I have been struggling with weird GI symptoms since October 2022. I have health anxiety and I constantly google symptoms, so I diagnosed myself with colon cancer, stimach cancer and lastly pancreatic cancer. I had every possible test to rule out these cancers and a punch of other tests trying to find the cause of my symptoms ( all paid out of pocket). Unfortunately no cause could be found till this moment so I have to deal with unexplained and untreatable symptoms . Anyway I was relieved to know that I didn't have cancer.
I have just started to return to my normal life when I had this new symptom: constipation. I haven't had it in years and all the time I was sick I had diarrhea not constipation.
The recent onset of constipation triggered my health anxiety again. At the beginning, I thought that the low Fodmap diet I was trying was the culprit. I stopped that diet but several days later, constipation remained the same. I started to think of colon cancer again. It makes sense, colon cancer is fairly common and I almost have all symptoms: abdominal pain, gas and belching , and the constipation.
What doesn't make sense is that I just had a colonoscopy earlier this year ( Jan 2023) which was clear..no cancer and no polyps, in addition to 2 CT scans l, an MRI and several tests for cancer markers in blood and in stool, all were clear. My health anxiety tells me that it must have been a very small cancer that went unnoticed on colonoscopy, and which has by now grown large enough to block my bowel. I am getting paranoid about this. I feel too stressed to think clearly and too exhausted from repeated tests and scans. I read some stories about missed cancers on colonoscopy and they escalate my anxiety. I need some advice..should I have another colonoscopy or something else? I do not have a PCP or GP to discuss with them ( this system is not applied in the country where I live) and GI doctors I consulted always say I have nothing l, just anxiety or IBS ( I find it hard to believe this diagnosis as I am- at 39- a bit old for a new onset of IBS):(