Looking for Support (21, Female)

[allysmith9]

Hi,

I recently joined HealthUnlocked to look for some form of support. In February of 2019, I experienced a sudden and sharp pain around my belly button during a shift at work. I pushed through my shift and went home, cuddled up with a heating pad, and went to sleep. I woke up later that night with a sudden fever. It went down an hour later, and everything was back to normal. The pain went away after 2 days and I felt better. This was the first time this ever happened, and everything was so sudden that it threw me off greatly. However, it was reoccurring, and I noticed my stools became a little more flat in girth versus width; no pencil thin but no sausage shape either; imagine a stepped on sausage. I went to my primary doctor and we discussed IBS. Out of fear, I declined seeing a GI doctor. I felt fine for the following years with little discomfort, my stools were never "normal" per-say but they weren't bad either. I always had to use the bathroom often, and sometimes many times per day, but other than that it was on and off and easy for me to live with. Fast forward to November 4th, 2020, I was at work once more when another sudden fever hit me. With covid going on an all, I admit to believe it could've been covid at first, but the fever went away after an hour and a half. It was the following week and a half that worried me most. My eyes felt heavier and I felt generally a little more tired. I had gotten a cold, and my head hurt quite a bit. I could barely use the rest room which wasn't as weird as I always had a mix of constipation and diarrhea, but I wasn't used to not being able to use the bathroom at all. Just once or twice a day. Then there was pain in my lower left abdomen and back; and this carried on for multiple days before I finally decided to go to primary physician to get a referral to a doctor on November 17th; it was strange because on this day I felt full of energy and fine again; the sleepiness I was feeling was gone. (Keeping in mind, I'm a full time college student with a fucked up schedule so my fatigue could've also been from late nights and little sleep, but I'm staying open-minded). I spoke to my doctor and we discussed a referral to a GI, finally. As someone with really bad anxiety, I was genuinely scared, because I default to the worst case scenario. My doctor also considered the possibility of Endometriosis, which my mom has actually. My mom also has GI issues herself. It's been 2 weeks and I still haven't heard anything from the GI doctor, but it's been okay. Today my stool had like, a marbling affect to it. It was like a dark green maybe black, looked like little pebbles. But in general i've felt fine. Only a dull pain in my back as a whole but I've also had a busy week at work lifting heavy things. I forgot to mention that my stool often has mucus in it, too. I've been thinking it's maybe just a more severe IBS flare-up, or it could be ulcerative colitis or chrons, severe endometriosis; though I don't even want to consider that it could be anything super severe. I admit I don't have the best diet, and I don't exercise as much as I probably should, my mom says that this could worsen my symptoms too.

I'm thinking I should push for a colonoscopy or a sigmoidoscopy when I do get to the GI specialist?

[Nicole_GCCA Partner]

Hello allysmith9 ,Thanks for posting and I'm sorry to read about what you are going through. The anxiety symptoms can cause is very real - and unfortunately, anxiety can make existing GI issues even worse.

It is important to see both a Gastroentergoloist but likely a Gynecologist as well given your mom's history with endometriosis. And it will be important for both of your specialists to be in contact with each other with test results.

There are so many reasons that you could be experiencing these symptoms, and the only way for your doctor to give you a diagnosis, or to rule out many diseases, including colorectal cancer, will be to get an exam and tests.

Bring notes to your doctor to let them know what you've experienced, and ask questions about why your doctor is ordering certain tests. If a colonoscopy is not one of the tests they are offering to you, ask why, and if you feel that you need it, you need to be your own health advocate to get the tests you feel you need. Personally, I prefer a colonoscopy to other tests because of what the doctors can see (and even treat) while performing the procedure.

There are benefits and risks to every test, so be sure to have that conversation with your doctors.

Please keep us posted and we wish you the best - and hope you feel better!

~Nicole @ GCCA