Constipation and stomach cramps, fear of colon cancer?

Hello, I hope this isn't too tmi, I would rather post here where I can be anonymous because I am a tad embarrassed to talk about this IRL. I am a 22 year old female with horrible health anxiety. recently I got a lot better at controlling it, no major issues. Recently I noticed I having been going to the bathroom regularly. Normally I go once in the morning. but I have been constipated for about a month now which has never happened to me before. I noticed I've been having cramps on the right and left side of my chest and abdomen too. I guess where the stomach and large intestine are?

Since this is new to me of course I am telling myself something is seriously wrong, AKA colon cancer, yipee.

But I also have also been pretty inactive due to covid, staying in my room all day doing school, sleeping late, and eating irregularly (too little or too much). I have done this stuff before but never had an issue so I am really not sure whats up.

now I have a constant pressure/cramp feeling on the right side of my abdomen, though it could be because I am thinking about that area, I've had my health anxiety do this to me before.

I messaged my doctor about this and she said she thinks colon cancer is incredibly unlikely (she knows I have bad HA so she kind of helps me with my cancer fears)


Has anyone had something like this happen to them before and should I be concerned at all? Id appreciate any input and I hope this wasn't too tmi. Thank you in advance!

Hi

This is just a courtesy reply to let you know that your post was moved from its original place to a sub-forum that is more relevant to your issue.

This is nothing personal - it just enables us to keep posts about the same problems in the relevant forums so other members with any experience with the issues can find them more easily.

Please also read this post:

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=213239

If you are constipated then that will cause pains - why not treat that?

Thanks for the response, like I said I've never really been constipated before so I am not sure what its suppose to feel like or how to treat it properly...

diet first and foremost. If not then you may need laxatives.

drink loads of water and get up and move around more.

Thank you, I'll try all of that and see if it works.

Hi Airisto, just wanted to say I am somewhat on the same boat as I started having constipation out of nowhere a few months ago, although I'm slightly older than you at 27 and have had no cramps so far. I've managed to improve my bowel movements through adopting a healthier diet/lifestyle, because prior to that, I was like you in being sedentary and not paying attention to what I eat. It has taken me a few months to find a diet that works, and even though I still experience hard stools occasionally, I think I'm on the right track so far.

As for the health anxiety aspect, my improvement can be attributed to the following:
- I talk to my GP and she has been very reassuring and sympathetic, even referred me to a psychologist
- My psychologist has recommended some techniques which have helped, i.e. setting yourself a challenge to gradually minimise/stop the behaviours that feed into your fears (for me it's Googling my symptoms), mindfulness exercises, challenging your own thoughts to stop yourself from thinking only of the worst case scenarios (e.g. constipation doesn't have to mean bowel cancer, it is in fact a common symptom that affects a lot of people especially if they have had poor dietary/lifestyle choices)
- Finding activities that you find enjoyable to distract yourself - I've been learning Spanish on the Duolingo app!

I still have some remaining anxiety in relation to my bowel - I do fear bowel cancer from time to time, but the level of worry is definitely more manageable these days :) All the best to you and hope your symptoms improve ASAP!