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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to be so worried - medical

42 replies

worriedsickandfedup · 29/07/2019 05:45

I know I am, and for posting here, but please help me I'm worried sick

I will be ringing the doctors today.

I am mid thirties. For the last 2 years I have had pain right up near my ribcage join and throughout my abdomen, I have been scanned up as far as my stomach I believe and had checks on my intestines. They have been clear.

But now I am getting weight increase and itching in my hands particularly in the evening. I'm always weak and tired (have been for years and had basic blood tests that found nothing).

I'm just worried it's pancreatic (and maybe spread to liver) cancer. I know it is rare at my age, but living with it is really difficult.

I googled around the web and it says about floating stools which i sometimes have too so that is more to worry over.

Does anyone know what else it could be? I'm really terrified and want the doctors to take me seriously this time :(

OP posts:

FenellaMaxwell · 29/07/2019 07:02

Yes, the cancer starts without symptoms. But once the symptoms show, 95% of people die within 4 months. It’s the onset of symptoms that mark the end not the diagnosis. You’ve had symptoms of whatever you have for more than 2 years, so if it was pancreatic cancer you’d have died a year and a half ago.

Like @bifflepants, my dad didn’t have any symptoms at all until he developed stomach pain one day. He went to the doctor 2 days later, and the day after that received the diagnosis, and was gone within 6 months. What you are describing is simply not how pancreatic cancer works.

SinkGirl · 29/07/2019 07:04

Acute pancreatitis would have led to hospitalisation a long time ago, but chronic pancreatitis is different.

I drink zero alcohol, which I believe is the biggest cause of panceatitis.

Alcohol and gallstones are the biggest causes. But many cases, the cause is unknown. It’s unlikely you’d have chronic pancreatitis without having recurrent bouts of accurate pancreatitis first but apparently there can be other causes such as injury.

I’m sadly very familiar with pancreatic cancer and my point stands - symptoms do indeed show up only when advanced, so if you’ve been having symptoms for two years then it’s massively unlikely to be pancreatic cancer. And you’d be losing weight rather than gaining it.

The gallbladder is slightly to the right of the area you mentioned having pain. This area is where I had pain when I had a severe gallbladder infection and pancreatitis a decade ago.

HorseyMamma · 29/07/2019 07:04

Go back to your GP. They are medically trained...

stucknoue · 29/07/2019 07:08

The reason why pancreatic cancer is so deadly is that it's largely symptomless until it is past the point it can be treated. 2 years worth of symptoms points to something else, the itching makes me think liver, but I'm not a dr. If they scanned you and found nothing then it's likely to be infection that won't show up on a scan. Hepatitis can be carried symptomless for years, some forms are food born.

Lougle · 29/07/2019 07:11

It could be anything, tbh. Your large bowel runs across the top of your abdomen, so constipation can cause discomfort. You can be constipated whilst still passing stools.

Go to the doctor and tell them your fears.

ShrinkWrap · 29/07/2019 07:11

What tests have you had? Which blood tests? Ultrasound scan? If you don’t know, find out from your GP and get them to tell you what conditions they have checked for. Otherwise not sure whether or not they are taking you seriously.

SinkGirl · 29/07/2019 07:15

Go back to your GP. They are medically trained...

Indeed they are. OP has clearly done that many times hasn’t she?

Perhaps you don’t know what it’s like to suffer from health issues for years and doctors are unable to find the cause. It’s worrying and soul destroying.

Took me 10 years from having symptoms to being diagnosed with endometriosis. That was frustrating but not unbearable because I was already pretty certain that’s what it was and all my symptoms fit - it was just a matter of getting it taken seriously and investigated.

Several years later I developed new symptoms seemingly related to a treatment I was on. That was 12 years ago and I still don’t know the cause. The symptoms are debilitating. I’ve been fobbed off with ME and fibromyalgia diagnoses that don’t fit the majority of my symptoms.

It’s clear that OP has tried seeing a doctor, many times. She’s worried and fed up. This idea that you have some symptoms, go to a doctor, they diagnose you and sort it out is not how it works a lot of the time!

Original poster

worriedsickandfedup · 29/07/2019 07:20

Thanks everyone, Horsey I had said I am rining them today but will likely be a 2 week wait for an appointment...

Thanks @SinkGirl - im sorry you have experienced problems too. It is crippling isnt it not knowing what the problem is to fix

OP posts:

TroysMammy · 29/07/2019 07:24

I've just seen my GP as I've had floating stools for 5 months. No pain and no blood. I've put on a little weight and am tired and can't be bothered. I'm 51 and don't drink alcohol. I had a blood tests, CA125, bowel cancer, inflammation, coeliac screen, thyroid, HBA1C, FBC, kidney and liver function. All back normal.

I asked a GP I work with and she said as long as there is no grease in the toilet bowl, normal colour and frequency it happens. She tried to tell me about fibre but as I was answering the telephone during the conversation I didn't take that bit in.

TroysMammy · 29/07/2019 07:25

My GP also examined my abdomen during the consultation.

ALittleBitAlexis · 29/07/2019 07:37

Obviously do see your doctor. But as possible reassurance, I recently had choleostasis (blocked bile duct) which has very similar symptoms to pancreatic issues, and my first symptoms were weight loss, rather than weight gain (due to total lack of appetite, didn't eat for 3 days only water), coca-cola coloured urine despite being well-hydrated, intense fatigue and then unbearable itching all over.

Symptoms are different for everyone, but based on what you've said I wouldn't necessarily assume it's a pancreatic or liver issue.

Do check your eyes - I finally went to the doctors because my eyes turned yellow and I ended up being admitted at A&E. If that happens, don't wait for a gp appointment

cccameron · 29/07/2019 07:38

The way you describe the pain sounds like costochondritis. Also I know that itchiness is related to the liver but I don't think this would be localised to the hands.

TheStuffedPenguin · 29/07/2019 07:57

When you say you have pain - is it constant or comes and goes?

user87382294757 · 29/07/2019 08:00

I was going to say costochrondritis as well, I get this and very common, ribcage pain. I also have adhesions from previous surgery which pull and cause pain.

Damntheman · 29/07/2019 09:12

My mum had pancreatitis and she's been totally teetotal for over 30 years. Alcohol doesn't have to be involved for it to be that.

kitkat463 · 29/07/2019 10:50

Def. go see your gp and tell them how worried you are. If op has health anxiety ( as they mentioned) it's l likely to be really unhelpful for people to be suggesting conditions it could be. Googling possible conditions will likely make the anxiety worse and won't help you figure out what is wrong. Hope you get the answers you need soon.

HorseyMamma · 29/07/2019 12:42

Exactly as KitKat said, go tell your GP your ideas, concerns and expectations - don’t expect them just to know how worried you are or that you are worried about about a particular diagnosis. Then at least they can be working with you to get you to where you need to be - whether it be a diagnosis or reassurance.

Posting on online forums probably will do nothing other than drive your anxieties and some of the medical advice seen in such threads is sometimes shockingly bad.

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