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32 and Suspecting something in my bowel for 2 years already.

Alexander32
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Hi I'm Alexander 32 year old who had been suspecting cancer for 2 years but put it off due to thinking it might be something else while taking Dihydrocodeine to kill my pain in the meantime.

Don't ask me how I got DHC I just got it prescribed for open fractured leg I had 2 years ago I had about 2X 100 Tablets ( did not wanted to let anyone around me know that I'm in pain)

Got Life Insurance in place just before reporting any symptoms to the doc to get 300 K pounds payout in case of diagnosis so I can Do all my bucket List dreams before I'm off this world plus also enable my partner to buy a house yes we're gays.

Don't have any kids no mortgage renting and living with partner not married.

I've Just had Digital Rectal Exam by my doctor (DRE) And I was in EXTREME pain during it.

I told him That I had symptoms of Colorectal Cancer like tarry stool hard pain during emptying my bowel stinging pain every day in the place of my lump on left side of my belly unexplained tiredness and fatigue and a bit of coughing as well (which are all symptoms of advanced cancer which had spread to lungs) even though no blood in my stool nor any weight loss.

I was referred for Blood Tests only and given a laxative to relieve pain I described as 8/10 in scale while passing stool.

and 6/10 right after eating a meal being bloated and constipated regularly. Told him about the lump I've noticed on my bellly' left side. 

He told me that Cancer is on the bottom of the worries list for him as I'm just 32 and shouldn't have cancer at my age that's why no referral for colonoscopy even though I've been concerned It might be deeper in the bowel where his finger could not feel it. I did not got any opiate painkillers to help manage pain. :(

Also scared of telling anyone as My partner well loves me but I'm afraid he won't hang around me after I'm left with a bag in place of my rectum. Which I can't really blame him for. I'm very sensitive and addicted to being loved so plese don't judge me I don't seek any advice on my partner not any criticism  in his address. Would love to tell him but I'm afraid I might get rejected as he would think that I've got Death Sentence Outright. Should I wait till my blood tests are done and results come back?

Should I change doctor ?

Is there a test I can pay for myself to help me speed up a diagnosis which might take long time otherwise ?

Is there a way to get Dihydrocodeine 30 mg without prescription ? As 2 tablets of this every 4 hours are able to kill my pain completely anything else and I'm in horrible pain.

What Should I DO really getting into my head.

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    Hi sorry you are in this situation 1st things 1st could you be addicted to the pain killers therefore you feel the need for them constantly secondly push for further tests with your go you can ask for a referal  from you gp  to a specialist and I believe they have to write the letter it might not be an urgent referral. You can also get tests from doc which you add stool samples to and they send it off for analysis . you have to keep pushing might take more than 1 visit to your gp but to give you peace of mind an some answers. Lastly i you can't talk to your partner find a close friend or family member you can talk to you need someone to help you through this worrying time. Too luck hope you get answers soon. You can push for a 2nd opinion if your not happy with your gp x

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    Hi Alexander32, I'm sorry to read how you're feeling about things.

    This is in no way meant as judgemental, but please have a serious think about the dihydrocodeine. You write that you were given a prescription for it 2 years ago. You also say your bowel worries began 2 years ago. DHC can cause constipation among other things. It's an addictive drug which will cause withdrawal symptoms. I hope you've told your doctor how many you take, so he can help manage reducing the dose. Look at Ant McPartlin, he got addicted to pain meds after an operation. Now he's had help and feels better.

    I hope the blood tests can shed some light on things. Don;t forget The Samaritans are always available to help people talk through things and help get their thoughts straight.

    regards, gamechanger

  • Offline in reply to gamechanger

    Thanks Gamechanger and Pintpot 79 for your help It's not DHC that causes it as I don't have withdrawal symptoms neither do I feel the need to take them. It just is the only medicine to kill the pain. I've started taking it for my suspected cancer just below 1 year ago. And It helped me to manage make a trip of our lifetime to the USA and back for a month my partner had no idea I was taking it He was just wondering how happy I was all the time lol. Indeed I've put it off for 3/4 of a year after the trip and the pain become excrutiating just about now to the point I can't manage. ( to Make things spiced up a bit I just got promoted to 44K pounds a Year Job) don't want to lose it to book many appointments to visit docs in working week 9-5 in the UK Even the blood tests I have not recieved permission from my empoyer to have 15th feb OFF as its just  week in advance. U need to see it as I'm a Polish Immigrant taking 44 K job from UK born Middle Class people IT's against social allowance.anyway or at leas that's what my step in Family thinks mostly (Upper Class and Middle Class) Before U comment why don't u borrow money for private colonoscopy I'd rather die undiagnosed than do this for honor purpose.

  • Offline in reply to Alexander32

    The way I see it what does it matter where your from or what you earn, your employer will grant sick leave and docs appt its the law, I'm guessing your London based by that salary even my rural docs have one late night a week and are open 8-6 Mon to Fri plus a Saturday morning maybe look at changing surgery's to one that fits in with your work scheduled, I'm sure if you explain to your boss the situation they will allow time off for appts, and if if they don't I'm sure a lawyer would hear your case. If your that worried you need to keep pushing for answers regardless. 

  • Offline in reply to Pintpot79

    Thanks for your advice I'm now awaiting my blood tests results I had DRE done by GP and he said he haven't found anything there even though pain was Excruciating when he was moving his finger around.

    I Had these blood tests done.

    C-Reactive Protein (CRP)

    Erythrocite Sedimentation Rate (ESR)

    Full Blood Count (FBC)

    Ferritin (FER)

    Glucose (GLU)

    Liver Function Tests (LFT)

    Thyroid Function Tests (TFT)

    Urea & Electrolytes (UE)

    Given by the amount of tests is there a reason to worry ?

     

  • Offline in reply to Alexander32

    That is a pretty normal blood test, so nothing to worry ahout it. I encourage you to keep visiting your doctor and ask for a referral but honestly a little help from a therapist could also help. Don’t get me wrong, I had severe health anxiety and I think you might benefit from therapy.

    First of all, doctors don’t seem concern yet so there are tons of possible reasons for your symptoms, not just cancer. If it is cancer, that doesn’t mean you are going to die for sure. There is a lot of people who have suffered it and are still here nowdays going back to the new normal eeeevery single day.

    Also there is still no logical reason to worry about stomas, metastasis or any other complication. Try to focus on finding what is causing you these health problems but take care of your mental health as well. Our mind can also hit our bodies pretty well, specially when it comes to bowel and skin, and you dont need aaaall the stress this us causing you. 

    As I said, if you feel pain there must be something that is not ok, but a loooot of causes can be behind that, not just cancer. Tell the doctors how worried you are about it, be clear to them and probably they will understand the situation. 

    Best of luck ;)

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