Hi all, this might be a bit long as I've had a lot going on, but I'm feeling incredibly anxious and scared and would really appreciate any feedback!

I'm 26 and have had GI symptoms on and off for years. These tend to be exacerbated at certain periods of time and then completely disappear for months, and because of that I probably haven't paid them the attention I should have. I would guess that from around the age of 20 I would very occasionally (maybe twice a year) see blood after going for a BM (usually bright red on toilet paper). On and off since my teens I would experience abdominal pain on the left side, and sometimes quite severe, persistent bloating. Looking back I think I struggled with constipation quite a lot, occasionally diarrhea. 

A few years ago I went to the doctors regarding the abdominal pain/bloating, but they were focused only on the reproductive organs  - I had a lot of tests which ruled out cervical cancer, ovarian cancer & endometriosis. 

Last year I started experiencing acid reflux-like symptoms (pain just in the upper left abdomen, bloating, lots of gas in the esophagus) along with sometimes severe nausea after eating - on a few occasions I even threw up. In September I had a stool sample and blood tests taken - everything came back normal, so my doc determined it likely was just acid reflux. I adjusted my diet and the symptoms decreased hugely so I stopped worrying.

From the beginning of this year, however, I started to notice blood cropping up in my stools somewhat more regularly (again fresh blood, usually on toilet paper). I've struggled with feeling tired a lot of the time for many years, but from January I started feeling fatigued most of the time, and then developed shortness of breath in Feb. I went to the GP about this, they did some quick tests (basically just listening to breathing), and as I had been under a lot of stress at the time, put it down to that.

In March I suddenly developed a sore throat, fever, cough, shortness of breath, wheezy lungs, pounding heart & fatigue. GPs said it could be Covid19 or another virus so I isolated assuming that was the case (I've never been able to get tested). These symptoms have continued on and off to this day, in a waxing and waning pattern which I know is common for those suffering from the effects of Covid19 long-term. For the vast majority of this time I've assumed this is Covid and have been very focused on that. One positive thing is that over the past couple of weeks I've noticed a more steady, gradual decline of these cardiac/respiratory symptoms, and have very slightly more energy.

However, throughout these few months (and possibly before - I really didn't register this as abnormal initially so didn't take much notice) I've experienced white mucus (sometimes quite a lot) with almost every BM, and the frequency with which I notice blood has increased, sometimes with there being a red streak in the stool itself. Over the past couple weeks I've been keeping note, and have noticed blood about twice a week. Over the past few weeks I also suddenly developed left-side abdominal pain and persistent bloating again, which I haven't experienced for a while. 

I finally went to the doctors about this and have been told that my stool sample is showing both traces of blood and incredibly high levels of inflammation in the bowel, and I'm being referred for an urgent colonoscopy. This news has really terrified me. At this point I'm concerned that a) I've been having symptoms for years so if it was cancer it could be late stage, and b) what if the symptoms I've been assuming are due to Covid are actually due to that? I'm aware that respiratory symptoms are not typically linked with bowel issues, but any illness can cause shortness of breath, and issues like acid reflux can cause coughing/wheezing (I started taking omeprazole a few weeks back & that does seem to have helped). If I allow myself to really jump to the worst conclusion, I worry that it could even have spread to the lungs.

Some other info: am also awaiting blood test results & a chest x-ray. No family history of bowel cancer. My dad was diagnosed with Collitis as a teenager after being hospitalised with severe symptoms, but hasn't struggled much with it since. My grandmother on the same side also has been diagnosed with Collitis.

I suppose I'm just looking for any input on what this sounds like or from anyone else in a similar situation? 

Thank you so much for reading x