Hello,

I am sorry to post but I am looking for others experience or some advice around what I should be expecting just now. I am sorry if this isn’t on the right board/forum, I’ve only accessed these for the first time this evening and haven’t navigated the whole website fully. I am autistic and struggle to ask for clarity at the time during my appointments but I am so anxious and unsure around who I should be phoning to find out what the next steps are, so I thought I would see if anyone has been through similar please.

I am a 33 year old female, have had a 4 month history of what I can only describe as chronic constipation. I have never been constipated before in my life, but since August I have been having at least 2 weeks constipation, brief spell of “usual” bowel movements, then right back to the cycle of constipation. I have felt a lot of pressure and pain during these constipated periods, but when I have eventually been able to pass a stool it hasn’t been hard/dry, it has been soft but little/thin. Prior to passing any stool, I was in a lot of pain and when I looked in the toilet bowl after not passing anything, I sometimes found I had passed liquid stool/diarrhoea without me being aware or passing anything “solid”. I have lost 2 stone since August without trying and have have 2 episodes of rectal bleeding - I only noticed once I’d gone to the toilet, it was painless and didn’t seem “a great deal” but certainly enough to drip/turn the toilet water red. Apologies for TMI.

I saw my GP on Tuesday and she did a rectal exam and found “a lump”. She also examined my stomach though so I am now unsure if she meant she felt a lump in my stomach or my rectum. My bloods (previously taken by the Practice Nurse) came back as low iron and I’m still awaiting the results of my FIT test. She said she was going to refer me to Colorectal and I then left the surgery. But now I have so many questions and feel so ashamed for not asking for clarity. But what will Colorectal do? Is there a further rectal exam done by them? What are the possible causes of this “lump”? Can the lump (whatever it is) be the cause of constipation? She asked if I wanted a laxative prescription but I declined because my stool has never been hard/dry, it’s just like my body doesn’t manage to pass the stool. But now I’m wondering if I should have taken that? I don’t understand the difference between a laxative and a stool softener (the latter I have bought an over-the-counter version recently).

Long story short I am very worried about what this could be, but mainly around the lack of certainty for the “next steps”. Do I phone my GP practice or find the number for Colorectal to seek clarity? Or do I wait to hear from somebody? How long would people usually wait before chasing up? Sorry I know I should have asked at the time, I just find these things incredibly overwhelming at the best of times, never mind when she just bluntly tells me she felt a “lump” and I’ll need to be seen by Colorectal. Other than the constipation I am not in pain, but very anxious around what to do next.

Thank you for reading.