I've been struggling with severe symptoms which initially my doctor and I believed were IBS (massive bloating, abdominal pain, unpleasant bowel activity...). After trying some eliminations in my diet (I don't eat dairy anyway but we also tried gluten) we haven't seen any improvement - it's actually got a lot worse, esp. the severe bloating. So I went back to the GP today, and she said that it sounds more like IBD, and that we need to do some tests to find the cause, which could be Crohn's, colitis or coeliac disease. Also, and even more worryingly, she said my symptoms are very synonymous with ovarian cancer, and that although I'm only 23, it's going to be really important to test for that. I've been in shock since my appointment, and very upset - couldn't go back to work today. I was told I can't do the blood tests for cancer & the other stuff yet, first because I need to eat gluten again for a bit for that test to work. I also read that it's not good to do the ovarian cancer blood test while menstruating because it alters the results, and so I need to wait for my period to end before taking the test.
Basically, I'm finding it very hard to cope with all of this. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to get on with life as usual. I've always been super susceptible to falling apart with health scares. Looking for advice about whether I should push to take the test earlier (I could even go to the hospital tomorrow, in theory), or if I should wait and just deal with it. Also, advice from any younger people facing the prospect of ovarian cancer
