weeks becasue I have been having wind and bowel issue and pressure feeling around waist since march. I have alread had ultrasounds and sigmoidosocpy and colonosocpy is last test.
I went to Dr this morning who seemed most unconcerend and told me to take IBS meds and see if it settled down she said it sounds like my duodenum is going into spasm.

Because of the pain worsening when I eat or drink I suddenly thought its not my bowel but my stomach and I am now sure and panicking that I have stomach cancer and they are shoving their cameras in the wrong bit of me.

I had an endoscopy 18 months ago that showed only a known hiatus hernia but that was long time ago and anything could have developed since then.

I am going to be brave and go back to my Dr and tell her what I am frightened of and to see if she agrees I need an endsocopy as well.
I have never had pains like this before so am super freaked.

[youaremysunshine]

It may not be as bad as you think! It might be something unpleasant, but it may not be stomach cancer!

You won't know until you go to the doctors really, telling them despite these medicines they've given you, you're still getting the pains when you eat and you believe that it may be your stomach and if it's worth checking it out.

Just go as soon as you can, don't put it off, you're worrying, and you're still in pain.

I hope all goes well, and I hope it's nothing to worry about :)

[joannap]

have you been getting pains and symptoms in the general area of your stomach/bowel for 18 months pretty much continuously? if so - it sounds to me that if you had an endoscopy for stomach probs and that was clear - then the anxiety has made you focus on pains lower down but now the tests are coming back clear for that - you are worrying about your stomach again! it sounds like anxiety just trying to find a focus.

i had terrible stomach pain/wind/change in bowel movements, crippling lower back pain on and off for 2 years. only had an endoscopy after all that time and that was fine - nothing to see whatsoever and i had been on medication for all that time for nothing. i am convinced now that it was all tension and anxiety - as soon as i stopped worrying about it very gradually went. check your stomach muscles for tension - you are probably clenching all that general area and causing a lot of the pain through this. your doctor probably seems unconcerned because they are not bothered how much you are anxious about it - just whether there is something there to be anxious about and it sounds very much as if there is nothing and that they are doing all the tests they can. unfortunately they don;t often do tests just to put our minds at rest lol so i think its unlikely you will have another endoscopy when your symptoms are not in that area. the reason why it gets worse when you eat/drink is because when food/drink hits your stomach - the next part of the digestive system starts to get ready to receive it.

[nikki39]

Hi, I have been suffering from lower back pain, a feeling of fullness and terrible wind in my stomach for 2 weeks now. This is particularly worse when I wake up in the mornings. I went to the Docs yesterday who said I had a bladder infection and gave me antibiotics. This morning I woke up and my lower back and stomach felt really sore like a build up of wind and i had about 4 loose motions. My bowels have been pretty bad for the last 18 months and all the drs say ibs but this time the pain was excruitiating. I went back to my drs today and saw another dr who said it definitely was not a UTI as he did the dip stick test. I said I was worried I may have cancer and he said if I had lost lots of weight and had blood in my stools he would look into it further. He prodded around my stomach and diagnosed IBS saying my bowel had gone into spasm, prescribed me merbervine and fybogel and sent me on my way. I have just recently came off citalopram too which he said may be linked. He did not seem at all worried and told me to stop worrying, take the tablets for a month and the symptoms should subside. I hope this makes you feel better.

[countrygirl]

thanks everyone - the pains have been much better today, but being superstitious I have got everything crossed that it stays that way!

I have calmed down a bit now and can be a bit more rational hoho. If I still have the pains next week I will go back to the Dr and explain my fears and ask if I should have another endoscopy.

Trouble with us worriers is that once one are is tested we then think of another reason for the symptoms from an area that hasn't been tested. Plus I worry myself silly about the tests, convinced something will go wrong etc.

I really really don't want the colonoscopy as the prep alone is so horrible and I found the sigmoidoscopy without sedation so terribly painful.

thanks everyone for being here