Doctor said its IBS,but after reading about Colon Cancer im terrified its that.

[gellie321]

hello im a 14 year old girl,Basically i have become a huge hypochondriac, i started having on and off stomache aches & changes between diarhea&constipation, but like if it doesnt come out, it doesnt feel like i still need one.. well after that i went to the docters and he said it sounds like ibs & gave me some tablets, then i started googling everything and finding loads of ilness'es &then making up symptoms and imagining stuff in my head,so i went to the docters a following 2 times,one gave me tablets for heart palpitations and i also got pain killers and throat tablets,before this i had headache tablets for migraines from a while ago. now today i came acrros colon cancer and im terrified,because i cant tell my mum cause she shouts at me for googling my symptoms and always tells me its in my mind, so she wont take me to the docters again, now im always googling my symptoms and i have severe anixety and hypochondria, help?:(

---------- Post added at 19:48 ---------- Previous post was at 18:03 ----------

also how common is colon cancer/bowel cancer in 14 year olds.

[emlica]

At your age it would be *really* unusual to have colon cancer or bowel cancer. I was worrying about my gut issues and my doctor said that it was extremely uncommon even at my age (30). It tends to affect people later in life. I would guess that it's not that uncommon to find you have IBS around your age, partly because a lot of women find it's at least partly related to hormonal stuff, and at 14 your hormones are probably all over the place. IBS is a significantly more likely explanation than colon cancer in a young woman. One thing does occur to me - what painkillers are you taking for your migraines? Painkillers, if you take them frequently, can cause your guts to get a bit upset. I had to stop taking NSAIDs (e.g. ibuprofen, diclofenac, etc) because they upset my stomach, so just wondering if they might be affecting things.

Having said all that, it's always a bit disappointing when a doctor just says 'sounds like IBS' and dishes out tablets without investigating. I guess it means the doctor really isn't worried by your symptoms - which is good! - but if she/he thinks you have IBS, it would have been at least thoughtful to talk through what that means with you and look at ways of trying to control it with dietary changes and so on. Have the tablets (was it Buscopan?) done anything to help?

[gellie321]

I'm taking pizotifen for my migraines

[ankietyjoe]

The great thing about health anxiety is that a woman can google about testicular cancer and convince herself she has it.

Stop googling, you're fine.

[paranoidtree]

Hi gellie, from the age of around 16 to into my 20s i had tummy ache, felt sick all the time, couldn't eat - doctor told me it was IBS time and time again and gave me a variety of tablets to take (none of which helped). I was convinced i had cancer. The doctor sent me for scans which came back clear.

Once i started getting help for my anxiety/depression that's when my stomach problems lifted. Now i'm 30 and my tummy can sometimes feel bloated and uncomfortable when i'm anxious, with my time of month or when i've eaten too much chocolate.

Google is one of the worst things you can do. I am currently studying a degree in nutritional therapy and would now never dream of believing anything from google without checking the credentials of the person who wrote it!!!

Perhaps next time you are on google try searching for stress reducing methods, meditation, exercise and nutrition recommendations for IBS and try them - see if you feel better. x

[AnxietySufferer]

That is exactly what im worried about at the moment (im 17) the doctor said they would send me for some scans since its being going on for so long, so being a worrier this has sent me into panic mode.. Im so convinced that I have bowel cancer.. i have also been told by the doctor that it is probably IBS.. but i cant understand why its there all the time :( and i cant help but think what if.. i mean it happens right?

[Rennie1989]

Bowel and colon cancer are more common in the elderly, it's incredibly rare for teenagers to develop it.

IBS is a life long condition, I am close to someone who has it and they experience symptoms on a regular basis. It does not mean that there's anything else wrong, it means that they need to find the right medication and dosage and what foods to cut out.