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Thread: Losing sight of what's 'normal'

  1. #1
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    Feb 2019
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    Losing sight of what's 'normal'

    Hi all. I've been on and off this forum while I work on my health anxiety, and have been making strides in dealing with it (with help from sertraline).

    Over the last six weeks or so, I've started to feel the anxiety creeping back again, and have been battling the fear of bowel cancer. Although I've been dealing with the fears in a 'better' way than with previous health panics (i.e. not rushing to the GP or for private tests/scans; not dissolving into a breakdown where I can't eat or function), it's getting harder to keep this one under control.

    At 34, it's unlikely - but there's been such a blitz of recent publicity around the idea that you're 'never too young' to get bowel cancer, that it's continually triggering my fears. Bowel cancer does run in my extended family - my maternal grandmother died of it at a young age (48), and one of my aunts on that same side of the family had it in her 50s, but is now in remission.

    I've had occasional streaks of bright red blood on my stool or on the tissue, which I know can be attributed to piles and/or a fissure; especially as I've experienced both sharp pains while passing motions, and itching or burning sensations afterwards. Piles seem to run in my family, and I experienced a bad bout of them in my 20s. I've never been diagnosed with IBS.

    That alone would be something I could deal with, but the maddening vagueness of the phrase 'a persistent change in bowel habits' as one of the key symptoms has me spiralling. My bowel habit is all over the place, and of course, anxiety is likely to blame for some of it! I seem to cycle between periods of mild constipation and noticeably loose stools. Frequency tends to hover around twice per day, although every couple of weeks I get a day or two with excessive wind and having to pass small pellets between 6-8 times in 24 hours. The only way I can achieve the 'perfect stool' as per the Bristol stool chart is to take psyllium husk, but I've stopped using that for a few days because I'm worried that it will mask any underlying problem.

    I don't think I've lost weight (I deliberately don't keep a scale at home, so that I can't indulge in constant checking and worry about 'unexplained weight loss'), as my clothes don't feel looser than usual. I can't tell whether wanting to take a nap at the weekends constitutes 'fatigue', but I think I'm ok on that front - I cycle to work every day. I do have mild but persistent backache, which seems to have settled in my lower right back/hip for the last few weeks, after months of it being centred on my left shoulder.

    What I'm mulling over, is whether or not to speak with my GP about this. They're fully aware of my health anxiety history, and I'm upfront with it about them - I generally trust medical professionals, so long as they've engaged with me and actually address any symptoms I'm reporting. I'm wavering because this is potentially another form of reassurance-seeking, but on the other hand, I fear the possibility of dismissing this as 'probably IBS + piles' and ignoring something potentially life-threatening.
    Last edited by CatLady1; 08-09-19 at 20:45.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Posts
    302

    Re: Losing sight of what's 'normal'

    Hi
    if it makes you feel any better my mum passed away 3 years ago from rectal cancer aged 62 she decided against chemotherapy.
    i m 39 suffer with anxiety , lower back pain which is anxiety related , also piles so get some bleeding if I get constipated but I don’t have health anxiety so feeling like I have a cancer hasn’t really crossed my mind.
    Go to doctors if you feel you need reassurance they can run some tests to put your mind at rest.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Posts
    90

    Re: Losing sight of what's 'normal'

    Hi,

    I can’t really offer much help, other than to say I think it’s this campaign around bowel cancer that’s triggered my HA again (which has now moved onto something else).

    I think because the symptoms are vague it causes you to worry. I’m sure if you speak to your GP they’ll be able to ask more questions to get a better idea, and they’d be able to tell just from those questions.

    It does make me worry when they say you’re never too young, as the reassurance you’re given when you worry is usually but you’re too young so it’s the complete opposite of that (I’m 27). Sounds like we have similar bowel habits too, and I actually had to check back at my old posts to get an idea of how long mine have been this way to see if they’d recently changed, as before the HA rearing its ugly head again I didn’t worry about it.

    I would go to your doctor and have a chat with them about how you feel, hopefully that will make you feel better 😊

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2019
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    84

    Re: Losing sight of what's 'normal'

    Thank you to those who have replied.

    I do have one question, for which I'd appreciate general feedback: how do you interpret the term 'loose stools'? Does it simply refer to any bowel motion in which the stools are very soft/mushy-looking (ew), and come out quickly; or is it also a question of frequency? If you're passing one or two regular BMs each day, but those are 'loose' in terms of speed and consistency, presumably that's within the realm of normal and not a cause for concern?

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Nov 2018
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    7,747

    Re: Losing sight of what's 'normal'

    That's what I have, CatLady; I've not particularly worried about it in a long time and I've been that way for around 20 years.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Aug 2017
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    1,083

    Re: Losing sight of what's 'normal'

    Quote Originally Posted by CatLady1 View Post
    Thank you to those who have replied.

    I do have one question, for which I'd appreciate general feedback: how do you interpret the term 'loose stools'? Does it simply refer to any bowel motion in which the stools are very soft/mushy-looking (ew), and come out quickly; or is it also a question of frequency? If you're passing one or two regular BMs each day, but those are 'loose' in terms of speed and consistency, presumably that's within the realm of normal and not a cause for concern?
    My understanding is ‘loose stool’ refers just to the consistency, ie it doesn’t have defined edges and has a higher amount of water/doesn’t stay together or has no form at all.

    Much like blue, I’ve had these sort of bowel habits for a long time (15 years +) I range from loose multiple times a day, sometimes with pain, urgency, mucus - you name it I’ve had it or not going for five days and having to use a softener.

    Positive vibes,

    Mouse


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  7. #7
    Join Date
    Aug 2019
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    72

    Re: Losing sight of what's 'normal'

    I have the same thing - I too worry about it.

    BlueIris and Midnight Mouse - have any of you been diagnosed with a bowel condition? I have IBS, but I worry about IBS or cancer! 😢

  8. #8
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    Nov 2018
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    Re: Losing sight of what's 'normal'

    I've never been diagnosed with anything, but I'm presuming IBS? I've had the symptoms I've described for around 25 years and haven't yet suffered more than cursory bleeding. Haven't dropped dead either

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2019
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    84

    Re: Losing sight of what's 'normal'

    Possibly mild IBS, although I don't really have abdominal pain, just a feeling of excess wind, on and off.

    I think it's the vagueness of the terminology that's bothering me - what's the difference between a stool that is 'soft and easy to pass' (good) and one that's 'loose' (bad)? Everyone's going to interpret that differently...

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Aug 2017
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    1,083

    Re: Losing sight of what's 'normal'

    Quote Originally Posted by PiaR View Post
    BlueIris and Midnight Mouse - have any of you been diagnosed with a bowel condition? I have IBS, but I worry about IBS or cancer!
    Not been through tests but my mums the same way (far more than extreme in her symptoms than I am) it’s been 15+ years for me so I don’t doubt it’s IBS in the slightest.

    Quote Originally Posted by CatLady1 View Post
    Possibly mild IBS, although I don't really have abdominal pain, just a feeling of excess wind, on and off.

    I think it's the vagueness of the terminology that's bothering me - what's the difference between a stool that is 'soft and easy to pass' (good) and one that's 'loose' (bad)? Everyone's going to interpret that differently...
    I think you’re over thinking it, Soft and easy to pass is a stool that doesn’t have hard lumps of stool that are difficult to shift because of dryness (constipation) they usually are longer and smoother stay together in the bowl and you don’t need to strain.

    A loose stool won’t have a smooth or pebbled appearance, it lacks form, may be mushy or just watery that comes apart in the bowl.

    The two are very different, on the Bristol stool chart ‘normal’ or good is a 3 or a 4 a loose stool is a 6 or 7.


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