Hi, 27 years old. "Diagnosed" (and I say the term loosely as no tests carried out) with IBS back in 2018 (stomach aches, swapping between constipation and diarrhoea after eating certain foods). September 2024 had a streak of bright red blood in faeces, not a lot, but enough for me to notice. Then had it twice again October. Current symptoms are excess mucous in stools, small amount of visible blood in stool (however, it could just be orange mucous), constipation, feeling like I need to go but can't, or just passing said mucus.

All bloods came back within range, faecal calprotectin came back as <33, coeliac, culture & sensitivity and h.pylori all came back as negative. Awaiting FIT test to be delivered from the lab. GP felt abdomen, soft and palpable, no pain or tenderness. I know that the next steps from here will be a colonoscopy if the fit is positive or symptoms persist.

I suffer quite bad with health anxiety anyway, but this has me terrified. I have spent the last 3 weeks absolutely wracked with fear. Funnily enough, I'm a nurse, so I should know better than self diagnosing and Dr Google.

Any similar experiences that turned out to be less sinister?