How long for food to travel through digestive system? HA about BC

[WorriedOlive]

Hi everyone

I posted on here recently about my Bowel cancer worries coming back. I’ve reverted back to my old habit of inspecting my poo as I feel I just have to make sure I can’t see any blood.

This morning there was a teeny bit of red liquid which could be spread into the stool by poking it with toilet paper, it was only visible through inspecting and not in the toilet. It wasn’t on the paper either. When I say small I’m talking around 3mm in size.

I’m wondering if food could do this and how long it would take to travel through the body? I always have a scare every time I eat roasted red peppers, Which I have eaten but but I ate them at around 3pm on Thursday.. this was at 6am on Saturday morning, could it have taken that long to digest even though I always have IBS D (anxiety induced though, not really from food travelling too fast)

I’m back to my old thinking habits that I’m gonna be diagnosed with advanced Bowel cancer at 26.

I had a clear rigid sigmoidoscopy in March and clear blood tests with no sign of iron deficiency in July.

I’m really really scared :(

[BlueIris]

I hate to be that person, but please stop messing about with your faeces? Digestion is a complex chemical process and it's much better just to wait and get tests done.

For the record, I think it's extremely unlikely to be anything, but poking through your poop is never a good move.

[Pamplemousse]

Food can take 12 to 72 hours to pass through you.

I'm also left wondering how today's news of a Hollywood actor dying at 43 from colon cancer is going to trigger a few folk today.

[WorriedOlive]

My doctor and gastroenterologist does not think I need any more tests due to the clear sigmoidoscopy and blood tests. Do you think I should be asking for a second opinion?

[WorriedOlive]

Food can take 12 to 72 hours to pass through you.

I'm also left wondering how today's news of a Hollywood actor dying at 43 from colon cancer is going to trigger a few folk today.

So it could have been the red pepper maybe.

Yes, I’m always highly triggered by sad news in the media.

[MrLurcher]

Hi WorriedOlive, as someone who has gone through a period of intense bowel worries, and gets bought's of worrying still, I understand what you're going through. From Dec 2018 to April 2019 I had some atrocious bowel symptoms and inspected poo, which I documented in a 61 page thread on here! (Not proud of that tbh)

Regarding the food digestion, it will be sped up by anxiety/nerves, and in my case as well, IBS. At it's worst, I was passing my lunch the same day, late at night. And yes, like you, I also thought I found blood, but what I found usually was partly or undigested red pepper, tomato or chillies.

However in saying that, I do think that some foods take longer to pass - which are typically red! I have seen bits of tomato or pepper a few days after eating them, which shouldn't make sense when you have fast transit. Maybe they get 'stuck' inside somewhere?! The worse culprit for me is Paprika, as I swear I continue to see tiny red dots for days after eating a curry or chilli!

[pulisa]

My doctor and gastroenterologist does not think I need any more tests due to the clear sigmoidoscopy and blood tests. Do you think I should be asking for a second opinion?

Hell no. Why torment yourself and ask for trouble when you have had a clean bill of colon health from a colorectal specialist? Why ask for unnecessary tests during a pandemic?

[WorriedOlive]

Hell no. Why torment yourself and ask for trouble when you have had a clean bill of colon health from a colorectal specialist? Why ask for unnecessary tests during a pandemic?

Because I haven’t had a full colonoscopy, just a rigid sigmoidoscopy where the gastroenterologist said he got a nice clear view up pretty far. I wouldn’t be worrying if I’d had a full colonoscopy but he did not want to give me one due to my age and specific symptoms he was very confident I did not need one. I worry if I keep seeing small amounts of blood, there must be a reason other than IBS.

[pulisa]

Don't you think the GI would have insisted on a full colonoscopy to begin with if you had red flag symptoms..which you don't? Colonoscopy is not without risk It's an invasive procedure and if the specialist says you don't need one you should be happy with that. Obviously you're not though.

[WorriedOlive]

Hi WorriedOlive, as someone who has gone through a period of intense bowel worries, and gets bought's of worrying still, I understand what you're going through. From Dec 2018 to April 2019 I had some atrocious bowel symptoms and inspected poo, which I documented in a 61 page thread on here! (Not proud of that tbh)

Regarding the food digestion, it will be sped up by anxiety/nerves, and in my case as well, IBS. At it's worst, I was passing my lunch the same day, late at night. And yes, like you, I also thought I found blood, but what I found usually was partly or undigested red pepper, tomato or chillies.

However in saying that, I do think that some foods take longer to pass - which are typically red! I have seen bits of tomato or pepper a few days after eating them, which shouldn't make sense when you have fast transit. Maybe they get 'stuck' inside somewhere?! The worse culprit for me is Paprika, as I swear I continue to see tiny red dots for days after eating a curry or chilli!

Thank you for replying. However much I wouldn’t want people to go through the same thing it’s very comforting to hear others have the same problem!

My worry is that this time is was a solid but when poked there was a tiny (couple of mm) bit of red liquid, which looks like blood. So frustrating when it wouldn’t have been visible without inspecting so it makes me feel like I have to inspect to check.

Can I ask, were you given any tests for your symptoms? And how did you manage to get over the worst of it?