Anxious about potential IBS/Cancer symptoms?

[proufae]

Hi,

I honestly find this really embarrassing/scary to talk about but i’ve been panicking recently about bowel cancer and some new symptoms that i have been displaying.

i’m eighteen years old, and i’m aware that BC is rare in younger people, but i have been experiencing a few changes in my bowel habits for around three months and i don’t know if anyone can help me put my mind at rest. my stool has been a little softer and has changed in colour every now and again— it is usually a normal brown colour, though. today it seemed almost orange, and has been in the past too. i have sometimes noticed mucous in my stool and i occasionally experience both diarrhoea and constipation. this has been going on for around three months i think.

i have also been experiencing very minimal bleeding from my anus (i had this checked, and my doctor told me that it was a tear— i was given an ointment and the bleeding stopped for about two weeks but has started again. i’m worried about this too but i’m also thinking that i could have just reopened the wound by mistake). i have never had blood within my actual stool and it has always appeared bright red on the paper. this has been going on since august.

occasionally i experience mild cramps and abdominal discomfort but this usually occurs around the beginning of my period— i have had issues with this since they started (when i was eleven) so this isn’t necessarily new. i also experience it before and after a bowel movement.

i have a family history of IBS and my symptoms seem to align with that— however, everything has been making me panic recently and i’m completely at a loss. i’ve checked for lumps and found nothing. i don’t seem to have many other symptoms besides a change in bowel habit but i am constantly hearing horror stories about people who didn’t display many symptoms. i’m constantly scared of the fact that i could be dying and i wouldn’t know and it’s horrifying. i wouldn’t wish it on anyone

please let me know if you have experienced similar???? idk

[CrohnsWarrior]

Hi,

I honestly find this really embarrassing/scary to talk about but i’ve been panicking recently about bowel cancer and some new symptoms that i have been displaying.

i’m eighteen years old, and i’m aware that BC is rare in younger people, but i have been experiencing a few changes in my bowel habits for around three months and i don’t know if anyone can help me put my mind at rest. my stool has been a little softer and has changed in colour every now and again— it is usually a normal brown colour, though. today it seemed almost orange, and has been in the past too. i have sometimes noticed mucous in my stool and i occasionally experience both diarrhoea and constipation. this has been going on for around three months i think.

i have also been experiencing very minimal bleeding from my anus (i had this checked, and my doctor told me that it was a tear— i was given an ointment and the bleeding stopped for about two weeks but has started again. i’m worried about this too but i’m also thinking that i could have just reopened the wound by mistake). i have never had blood within my actual stool and it has always appeared bright red on the paper. this has been going on since august.

occasionally i experience mild cramps and abdominal discomfort but this usually occurs around the beginning of my period— i have had issues with this since they started (when i was eleven) so this isn’t necessarily new. i also experience it before and after a bowel movement.

i have a family history of IBS and my symptoms seem to align with that— however, everything has been making me panic recently and i’m completely at a loss. i’ve checked for lumps and found nothing. i don’t seem to have many other symptoms besides a change in bowel habit but i am constantly hearing horror stories about people who didn’t display many symptoms. i’m constantly scared of the fact that i could be dying and i wouldn’t know and it’s horrifying. i wouldn’t wish it on anyone

please let me know if you have experienced similar???? idk

Go to your GP and ask to be tested for Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis (more likely one of these than cancer tbh), you sound exactly the same as I was at your age.
I am now 47 and have only been diagnosed with Crohn’s disease 4 years ago but have had stomach problems like you since I was in my early teens which is apparently when crohns can start (I’m not a medical expert or anything of the sort)
I had more issues when it was that time of the month as well and always had.
All I can advise is if your really worried ask for the tests to be done, it can take a very long time to diagnose if you do have it as there isn’t just one test.
Mine was only discovered 4 years ago after it had damaged my bowel that much that I needed surgery to remove 52cm of small bowel and I haven’t been the same since. If crohns, or bowel cancer is caught early enough it is treatable. Cancer can be removed and crohns can be treated with medication to a valid damage like mine…
I am now on medication daily to control the Crohn’s disease but if I had been given this medication years ago, when I was 18 then maybe I wouldn’t have needed surgery
Plz go and get it checked

[NoraB]

I started with IBS when I was a couple of years older than you. (I was having cramps so bad that I had to pull over the car one time until it passed).

Your GP obviously saw a fissure, and they can be tricky to heal because of where they are. But you can help speed up the healing on this by making sure that you don't get constipated and use heat pads as heat speeds up the healing process. (I had a fissure earlier this year and I did these things and it's sorted now).

Get a sitz bath and use it every time you have a poo. (Dab your bum, don't wipe).

Bowel cancer is incredibly unlikely at your age, and I doubt that you have Crohn's, but your GP can rule this out for you if you're in any way concerned.

IBS is crap, but there's much you can do to help yourself feel better.