So, late last year, I was struggling with pain and blood in my stool.  I was anaemic, but my GP said it was clear from the panel that I was eating correctly.  She concluded I must be bleeding somewhere.

I don’t menstruate, so they did a FIT test.  After the results, they got me to repeat this.  My reading was 82 and I was referred to Gastro on a two-week urgent referral.  About a month later, I spoke with a consultant on the phone who told me 82 isn’t really high as the threshold is 80, and they’re planning to raise the threshold so if I got the test next year, it might not even mean a referral.  I’ve since learned that the government is actually looking at LOWERING the threshold, so I’m a bit sceptical about this guy. 

I finally had a sigmoidoscopy today.  They only managed to get 50cm in as I have a sharp turn in my colon that they couldn’t proceed past - they have sent this information back to the consultant and told me he may want to do nothing, order a CT, or repeat a sigmoidoscopy using a paediatric scope.

During the procedure, they found no indication of cancer or any reason for bleeding, however, I do have diverticula forming.  There wasn’t inflammation so, again, unlikely to be causing bleeding.

Some weeks, I am really struggling with the bowel issues.  I’ve lost 50kg in the last year and a half, and I see spots when I stand up - I have fainted from getting out of my car too quickly.

I really don’t want this to just be the end of it and have to accept all of this as my new normal.  I thought that today, whatever they found would be the answer.  I just feel nervous now that nothing will happen and I’ll be left to suffer.  The nurse doing my discharge told me to repeat all of this to the consultant and be a squeaky wheel. 

Has anyone had a similar story and do you have any advice for what I should be pushing for?