Hi, so last easter (2017) was when i first noticed some bright red blood on the toilet paper. This happened each time i went to the loo over the next 10 days or so. Although i only went about 4 times as i was that nervous about seeing more blood. Also, my entire life up until the last couple of months, I would usually only pass a stool about every other day, obviously sometimes it was consecutive days and other times it was longer than 2 days but I’m guessing that I would generally go every other day, so I didn’t think much of it, although it could have been slight constipation. However i also had another symptom. Just before I started passing blood with the stools, my gut started making gurgling nosies, and there was a lot of flatulence (gas). I could tell the noises weren’t from my stomach and it wasn’t hunger. When the noises and flatulance stopped after about 10 days, so did the bleeding (from what i could see anyway).
Skip forward to a few days ago and there was blood on the toilet paper once again, but only the once this time (i think) and i am passing gas frequently with a gurgling abdomen. This time, i am also experiencing some pain in the abdomen area (around where i think the colon is). The pain seems like it could just be trapped gas but i am not sure. Also, there have been two occasions over the last week where i think i have shown signs that I might faint (cold sweat, lightheaded) but haven’t. I’m not sure if this is connected, because the weather is extremely hot at the moment and it might just be dehydration, or it could be that both times, i was worrying quite a lot about my symptoms and it could have just been me worrying myself sick with stress. Also, if its IBD it could be to do with anemia.
The first time I didn’t go to see a doctor as I thought with the gurgling abdomen it might have just been some kind of bug. But i told myself that if the symptoms come back I would go to a doctor.
Looking online, my symptoms would suggest colorectal cancer or inflammatory bowel disease, but after looking into IBD more, and reading other people’s experience with it, it seems less likely to be that. Others have said they would need to rush to the toilet 10 times a day and that their flare ups would last for months. This hasn’t been the case for me. That’s why i think it might be cancer.
Im scared that after doing nothing about it for 16 months, if it is cancer, I might have missed the opportunity to catch it early. I also have no idea how to tell my parents and this is another reason why I’m scared of going to the doctors as I wouldn’t want to burden them with this. I would also have to justify why i left it so long and I don’t know if i can. Another thing I’m worried about is that if it is cancer, and it’s at a survivable stage, will chemotherapy stop me from having children one day. Im 20, so when I realised it might be cancer, one of the first things that came to mind is that I might not live to be able to have kids, which really got to me, but now I’ve found out that chemotherapy can also make you infertile.
Any help would be massively appreciated, especially in relation to telling my parents about my symptoms, or whether I should wait and first go to the doctor alone, and then tell them if there is cause for concern. Thanks.
