Hi

I had/have all these symptoms except for the weight loss and had them a long time.

I waited about 3 and a half weeks for my telephone consultation then had my colonoscopy a week and a half after that. They are definetly not meeting the wait times.

In my case everything was fine as far as cancer goes, no signs of anything in my bowel and now I am getting further tests for allergies etc.

Many things can cause these symptoms inlcuding chrons disease, colitis,diverticulitis and so on so try to keep an open mind.

Wishing your relative all the best

Hi, I'm a 62 Yr old male. I sent a fit test kit in to be found positive. I had no symptoms whatsoever before the test. Before the result was given to me I passed blood. 2 weeks later I was offered a colonoscopy which found 3 tumours, 2 got removed there and then, 1 was left as too large to be removed with the colonoscopy probe. Got MRI and CT scan 1 week later, 2 weeks for result which showed "cell division". 1 week later a biopsy taken, 2 weeks later told was cancer. This example is for time scale purposes only. But from your description of the symptoms, this exactly matches what I got after the removal of the cancer  and that was clostridiode difficile  which I got from the hospital. Its a disease of the colon which causes cramping and diarrhoea. Mine flared up at home and had to be hospitalised for a week. Again the first part of this reply is for time scale, but be assured they go flat out on this topic, they may not meet the target set by the government, but bowl cancer/issues are rife at the moment, government not realistic on their targets. Fit tests are offered to all 60yr old and now some 55 Yr old. They are inundate with samples yet have not provided the manpower or facilities to deal with them all. And the more you send out, the more chances of a positive test been found. Be patient, see GP again regarding temp medication for relief.

Thank you for your response! I am glad to hear that it all came back clear for you and wish you the best with your on-going investigations. What kind of allergies are they testing for? 

I have been wondering what further tests should be done in the event that the colonscopy comes back clear. Hopefully receiving the faecal calprotectin result today which I believe is an indicator of IBD. 

Thank you for the reassurance - hopefully we can get some answers soon and he will get better. 

Thank you for sharing your experience. I am sorry to hear about your diagnosis and hope you make a good recovery. I am glad you got booked in for a colonscopy within 2 weeks! Did you have a telephone consultation prior?

I need to check whether C.diff was tested for already. Is it possible to have c.diff for that long and cause a positive FIT test? Thank you for bringing that to my attention; I will check which stool tests came back negative. I know for sure that parasites came back negative but unsure what other tests were done. 

It is a shame that targets are not being met, but understandable considering the pressure on the NHS. My relative is young (late 20s) so I wonder if that is an added factor as to why he has not been booked in yet.

Hi, thanks for getting back. I did not have a telephone consultation, it was a face to face meeting , 100 mile round trip, I wish it had been a telephone conversation as it only lasted 10 mins. C-diff can last a long time if untreated, it is a rise in bacteria of a certain strain, which can be kept at bay by good bacteria ( probiotic yoghurts etc). It usually requires antibiotics of a certain type to treat for about 10 day minimum. I'm not saying it is c diff, but it's a possibility. CT and MRI scans can spot anomalies without being intrusive, but colonoscopy gives you an exact internal view of the colon and any problems within. I would have thought your GP would have given a prescription for this even if to rule it out whilst waiting. Also positive fit test only mean traces of blood in stool NOTHING ELSE. further checks will pin point the root cause. Could be piles, tears in bowl lining, or sadly in my case cancer. Easy to say not to fret, but got to be patient, you will not rush them, accuracy more important than speed.

Again thanks for reply, hope things get sorted soon.

Regards

Paul.

Oh dear, that is a journey! 

It is not clear what exactly was requested as the GP still has not given us access to all the results. It is possible c.diff has already been excluded but will follow up on that. 

The faecal calprotectin result came back positive with levels of around 1600 which is high. GP has not discussed it yet but I assume this is looking like inflammatory bowel disease? The FIT test value was 43. CRP and white blood cells/neutrophils also came back elevated which points towards inflammation. I guess the colonscopy will give us a clearer picture of what is going on. Interestingly, vitamin B12 came back high - not sure what this means; but folate was low. 

Now it is just a waiting game. Thank you for the reassurance!

Thanks for getting back. This must be really annoying for you, doctors testing samples, not telling you what they are looking for, or ruling out. I always say knowledge is power, the more info you have the less susceptible you feel. I'd push for another gp appointment to clarify what has been checked  the reason and the results explained. I have a stoma nurse and a colorectal nurse who keep me informed of everything, what and why of each part of the treatment, and even though I have no medical experience, it's my body ,I have a right to know what's going on, I'm not an experimental rat. This applies in your case, you may have to up the pressure on the powers that be. Hope you make some progress on this matter.

Again good to talk and share experiences. 

Regards

Paul.