Rectal pain pressure

Hi all I would really appreciate your thoughts/experience. Since mid December I have been feeling a pressure like feeling in back passage area along with straining when I pass stools. There is intermittent mild pain almost like a pulsating pain. I have had streaks of bright red blood on toilet paper a couple of times but no bleeding from rectum or mixed in with poo. I Constantly feel as though I haven’t full evacuated and like something is stuck there. I have had bouts of diarrhoea in between but they usually only last for a few hours or at most a day. What is concerning me is that my stools are thinner not pencil thin or ribbon like but definitely narrower. I have suffered from bowel issues for Years especially constipation but GP always put it down to IBS and advised to drink more water and increase fiber intake. My GP doesn’t take me at seriously and puts my symptoms down to stress/anxiety So earlier this month I self referred to a colorectal surgeon whom I saw a couple of weeks ago. He said that although my symptoms are “vague” he is concerned about the pressure I’m experiencing. so I will be having MRI and scope but on NHS as I cannot afford private investigations. When I asked him if I should be worried he said at present time it’s impossible for him to say. I am stressing myself out as I work in cancer services and so am convincing myself it’s either anal or rectal cancer! I suffer from anxiety and in particular health anxiety I know google doesn’t help but only thing To explain my symptoms is the big C word...I’m due to start a new job in 2 weeks timing couldn’t be worse. All thoughts and advice welcome.

  • Ha ent been on here for a while. Thought I'd chime in. It is all related to stress and simply just thinking about it. I always tend to get a flare up this time of year. I have been great for 7 or 8 months but for some reason around this time of year I start to think about it again. As soon as I think about it I can't stop and the dull ache comes back. The worst thing we can do is dwell on it. It just feeds the problem. We have had it for such a long time now if it was anything serious we would probably be very very ill by now or even dead. So I can 100 percent say its a mind body issue. I am fine when I'm asleep and distracted. The pelvic floor muscles just go into tension because we are frightened of something. I am going through a very stressful time at the moment and for some reason I thought to myself I hope I don't get that pain again. And low and behold it's back lol. 

  • Hi RS647

     despite the time frame since you posted the above message, i can totally sympathise and to be

    honest apart from the blood loss, i could have written the article myself. how did you get on ? i do hope that you got closure on the problem. im irrigating at home and have been for almost 5 years after suffering from AML and the after effects of 7 courses of chemotherapy. 2 STARR surgeries later,

    i still suffer from chronic rectal pain, only eased by either sitting which eases by about 4/10, however if i lie down the pain is almost totally gone. mechanical in presentation, the pressure increases to almost unbearable pressure, which surmounts then to score 9/10. i use a shooting stick, a portable chair on a walking stick frame which i use to sit on. this puts pressure to my perineum and reduces the pain to around 5/10 until i get a better seat, or better still get home. can anyone else relate to this kind of pain please, as i can't find any reference or help online, at my GP or nhs trust. currently awaiting a private consultation hopefully to removal of my rectum and a pain free life ?? 

  • Did you ever find out? Mine started with a UTI and BV (or thrush) too and I have the same feeling of fullness. I also get burning and an ache feeling. Worse when I'm tired or thinking about it and better when I'm asleep.

    I've had it a few times in the past as a antidepressant withdrawal symptom and it went away by itself each time. This time it came on for no reason and hasn't gone away, it's been over a week. I also get pins and needles around the area which I can feel when I prod around. I have been extremely stressed and anxious lately with some tension but I can't understand how that would cause whatever this is, no other part of my body feels this bad no matter how tense I get. My biggest worry is nerve damage/pudendal neuralgia etc.

  • I've found your post very interesting, I've been suffering for nearly 3 months now, it all started with one episode of bright red rectal bleeding that stoped almost straight away, the following day the pressure started, and hasn't really gone away, it's worse some days than others.

    I've had several internal examinations where nothing was felt, a CT scan of my abdo that was all clear, FIT test that is negative but today have blood results of low ferritin ? Anemia. I'm just wondering if you had any of this?

  • Hi Tishy and welcome to Cancer Chat.

    I just wanted to stop by as I noticed you were hoping to hear back from Steamboy.

    Unfortunately they haven't been back on the forum since making that post back in 2020, so you may not get a reply.

    I really hope that won't happen, but if it does and no-one else replies to you here then you're welcome to start your own discussion or reach out to others on more recent discussions you find about this topic on the forum.

    We're thinking of you Tishy and will have our fingers crossed you're able to find out what's causing your symptoms soon.

    All the best,

    Steph, Cancer Chat Moderator