newbie, hypocondriac, now it's colon cancer!!!

[RobbyH]

Yes, vinbaker you can help me figure out how to push myself off of my property instead of having my agoraphobia and GAD make me a hermit.

It is amazing how anxiety works. I am a people person and love to be around groups of folks BUT I struggle with HA which takes its toll on me like I am sure your agoraphobia does you. I guess we each struggle in our own way

 

[triceps]

It's alot easier with the invention of the internet. I'd just like to feel I had the choice whether to be a hermit or not. Part of the problem is that financially, I'm all set so I don't have to work. I live in a very rural area anyway. My kids and wife still accept me but I feel badly having to miss funerals, weddings and other important events that I feel obligated to attend.

 

[vinbaker]

So it doesn't happen to you guys too that soon after you have a good news and everything could go better, then something happens and you feel bad again?

Well tonight after the "good news" i tried to eat everything i wanted without thinking too much....and after 2 hours i had bloating and diarrea...i was thinking what could have been that did this to me...then i remember i ate like 5-6 "Ricola" candies and read they can have a strong laxative effect.... as always i'm a master at making things more difficult for myself

 

[Future PA with HA]

@vinbaker so happy for the good test results for you! I wouldn’t worry too much about the diarrhea tbh it’s been an eventful day getting tests and scary results so tour bowls are probably still recovering.

 

[Future PA with HA]

@vinbaker fun update on me I just had a loose bowel movement full of undigested vegetables... sometimes I overdo it with the fiber thing because I used to eat so many carbs and red meat before so my body isn’t used to this...

Of course it looked thin and was alarming so my body automatically jumped to colon cancer before thinking things through... why is it so hard to be like normal people and not overthink your poops for us

 

[RobbyH]

Excess fiber, or increaase in normal fiber intake, can certainly cause loose BMs - it is VERY common and no need to be concerned. And any losse BMs will be thin by definition so again, no cause for concern.

Try (and I know how difficult it is) to either not look for a few days or try to understand that (1) anxiety can certainly cause loose stools nad (2) diet changes can as well. I have struggled with these for many years and I can tell you from first hand expereince, the more you focus on it, the more loose stools, etc you will have due to the anxiety and stress which play havoc on your digestive tract

 

[vinbaker]

Hi guys

i feel like i will never get better. Yesterday I was at a wedding, i was feeling good, i ate there like everybody else,,,and guess what? today i had a mild diarrea with lot of gas, and probably will have more loose stool in the afternoon.

I feel like i will go crazy, absolutely. EVERY TIME i eat something different, or i eat outside, i always get some reaction in my bowel. I've always been "delicate" with food, but now is a joke.

Maybe when i was not thinking about this disease i would just hang out, have my "bad stool" day, and stop thinking about it, maybe...because i really just don't understand what's real and what's not.

I've been searching about the test the doctor had on me, the bowel ultrasound... i found discordant theories...there are studies that say it's a very underrated exam that in most case will tell you if somthing is wrong and also if there's a mass or a tumor, there's a good percentage of possibilities of discovering it with the ultrasound... Do you have any info about that?

i'm really freaking out again

 

[vinbaker]

@vinbaker fun update on me I just had a loose bowel movement full of undigested vegetables... sometimes I overdo it with the fiber thing because I used to eat so many carbs and red meat before so my body isn’t used to this...

Of course it looked thin and was alarming so my body automatically jumped to colon cancer before thinking things through... why is it so hard to be like normal people and not overthink your poops for us

well, looks like we are in the same rollercoaster. But in your case, really, vegetables when overdone make people go more to the bathroom and with looser stool. don't worry at all

 

[triceps]

Hi again vinbaker. You already know what I'll be suggesting. I challenge you to try just one day of DLT (Don't Look Therapy) to see if it causes more anxiety to not look vs. the angst that is caused by checking out your stools. You've got to admit that if all of a sudden you looked down and a perfectly formed, pristine stool is floating there you'd think, "What's the deal with that?". I promise not to bring up DLT again. Always wishing you the best.

 

[vinbaker]

Hi again vinbaker. You already know what I'll be suggesting. I challenge you to try just one day of DLT (Don't Look Therapy) to see if it causes more anxiety to not look vs. the angst that is caused by checking out your stools. You've got to admit that if all of a sudden you looked down and a perfectly formed, pristine stool is floating there you'd think, "What's the deal with that?". I promise not to bring up DLT again. Always wishing you the best.

thank you so much triceps for being here.

I went to the bathroom again (before reading your post LOL) and looked ... And as always, my stools look more normal and compact in the afternoon...it's always that way, i don't know why !!!! The gastro asked me "did this happen to you before in your life?" so i tried to be logic, and yes, i remember having a conversation with my dad (who was a doctor ... btw his dead triggered my health anxiety) in my 20s, explaining him i had loose stools in the morning...so probably it's something i've had before, so the gastro told me "just don't think about it".

Still i think, just like RobbyH case, i might have IBS...because i noticed that if in the morning my stool is really bad (the rare cases i have really diarrea, not creamy stool) then in the afternoon the stool is like mashed, plane in one side, like if my bowel movement to eject it was different.

Only happened a pair of times, so i never thought about an obstruction (because i guess if i had an obstruction the stool would always look like that, not only occasionally)...

 

[RobbyH]

What you are describing are classic IBS symptoms - my IBS is almost always worse in the morning than any other time of the day. Just remember - if you had a blockage, you woldl not have diarrhea one time and normal stools the next - they would always be loose so the fact that you do have normal stools is a GREAT indication that you have no serious medical issue

 

[vinbaker]

What you are describing are classic IBS symptoms - my IBS is almost always worse in the morning than any other time of the day. Just remember - if you had a blockage, you woldl not have diarrhea one time and normal stools the next - they would always be loose so the fact that you do have normal stools is a GREAT indication that you have no serious medical issue

Hi Robby, yes i think too. Another symptom I have, that the doctor didn't give much attention, is that sometimes after going to the bathroom i feel sore in my left abdomen...it doesn't last much, like 20 minutes, than disappear. Do you know anything about this symptoms?

 

[vinbaker]

I've been searching about the test the doctor had on me, the bowel ultrasound... i found discordant theories...there are studies that say it's a very underrated exam that in most case will tell you if somthing is wrong and also if there's a mass or a tumor, there's a good percentage of possibilities of discovering it with the ultrasound... Do you have any info about that?

And Robby, since it seems you spent a long time studying our common anxiety (lol ), do you know anything about the reliability of bowel ultrasound?

 

[RobbyH]

And Robby, since it seems you spent a long time studying our common anxiety (lol ), do you know anything about the reliability of bowel ultrasound?

The ultrasound is fairly reliable assuming you had the prep (cleansing of the bowels) prior to the ultrasound.

Hi Robby, yes i think too. Another symptom I have, that the doctor didn't give much attention, is that sometimes after going to the bathroom i feel sore in my left abdomen...it doesn't last much, like 20 minutes, than disappear. Do you know anything about this symptoms?

I have had that happen before as well - always assumed it was related to my IBS because it would come and go and didn't happen very frequently.

 

[vinbaker]

Thank you,

so it really looks like i have IBS symptoms. I also read that IBS can start after a bad, intense enteritis, and actually i had a horrible enteritis when i was in south america last august (it was because of the water and a lot of people i know got it), and after that episode is like i've never been the same again.

The ultrasound is fairly reliable assuming you had the prep (cleansing of the bowels) prior to the ultrasound.

well, i didn't have the exact preparation, the doctor told me about that, but added that in my case he could see everything clearly, everything was very visible, there was no gas or anything that was preventing his visual

 

[RobbyH]

I would say you are in the clear then. IBS can be difficult to treat - usually you find things in your diet that will cause a flare up so you learn to eliminate certain foods. And of course, stress/anxiety will send IBS through the roof at times. It is a catch 22 - your IBS causes anxiety which in turn worsens your IBS - it is a vicious cycle.

 

[Future PA with HA]

@triceps currently on vacation and things have been much better because of DLT!

 

[triceps]

Maybe it'll catch on, but that's great news.

 

[vinbaker]

Hi guys, news here :

1- i tried to think i'm fine in these last days, just not paying much attention to my stool consistency, form, colour etc.
2- today i finally went to take an appointment to see a psicologist about my HA, i will see him on june 5th
3- i'm having an awful pollen allergy and my eyes look like the eyes of a 70 years old man, swollen and full of winkles

4- today i had 2 not solid stools (not liquid neither), so i start to hear that voice in my mind , i'm trying to fight it but it's not easy. it may be the granola with dark chocolate chips i've been eating (something new), since it's pure fiber it's probably difficult for me to digest it.

can you help me? i've been more calm and i'd like to say this way LOL, thanks guys

 

[RobbyH]

I would suggest eating more bland foods for the next several days. Don't cut out fiber totally but I would cut back on it. Too much fiber can certainly cause loose stools.

Also, as I have mentioned many times - everything you are experencing I have experienced with my IBS. I know it is very difficult to let go of but the more you worry about it, the more the IBS will flare up. It is a vicious cycle