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Thread: Never asked before,could really do with some words and hugs.

  1. #1
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    Never asked before,could really do with some words and hugs.

    Hope your all ok and getting through this crappy illness!

    I've not been around for 3 or 4 months for many reasons, and if you don't mind listening this is why. In February my best mate took his own life completely out of the blue. He was in his late 50s, retired at 50, loads of money, house in the country etc. I was racked with guilt as the last time I saw him he wasn't himself and I wished I had delved deeper.

    My health and no I don't suffer from health anxiety. I started to feel unwell in October16. In January I developed a pain in my right side which I thought I had pulled a muscle. In the first week of march I developed a severe pain in my left shoulder , nausea and cold sweats, so I took myself off to my gp. He prescribed omeprazole and a sickness tablet. I wasn't to impressed as I thought this was treating the symptoms rather than finding the cause. Since then i've probably been to my gp every 2/3 weeks and said I'm really not feeling well at all. At the end of April my gp finally ordered loads of blood tests and an ultrasound of my gallbladder, kidneys and pancreas that all came back normal. In May my gp weighed me and I was about 19 stone and at the time my alarm bells started ringing as I knew I was around 22 stone at Christmas time. In June I started feeling light headed on top of all my other persistent symptoms, so I went back to my gp and was weighed again, and now weighed 18.7 stone, so my gp referred me to see a gastroenterologist. I went back to my gp 3 weeks later and weighed again I'd lost another 1 1/2 stone in 3 weeks!!! The look of panic on my gp's face was scary, he ordered lots of blood tests including 2 tumour markers, that all came back normal. He changed my gastroenterologist referral to the fast track 2 week maximum wait. I had the appointment within a week and waited 17 days for a CT scan with iv contrast, which I had Monday. No results yet

    Can anybody help.

    How accurate are tumour marker blood tests?

    How accurate are contrast CT scans?

    I asked my gp why I haven't had a poop or urine sample test and he looked at me like an idiot. Surely you can tell a lot from this?


    I've never felt so ill with such persistent symptoms! Can you loose this much weight this fast and it not be CANCER

  2. #2
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    Re: Never asked before,could really do with some words and hugs.

    Hi Matt,

    I' really sorry to hear about your best mate. I don't think anyone would doubt you would have been all over it if you had any idea of how bad he felt. And these things can spiral quickly too. You mustn't feel guilty about yourself, even experts can miss how patients feel because we tend to be good at hiding things. Sometimes a person can be feeling depressed and then one event or piece of news tips them over into taking action and it's hard for anyone to be able to stop that.

    You're a big guy. Is that a muscular 22 stone? I'm guessing not (sorry mate!) and assuming you have some weight to lose anyway and it's always much quicker at the beginning. Bereavement is a known reason to lose weight and you've had an awful event months before you had your first weigh in. Maybe some of it was that? Have you been eating as normal?

    The weight loss seems to have slowed down if by 18.7 you don't mean 18 1/2 stone? If you had cancer, and it was causing weight loss, I'm not sure it would slow down like that, and if you still have a fair bit of weight to lose I would have thought it would continue? I know in my GF's mum's case it dropped off her dramatically and she was well underweight within months.

    A lot of bodyweight is water. When people diet, it's this they lose dramatically at first. My bodyweight fluctuates across the day and by pounds over the week. Have you had any bloating that has gone? You've lost a fair bit in the latest one and it would seem unusual for a stop start type of loss to me. Depending on when weight is taken, proximity of meals, etc readings can be up or down and a few pounds can be out due to this alone. This is why consistency is key with readings.

    This GP has obviously been messing around throwing pills at you rather than trying to find out what the issue is. But weight loss has various possibilities, not just cancer. There could be some gastro reasons for it and you've been referred to one for a reason. It could be a thyroid issue?

    CT scans will be accurate. If they spot something and they can't determine what it is, they head for the next test until they know.

    I don't know about tumour marker tests but given what they are for, you would expect them to be very accurate or to at least trigger something to say it can't be determined in order to trigger follow up?
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  3. #3
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    Re: Never asked before,could really do with some words and hugs.

    I am very sorry to hear about your friend

  4. #4
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    Re: Never asked before,could really do with some words and hugs.

    Sorry to hear about you friend BikerMatt. Sending you
    I hope you have the test results soon, hopefully get some answers then.
    __________________
    Magic

  5. #5
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    Re: Never asked before,could really do with some words and hugs.

    Matt, some bacterial infections can cause alot of your symptoms including unexplained weight loss. The parasite bacteria known as helicobactor pylori or h-pylori is one such culprit and more common than you might think and is often the cause of duodenal ulcers. Unfortunately if your GP wasn't thinking about something like h-pylori he may not have tested for it...but did the gastroenterologist test for it Do you know? As others have said, there can be loads of reasons without jumping to cancer.

    So sad about your friend, but I don't think you could've helped him Matt, people who want this way out very seldom talk about it. Your body could be reacting to your feelings of guilt and your grief. As you know from people here how much our minds can affect how we are physically. Good luck with the results anyway.

    Take care
    Cath
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  6. #6
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    Re: Never asked before,could really do with some words and hugs.

    Thanks everyone for taking the time to reply, it's really appreciated I'm a crap and slow typist, so will give more of a response tomorrow.

  7. #7
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    Re: Never asked before,could really do with some words and hugs.

    Thanks Terry, Bee, Magic and Catherine

    My mate was such a nice fella, just one of those that was easy to talk to. He never knew about my anxiety so I guess I shouldn't feel guilty about the way he must of been feeling and not knowing.

    Catherine, I've had so many blood tests, I presume I've been tested for h-pylori. The gastroenterologist certainly didn't he just ordered the CT scan.

    Terry, Yes I went from about 22 stone before Christmas. GP weighed me for the first time in May and I was 19 stone then Start of June 18 1/2 stone then three weeks later 17 stone that was about six weeks ago and I'm now 16 stone Yes I've changed my diet due to my stomach pains and other symptoms but still eating plenty just better.

    Oh and no not fat just 6ft 6 with a bit of a gut That's disappearing fast
    Still at least I can treat myself to some nice new and shinny bike leathers when I feel well enough to ride again and stop losing weight, as my current ones will be a bit baggy.

    Annoyed at the hospital, had my CT scan 3 weeks ago, phoned the gastroenterologist department 3 days after and they'd had my results back from the radiologist but the secretary isn't allowed to tell me and was told I have to wait for the gastroenterologist to write to me. How pathetic and disgusting when you've got people waiting and worrying if they have anything sinister! It's a joke!

  8. #8
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    Re: Never asked before,could really do with some words and hugs.

    I know it's really frustrating and very annoying but the fact that you haven't heard anything from your consultant is very good news as he or she wouldn't hang around if there was anything urgent to treat.
    You still need to know though and I hope you don't have to wait too long for that letter-it's holiday season though so the bigwigs are probably all off on their luxury yachts somewhere..!!

    Losing your good friend like that must have been truly shocking and not something you get over quickly. No way that you could have predicted or stopped it though, sadly.

  9. #9
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    Re: Never asked before,could really do with some words and hugs.


  10. #10
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    Re: Never asked before,could really do with some words and hugs.

    Quote Originally Posted by pulisa View Post
    I know it's really frustrating and very annoying but the fact that you haven't heard anything from your consultant is very good news as he or she wouldn't hang around if there was anything urgent to treat.
    You still need to know though and I hope you don't have to wait too long for that letter-it's holiday season though so the bigwigs are probably all off on their luxury yachts somewhere..!!

    Losing your good friend like that must have been truly shocking and not something you get over quickly. No way that you could have predicted or stopped it though, sadly.

    Thanks Pulisa. I've had my results letter yesterday morning and all normal. A little peeved though the letter was dated 27th July and through my letterbox 9th August.

    I got carted off to hospital via ambulance in the early hours of 9th before the ct results letter arrived. I was assessed by the stroke team, ecg's, blood tests and I'm now being urgently referred to see a vascular surgeon. Nightmare

    ---------- Post added at 23:54 ---------- Previous post was at 21:58 ----------

    Quote Originally Posted by Carnation View Post

    Thanks

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