Could it be I.B.S?

[PixieL]

Hi all, this isnt technically for me its a problem my father has been having but it is causing me huge anx issues and im so desperate for advice i thought it warrented posting about. for about 18 months on and off my dad has been having this ache in his tummy, really low down in the middle of his tummy, ubove the groin area top of the bowel i think. I must stress it isnt a major pain or anything, just an annoying ache which is making him grumpy. He has had it occur every three or four months, but im not sure this time it seems to be less of an ache but stayed around longer, and before with it he had alternating constipation and/or diarrhea (sorry to be gross) normally one or the other at diff times. No blood or anything. He has been to the doctors and they did blood tests and he got alot better after that but we never got the results back, i thought if anything serious was wrong with him they would phone or write, but someone told me they never do even if you have cancer you have to call them for the results which has greatly worried me. He has got a hospital appointement thing but hasnt had a date yet, just to have a few more tests but hes freaking out that he has cancer i think, and now so am i. Please understand this also that my dad is the only family i have, i don't know what i would do if he got really ill. I guess im looking for reassurance really, that it isnt cancer. I've extensively researched every cancer and other illness relating to the lower abdomen i can, and someone suggested my dad could have I.B.S which in a way would be most welcome when i think of the alternative. Any one got any advice or had similer symptoms? my dad is 67 btw. Please give me some help i will be so greatfull to you. Thanks all, i really needed to write this down and get it off my chest.

[xfilme]

Ok there could be many simple things causing it from a dietary point of view, which is complicated but easily solvable. My advice would be to start a food diaty. Log down everything he eats on a daily basis and any symptoms he is experiencing. This will be useful also to take along to the hosp when he gets an appointment to see if he may be intolerant. For all you know he could have celiacs disease, which basically means you get ill if you eat products containing wheat etc... of maybe he is intolerant to some other food. For me its carrots. The have complex carbohydrates which my body cannot digest, causing stomach pains and sometimes even headaches. Once you have about 4 weeks of a food diary, you can see if there are certain things in his diet that coincide with the pain. then try eliminating it to see if it stops. It sounds like a hard process but its not bad once you get used to logging the notes etc. Sometimes problems crop up from a lack of certain nutrients, for example if you eat very little meat or only eat prepacked ready meals (which many do as they get older, like MY dad who is 63), you dont get enough B12. This can cause both constipation and diarrhea. So do not fret. You are just imagining the worst which is perfectly natural. If it makes you feel any better, Ive had a pain in my side that feels like a handful of glass that has been there about 15 years... the doctors tell me its normal for me so get used to it. Not every pain in sinister, so keep your chin up and remember occam's razor: the most likely is usually the case. Its probably digestive issues. If there was anything for your dad to worry about, the docs wouldnt sit back and wait for you to call. I know this from experience x

[xfilme]

oops typo... I meant a food 'diary' in case your thought i was talking random gibberish. x

[PixieL]

Hi xfilme and thanks for the reply. I forgot to say my dad also gets gas with it so we thought it could be I.B.S. He has a hospital appointment in three weeks. My dad eats alot of meat and only home grown veg, like cabbage and tomatos, so im not sure if it is diet related, although he does it alot of bread and potatos everyday, normaily boiled or baked potatos so i suppose he could have a weat intolerence or the starch could be the problem. Thank you for saying the doctors would get back, it put my mind at rest some. Im not to up on doctors and tests, kinda young dumb and clueless when it comes to procedures lol. But my dad told me that the doctor did say if anything showed up on the blood test they would get back to him, and we havent heard anything so im thinking it wasnt abnormal. Thanks again. x