Concerned, nervous…

[HersheyDropz]

where do I begin…aside from apologizing in advance for this photo.. just showing only a little bit of what I’ve been experiencing this past year.

well I’m currently writing this on 12/16/2023.

I am getting a colonoscopy/endoscopy done on 12/18/2023.

I SUCK at writing, but I don’t honestly have anyone else to turn to or talk to about all of this so I am giving it a go…

I’m a 30F, recently diagnosed with “mild fatty liver”I also have PCOS, Bipolar w/Severe Depression + Anxiety

I have been having some pretty weird GI issues these past couple of years, but 2023 has been the worst of it all..

It seems like 1-3 times a month I get so sick right after eating.Doesn’t even matter what I eat. I don’t honestly know what triggers all of these symptoms. It’s not the vomiting kind of sick either (but I do get bad nausea and come close to vomiting) but more like my body doesn’t digest my food all the way and I literally see pieces of it coming out with intense diarrhea like 1-4 hours later after eating. Impossible right? But it’s been happening to me.

scariest part is when I’m having bad diarrhea and I start passing blood and mucus. This has happened twice this year within the past few weeks.

I also notice when I get sick like this I almost ALWAYS see those long stringy mucus things.

Also before my stool turns into watery diarrhea I do notice grooves in them sometimes.

Again, the pictures I showed are from recent months of getting sick like this.

I did a stool test in July and it showed I was Borderline for Calprotectin. Got ultrasounds done (which is how I found out I had mild Fatty Liver) other then that nothing else showed. the first time I experience the bloody mucus diarrhea I went to the ER and the CT scan came back normal. So when it happened to me again I didn’t bother going back to the ER since I’m getting a colonoscopy/ endoscopy soon.

In 2017 I had a sigmoidoscopy/endoscopy done. The doctor did not diagnose me with anything. Only told me I had “redness” in my lower colon, internal hemorrhoids, and redness in my duodenum. Also told me I most likely had IBS.

Been dealing with these intense symptoms for a while but nothing compared to this… these past few months have been so hard for me. I’m so scared to eat..it feels like Russian Roulette…don’t know if I will end up sick or not.

I honestly am afraid I won’t get the same diagnosis this time, but I am staying positive. Trying to. I know my age is young, but things happen. And whatever the heck I am dealing with is definitely affecting my life.

im sharing this in hopes that someone can relate to what I’m going through.

I also want to thank anyone who took their time reading this. Means a lot.

[GCCA-Survivor Administrator]

Hi HersheyDropz,

Thanks for posting with us. I hate to hear about what you’re going through, but I am impressed with what you’re doing about it. You are on the right path to getting the answers you’re looking for. I like that you realize you are young and that is overall beneficial, but things can happen at any age. I always tell people to never accept a diagnosis based on your age. “It can’t be that. You’re too young”. You already know that. Awesome!!👍

I know you have a colonoscopy tomorrow. As a part of my surveillance, I get an annual colonoscopy, an annual CT scan, annual blood work, and every three years I get an endoscopy. I must say that I do look forward to it because when I get put under with the drug propofol. It is the most restful experience I could ever imagine. I look forward to it. I mind as well as I must have it done anyway.

My colonoscopy2-cents: Move to timeline up an hour and a half on the preparation both the day before and the day of. This way you will be more relaxed and get a good night’s sleep the night before, and the next day you won’t be looking for a bathroom while heading to the procedure. I also add lime Gatorade to the mix of the prep to help with flavor. You think it’s too thick, you can always add more water.

Anytime there’s blood in the stool, there needs to be an answer for it. Were you told it was due to the internal hemorrhoids? That could be the cause of the grooves and the blood in the stool. After the endoscopy, what were you told about the redness in the duodenum? When I was doing my clinical trial with an immunotherapy drug, the duodenum was one of the organs that my immune system attacked. Because that happened, I had to have a gastrojejunostomy which is a form of stomach bypass. Eating has never been the same. If I eat too much of something it may or may not cause diarrhea. If I eat a leafy salad, I find I don’t digest the leaves completely and see them in the stool. I have moved to include powdered greens in smoothies in efforts to help me process more of the nutrients from my meals. There are foods that I can tolerate and do well with. I don’t venture too far outside my known circle of foods. If I do, it might be OK and then again it might be a complete disaster. But that’s something you learn.

I do hope you find out from your procedures what’s going on and can get on a path to being well. What you have going on could be caused by many different things. You are certainly having enough tests that you should get a good diagnosis of what’s happening. Whatever is causing redness in the duodenum may be the cause of you not processing foods properly. I do hope you get more information about that and can determine what you need to do.

Another thing to think about is if there are any medical situations within your family that could be hereditary. This would be good information for your doctor to know as well.

Please let us know what you find out. That type of information can definitely be some help to others on this site as well. You have a lot going on and I hope you get in a path to being well soon.

Thank you,

~Tom, GCCA Survivor - Colon Cancer Connected Site Administrator.

Just a reminder - this group is here to offer support, share experiences, and offer our thoughts - but this is not medical advice, and you should always consult your medical professional(s). Additionally, for all emergencies, seek urgent medical care, never delay.

[Mondlee]

definitely can relate, you had your colonoscopy today which is 18/12/2023, do update us

[Mondlee]

so what is your result from the colonoscopy