IBS or Ovarian Cancer? So scared!

[lilyrose2]

Hi everyone,

The last few years my health anxiety has sadly been through the roof and ruining my quality of life, I am always using Dr Google and jumping to the worst case scenario when I have any issues. For reference I’ve just turned 26 years old.

Around three years ago I was sure I had ovarian cancer after suffering with stomach pain and constipation, I had blood tests and a scan and everything was okay and the doctor said it’s probably IBS. I didn’t worry about this again, until around two weeks ago...

I suddenly got the worst stomach pains and bloating I’ve ever had. It felt like I had been drinking bleach and I had awful indigestion that antiacids didn’t seem to be touching. It was so bad I woke up in the night crying in pain and my boyfriend had to rush me to A&E at 3am. As I didn’t have a high temperature or blood pressure they didn’t take me for tests there and then, but the nurse mentioned it could be a gyno issue with my ovaries and to book an urgent scan.

Obviously after hearing this I googled ‘ovarian cancer’ again and now I’m convinced. I have all the symptoms - the horrendous stomach pain, bloating, back ache, acid reflux and constipation chronically day and night. The abdominal and back pain has faded slightly but it’s still uncomfortable and causing me to lose sleep and I still have slight acid reflux and burping a lot. I’ve also gone from severe constipation to over the last five days suddenly having chronic diarrhoea, whilst still feeling constipated at the same time. A hard one to explain but I’ve never had diarrhoea for more than a couple of days before so this seems really strange to me. This woke me up in the middle of the night too.

Could this still be anxiety? I had a blood test Thursday evening to find I had missed two calls from a ‘withheld number’ yesterday afternoon. Freaking out this is the doctor ringing me with results.

I have an ultrasound scan tomorrow and I’m terrified about waiting for the results to come through. I was wondering if anybody had been in a similar situation? I’m so fed up of the constant bloating and feeling uncomfortable. The last few days I’ve been cutting out gluten and dairy but the pain or diarrhoea hasn’t eased at all.

Lily x

[MrsEd]

Hi Lily, it could be IBS but great that you are having appropriate tests. My mum has ovarian cancer but her only symptom was bloating (she looked 9 months pregnant, and it was all the time not just after eating). The symptoms listed are possible ones, but are much more likely to be IBS/Anxiety. Try not to worry and keep busy.

[lilyrose2]

I am bloated all the time (even first thing in the morning when I wake up which is unusual) that’s why I’m worried but thanks for your message. I always end up jumping to the worst conclusion :( I think panicking about it is making it so much worse but I’m hoping I’ll have a bit more clarity after my ultrasound!

It’s the diarrhoea that’s bothering me as I’ve had it since Tuesday and I’m sure it’s not supposed to last so long, but I was on antibiotics last week as the doctor wanted to see if my stomach ache was an infection. Maybe this could have messed up my gut? Hoping for the best 😞

[MrsEd]

i mean, honestly the bloating was something else, as it was caused by water. I'm not exaggerating when I say she looked 9 months pregnant. It really would be extreme.

antibiotics can do all sorts of things with your gut x

[CatLady1]

The chances of you having ovarian cancer at 26 are very, very low - like, 1 in 50,000 low, according to the incidence stats on the Cancer Research website. You're right to go for the ultrasound (I had one recently to get an ovarian cyst checked - they're a bit undignified but not at all painful). Your sudden onset pain sounds more like a ruptured ovarian cyst - not cancer, but certainly not pleasant for you. I'm sorry you're dealing with the pain and anxiety, but I promise it's incredibly unlikely that there's anything serious or life-threatening happening to you.

[kt xxx]

Hi I’m going through exactly the same it’s so worrying. I’ve had stomach pains, constipation,gas and bloated since the start of feb! I went to the doctors today and she mentioned doing blood work and a blood test fr my ovaries! I’ve totally had a breakdown as this didn’t even cross my mind until today and obviously googling it I’ve got all the sypmtoms:( I’m 31 and just had a baby 6 months ago so worried I’ve even went off food!

[glittery]

Hi I’m going through exactly the same it’s so worrying. I’ve had stomach pains, constipation,gas and bloated since the start of feb! I went to the doctors today and she mentioned doing blood work and a blood test fr my ovaries! I’ve totally had a breakdown as this didn’t even cross my mind until today and obviously googling it I’ve got all the sypmtoms:( I’m 31 and just had a baby 6 months ago so worried I’ve even went off food!

You getting Ovarian Cancer at 31 is very rare. It is most likely other causes which are a lot more common. Do let us know how the test result goes I am sure it is all fine.