Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => Other Health Discussion => Topic started by: honeybun on August 17, 2015, 11:21:58 AM
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I had another bit of blood in the loo this morning, same happened yesterday....so after a bit of a discussion with hubby I got a GP appointment.
I have had side pain for about a week now.
She had a good prod of my tummy and all was ok then she gave me a rectal examination and said that was fine too. She has taken blood and referred me for a sigmoidoscopy. I will probably have to wait 12 weeks.
I am in panic mode as
1....I hate hospitals. and
2.....I hate hospitals.
The doc I saw is not my favourite but she did say she did not suspect anything nasty. But the discussion was short.
Of course I have googled and people are saying it's agony.
Can someone tell me the truth please and not what you think I need to hear and then at least I will be prepared. Of course I'm not there yet and there is every chance I will bottle out due to anxiety.
Need a bit of help ladies.
Honeyb
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Not sure what I had done, but have been checked out thrice, many moons ago. I would describe my experience as uncomfortable, but not painful. What I hated was the "clean out" the day before.
Best checked out though. I will hold your hand through cyberspace.
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It isn't agony. My husband had one for the same reasons as yourself and it was a lot easier than my colonoscopy as the camera doesn't go right round the bend, only into the first part of the (sigmoid) colon and my colonoscopy wasn't that bad.
If you do the preparation they give you, take some diazepam beforehand or ask for some sedation then it is all over before you know it. My husbnad said it was no worse than the rectal exam.
Hope that helps and stop googling x
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:bighug: ………. give the dept. a ring and ask? Stop GOOGLING ! If the GP doesn't suspect anything sinister on palpation then it's to put your mind at rest ;) : however …….
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mine turned out to be internal and external haemorrhoids, husband's were internal ones. Little blighters have a lot to answer for.
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Honeybun I have had it done and it is NOT agony, if I had to have it done again, I would NOT be worried at all......I had the same symptoms as you and mine was due to Diviculitus (spelling) and a polyp......So try NOT to worry......
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I've had it done and it's not agony but I didn't like the self administered enema a few hours before very much. The procedure is done at our local surgery so that helped as I knew the staff. The procedure was over in about ten minutes. It wasn't uncomfortable for most of the time. There was one pinchy bit but nothing dreadful. I found it fascinating watching the screen. One thing I found though was that I had to go urgently for a couple of times once I get home which surprised me as I thought that everything had already been got rid of.
I was worried about it upsetting my bowel but by the next day everything was back to normal - or as normal as I ever seem to get bowel-wise!
Taz x
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Had 2 so far and yes the worse bit is the prep stuff the day before. Both times they really didn't think there was a real problem, but the older you get, the more likely they will refer you for one. Both times nothing wrong, just functional.Belt and braces really. We will all being virtually holding your hand if you need it! Meanwhile, plan some treats to help take your mind off it.
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Thanks all.
I know it's a bit daft but the thing that worries me most is the journey too and from the hospital as it's about 40 mins away. Will I need to go on the way, or the way back for that matter. Oh I'm so bad at this kind of thing and anything stomach or bowel related sends me into a panic.
Do you get any sedation or is it not needed.
I'm overthinking this aren't I.
Honeybun
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I had to take prep 24 hours before. Most of the running to loo was over within a few hours & didn't need again until after the examination. You may need something to keep you calm on the day, but I wasn't offered anything. My brother has had this procedure done a few times in recent years & said it really wasn't as bad as he'd feared.
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Both my parents have had this. Neither complained of pain, and believe me they would have. Only problem we had with Mum was when I had to have her moved nearer to the loo as she was placed too far away, but I got her there and back on the journey fine, and my Dad.
Hope they get you sorted and put your mind at rest soon x
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That's my worry Honeybun - but I think that once the preparation has cleared the bowel that feeling of a 'need to go' won't be there. That's what the prep is for.
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I have had it done twice in the past and I would personally ask for sedation as I found it very painful at certain points in the test but I know loads of others that only find it uncomfortable. I was told my bowel was gripping the scope which meant they had to put in alot of air so this probably is why I found it painful. They do not offer sedations routinely but you can ask for it and they will give you it. You then have to wait 30 mins after the test before they will let you home rather than being able to leave straight away.
At my hospital they give you an enema when you arrive which is not exactly nice but okay. I did find that once home I kept passing what looked like clear gel but this was the remains of the enema. I was perfectly okay by later evening on the day I had it done.
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Hello honeybun and so sorry that you are having this trouble.
I've had two Colonoscopies with sedation which was delivered through a canula in the wrist and I was so relaxed and happy that I actually smiled at my husband which I hadn't felt inclined to do for a long time lol.
Like you I was worried about the journey as the hospital is about an hour away but the prep includes instructions about how much to take and when and this is worked out according to your appointment time. I never had any problems with needing the loo while travelling.
Hand on heart I can say both experiences were fine, no awkwardness or pain and although the prep is yuk you just need to stay near the loo while it does it's thing.
I wish you well honeybun, it seems this procedure in another one we tend to encounter as we age and it truly isn't at all bad.
Take care.
K.
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Oh thank you Kathleen....it's the distance from the hospital that worries me although we pass both my sister and mother on the way.
Oh well...I will just have to get on with things when they get here. Lots of you have done it and that gives me courage.
Not looking forward to my loo trip in the morning....hope it has gone.
Honeybun
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I know it's a bit daft but the thing that worries me most is the journey too and from the hospital as it's about 40 mins away. Will I need to go on the way, or the way back for that matter.
OH had a colonoscopy a couple of years ago, he found the clearing himself out to be the most tedious thing. He had to take stuff the day before but it took effect pretty quickly and all was sorted by the time he had to get there for 8am the next day. We had a journey of 40 minutes too.
You should be fine, the stuff they give you to clear you out should have taken effect by the time you travel. What time is your appointment?
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Not a clue Limpy. Could be at least 12 weeks before I even here anything.
Just hope it's not that early as I think with this test you have to give yourself an enema on the day. Think I may well change my diet....well not eat a lot for a couple of days beforehand.
Honeybun
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You do have to give yourself an enema HB - it's simple to administer but you do have to be very close to the loo. I lay down on our downstairs loo floor to do mine. I took a book in with me and just waited for it to take effect. Couldn't risk anyone else being in there at the crucial moment!!
It's not necessary to change your diet for a sigmoidoscopy and I don't think you have to fast on the day of the procedure either from what I remember. It did work very efficiently!
Taz x
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Every hospital seems to have different protocols. At mine you didn't have to do anything before arrival and a nurse gave me the enema and then you were sent to the waiting room and told where the two toilets were :o thankfully close at hand and I assume they didn't do more than two people at once but who knows ;D
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Blood again this morning :-\. Oh I so don't like this. My imagination goes into overdrive and my anxiety just rockets.
I'm going to go back to a doctor I can actually talk to soon and get her to explain things better to me then I might just be able to cope with this.
Honeyb
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Could be a polyp a pile or even an anal fissure....very common at our age :) and just to add sigmoidoscopy is fine, I had one many yrs ago, apart from feeling like I really needed to push, it was over within minutes, pls try to relax, I would rather have one of them anyday than the colonscopy...:)
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I know it is easier said than done,but try not to worry HB.
Thinking of you and sending you a big :hug:
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I watched a YouTube clip of Lynn Faulds Wood having one done. Cuba Girl told me about it and I found it very reassuring.
I just wish my lower left tummy pain would ease up a bit. It's not terribly painful but it's a constant reminder things are not right.
Health anxiety is the pits.
Honeybun
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I understand how you feel HB :hug:
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Glad you found it reassuring HB. Wasn't sure in case it scared you more, considering she's a bowel cancer survivor.
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sounds like your colon might be grumbling a bit. Can you take Colofac or Buscopan to relax it?
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Not taking anything except paracetamol for the pain.
I do have Buscopan and also Mebeverine but I'm not sure they would help
I'm just not sure what to eat. I think I need to rest things until this pain settles but it's difficult to know what to do for the best at the moment.
Dreading the morning visit to the loo. :-\
Honeybun
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you won't know unless you try, why be in discomfort?
perhaps a bland, low residue diet. your local pharmacist should be able to help and make suggestions.
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Good point....and I'm really annoyed that my hubby told my daughter and now she is worried about me.
I didn't want that...she was going to be out of this particular loop.
Oh well too late now.
Honeybun
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I learnt quite some time ago that if I wanted to keep things from my sons then I had to keep it from the husband too! He could never keep it to himself. I'm sure she wants to support you, though, having said that. I remember as a daughter being really flummoxed when my mum didn't tell me she was undergoing tests for diabetes and she said "Wait till you have children then you'll understand" and now, of course, I do.
Taz x
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Well my son dropped in a little while ago to show us a car he has bought.....hubby restrained himself. ::)
Whether daughter did the same I'm not sure as her and her brother spoke for a while outside before they drove off.
Oh well. I'm sure this will pass and I will find out what's going on and then I can stop worrying.
Honeybun
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Would starving for 24 hours ease symptoms? i.e. drinking plenty but eating only toast or boiled rice?
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How are you today HB?
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Still got the lower left side pain and still a bit of bleeding this morning when I go to the loo.
Really not happy about this at all. I get my blood test results either Friday or Monday so hopefully they will be one less thing to worry about.
I'm not eating much CLKD. Just trying to rest things and certainly no fibre at the moment.
Bit fed up.
Honeybun
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Is the pain wind maybe, trapped in a coil? Have you tried gentle massage of the belly area - moving the palm of the hand over the belly button in small movements getting wider until the hip area is involved. If it's wind you will feel it moving ::) and feel it gurgling until it passes into the lower colon on it's way to the bowel and out.
What was the blood test for?
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By self diagnosing from when the GP said about three years ago it was diverticulitis. I have a pouch or two that have formed in my bowel. Stuff gets stuck and then get infected and that's what causes the pain and presumably the bleeding.
The blood test is for signs of infection and also anaemia.
When I think about it the doctor was not very forthcoming about what happens if the blood tests pick up on anything.
Needless to say I'm worried because if the inflammation gets too bad then it can cause a very big blood loss. I'm terrified of going to the loo.
I'm in a bit of a state to be honest.
Honeybun
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I think heavy bleeding is un-likely - so go to the LOO it may well ease other symptoms ;)
Take a crossword book and sit, feet up slightly and let Nature work …….. holding out won't help symptoms overall!
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Oh I've been for today.....really don't want to add constipation to my woes. ::)
More chicken for dinner....going to start clucking soon.
Honeybun
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Oh heck Honeyb.
Worrying won't help you at all, I know it's easier said than done but it really won't help.
You mentioned something about diverticulitis a few years ago, was that the definite diagnosis?
Anyway, please don't fret.
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Would eating little and often be better?
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I can see how you are worried about the bleeding honeybun but I would have thought your doc would have started you on the antibiotics straight away if he/she was concerned that you were having an attack? I have a friend with this but when she has an attack she feels so ill. High temperature, vomiting or feeling really sick, flu like symptoms. She has to go to bed. Bleeding is usually prevented by the antibiotics being taken quickly enough.
The heavy bleeding is a concern if the pouches have sort of grown into the blood vessels I think - something like that. My friend has to have a colonoscopy every year to check on how they are developing. This, together with her following the recommended diet, means that she has been attack-free for almost three years now. She hates the colonoscopy but hates the diverticular attacks even more.
Taz x :hug:
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I don't feel ill Tazz, although a bit off colour and have felt a bit sick a couple of times. Certainly nothing like your friend.
Maybe she doesn't think it's that at all. She did press really hard on that side of my tummy and although a bit uncomfortable it was not very painful. Perhaps the blood tests will show if any infection is present or not.
It's a sort of nippy pain. If I bend over it hurts a bit more as if something is getting squished up a bit.
Some of my symptoms point towards diverticular issues but I have never had the constipation that seems to go hand in hand with it.
Oh heck I don't know.....all I know is, it hurts a bit and I'm loosing blood from where I shouldn't albeit just a little bit.
Honeybun
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Bright blood
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Yep, bright red :o
Honeybun
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Fresh blood then, not being held up anywhere ;) - I would be concerned were it black ………
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That's what my sister said too.
Hey ho
Honeybun
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I have, mostly external and ummm big. It's just the pain that makes me think it's something else.
Honeybun
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Sounds like Diviculitus to me....same symptoms as I had..
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Ellie, I have sent you a PM.
Honeybun
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I have replied honeybun.
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Thank you Ellie
:foryou: :thankyou:
Honeybun
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Anytime :bighug:
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;D ………..
How are U this evening? Does housework make it worse ;)
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Ellie has made things so much better.
Given the fact of what she is going through with her back I'm incredibly grateful for her help.
Not so scared now.
Housework CLKD...now I wish I could have an excuse not to do that ::)
Honeybun
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I know it's so difficult HB - seeing blood in the loo is just not right. I have had many sigmoidoscopy and they are not agonising - they are uncomfortable but sometimes sedation is possible if you ask. I always have sedation as my bum is very narrowed as I had a bag 39 yrs ago. Bright red blood suggest fresh blood like haemorrhoids or split - coffee grain colour / consistency tends to be more worrying.
I hoe you don't have to wait 12 weeks - could you phone and explain you will accept cancellation ? Health anxiety is awful but surely if GP was concerned you would have been fast tracked?
All the best HB xxxxxxx