Colon cancer or IBS

[Jlo198751]

Hello! So I’m 32 and have had diarrhea since my 20’s maybe even earlier I’ve noticed it’s triggered at times by the foods I eat. No abdominal pain no weight loss no blood in stool. I’m just worried cause my stool does come out different colors sometimes thin as well my anxiety has been all over the place since I’ve started to google and of course the Internet says cancer. I’ve talked to a GI doctor who said I don’t have cancer but my mind won’t stop worrying any encouraging words would be awesome or is there anyone that goes through the same thing

[Banjoblue]

My mother went through years of problems, either rampant painful diarrhoea or constipation. Turns out it's a wheat allergy. She cut out all wheat, and I mean ALL wheat, which was hard ! She improved within a week.

It may be very difficult to do but if you can just try it and see if it helps. Failing that see if you can be referred to a dietitian and see if they can come up with a plan or ideas for you. Best wishes.

[Jlo198751 in reply to Banjoblue]

Thank you

My anxiety is at an all time high right now

[Banjoblue in reply to Jlo198751]

Stress can be a big factor with ibs related things. It's a vicious circle unfortunately. But please try the wheat/ diet thing if you can. It was a game changer for my mother.

[Sunil4413]

I had same anxiety like you so I went to do colonoscopy which will give you clear details and you will be free of anxiety

[xjrs]

Have you had stool sample and blood tests to rule out issues other than IBS such as coeliac, inflammatory bowel disease etc.?:

nhs.uk/conditions/irritable...

Statistically far more people will come back with an IBS diagnosis than anything else.

Assuming you have been diagnosed with IBS, here is some information about IBS that I have shared with others in this group:

IBS can be due to a number or combination of factors - these can be stress (including stress from early life experiences) which impacts the communication between the brain and the digestive system. There are lots of free webinars online at the moment regarding mindfulness meditation which might help. Plus you can ask to be referred for CBT or something similar to reduce your anxiety - I would have thought online appointments are available. Exercise can play a major role in IBS in terms of reducing stress, helping your gut microbiome and regulating bowel movements.

There is also not absorbing certain types of carbohydrates called FODMAPs very well, the residue ending up in the colon and bacteria feeding off them causing symptoms. Ordinarily feeding gut bacteria is a really good thing - when you feed good gut bacteria these produce by-products that have great health effects in the gut and throughout the body. However, in some people with IBS bad bugs might have the upper hand over good - these bad bugs may cause symptoms such as excess gas, pain or disordered bowel movements. There is an interesting infographic on this here:

gutmicrobiotaforhealth.com/....

This is why it’s worth trying probiotics such as Alflorex (which has been scientifically studied for IBS) or Symprove to crowd out the bad bugs and make their numbers die down. If that doesn't work you can try the FODMAP elimination and reintroduction diet. This is normally under the guidance of a nutritionist via GP referral - this may not be possible at the moment so you can read about it online. If you download the Monash University FODMAP app it will tell you which foods contain FODMAPs and in what quantities. You can eliminate all FODMAPs for 2 weeks and then introduce each type of FODMAP one at a time starting in small quantities, increasing over a 3 day period and wait up to 4 days for symptoms. I go much slower than this - only introducing a small amount (1/4 to 1/3 of a normal portion size) of the same food for 3 days and then increase if tolerable or no symptoms and cut back to the previous amount if symptoms for longer and then try to increment again . I've read your microbiome can adapt to handling a new food if introduced very slowly and your bad bugs are under control with a good probiotic. Ideally you want to eat as many FODMAPs as you can since they are good for your health. Many people with IBS don't have diverse gut bacteria - it has been found that people who lack a diverse microbiome are more prone to diseases in general. In the long run, if you can get your symptoms under control, the ideal situation is to have a very varied diet - lots of different coloured fruits and vegetables, a variety of protein and carbohydrate sources including cereal fibres. This may seem a long way off, but with the right treatment all of this is possible. Last year all I could consume to control my IBS was white rice, protein and limited low fodmap veg. Using the approach above (particularly introducing Alflorex) I am now able to consume far more foods - more than I've ever dreamed of including wholewheat bread which is unheard of for me.

If you are also suffering from pain, you may be suffering from visceral hypersensitivity (functional abdominal pain) - there is info about it here:

iffgd.org/lower-gi-disorder...

It is where the brain interprets the normal activity of the bowel as pain - this is due to a wearing down of neurons in pain control centres of the brain which can be caused by PTSD, neglect or abuse in childhood, extreme stressful events etc. The first line treatment is nerve pain agents such as low dose amitriptyline. There is a theory that being on something like amitriptyline for 6-12 months can help the pain control centre neurons to regenerate. Note that amitriptyline can cause constipation, but this can be helpful in people who are diarrhea dominant. Unfortunately I couldn't tolerate these. Linaclotide (for IBS-C only) & Alflorex have helped me with this intestinal pain.

You may also find assistance with anti-spasmodic medication such as mebeverine (Colofac) or enteric coated peppermint.

You can find some info on self management here:

theibsnetwork.org/the-self-...

[Emubird]

I don’t think it’s uncommon to fear the worst as you hear stories that it was missed in those that get cancer. It is most likely to be IBS and goes hand in hand with anxiety. Have you ever had any investigations bearing in mind you’ve had it for so long? Eg colonoscopy? Although the fact that you have had it so long would indicate more IBS.

[Jlo198751 in reply to Emubird]

Hi so my GI doctor is sending me in for test on Thursday and to put my mind at ease she will schedule a colonoscopy but yes the Internet is the worst I’ve been doing nothing but googling and watching YouTube stories

[Lisa_Ann in reply to Jlo198751]

Hi hope you are ok. Did you ever get checked out? Xx

[Jlo198751 in reply to Lisa_Ann]

Hey so I completed an Ultrasound my GI doctor said it was normal I feel it may be my anxiety that makes me think the worse