Back and stomach pain

[beckywiththeshithair27]

Posting for traffic. I'm not asking anyone to diagnose me and I have an appointment made with my GP but it's not for over two weeks and in the meantime i just want some reassurance. I suffer badly with health anxiety and feel very worried.

Over the past few weeks I've had a lot of stomach gripes, lower abdominal pain (particularly a sharp twinge in my lower left abdomen) and more recently pain that seems to radiate to my back in the right hand side. No bleeding or diarrhoea. Just pain. TMI but I have what look like piles that have been there for years. They don't bleed or really cause me any issues with pain or itching but are quite unsightly!

I've had on/off bowel issues for years but pain seems to come and go whereas this has been noticeable for a few weeks now. Diverticulitis runs in the family but I'm also worried about bowel cancer. I'm 34.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Honestly I'd phone the doctors and see if they have any urgent appointments for today and if not go to a walk in centre.

At the very least, if you don't want to do that, ask if you can drop in a urine sample to the GPs surgery for testing because they're likely to ask for one once they've seen you.

@GiveHerHellFromUs thanks for the replying. I did wonder if it could be urine related as the pain in my right hand side on the back seems to be kidney area although maybe slightly too low down. The pain isn't crippling and I don't have a temp or anything like that - it that happens I'll go urgently. I just find that the constant niggles really set off my anxiety.

I also feel worried that I'll just get an ibs diagnosis and sent off to do a food diary like I have before.

In the last year or so, it has become far, far easier to screen for bowel cancer.

There’s a new test called a FIT test (faecal immunochemical test) which can detect minute traces of blood in a stool sample.

Given that this is miles cheaper than sending you for a colonoscopy, a GP is much more likely to be let you have a FIT test to rule out bowel cancer.

Go to GP they will refer you for a colonoscopy. It may be a flare up of diverticulitis or some other bowel issue.

I have diverticulitis also, you do not want to leave it. I did my first attack and I ended up hospitalised, bleeding loads dark blood and in a lot of pain.

Hi. Given you have no loose stools or blood in your poo is obviously a good thing. Any mucus or change in bowel habit?

I had those exact symptoms around this time last year and I had a kidney infection so just got given a course of antibiotics to clear it. Hope your ok OP, I'm the same with health anxiety I always think of the worse case scenario. I'm sure you'll be fine x

No obvious change to bowel habit - I've been going a bit more often but I've cleaned up my diet in the new year and I think this is probably a positive side effect of that. I had an outburst of cramps and diarrhoea a few weeks back but that was only for a couple of days so i think that was more likely something I'd eaten. I do suffer from anxiety which can sometimes upset my bowels too. But overall I think bowel habit is fairly normal, it's the pain that concerns me. It comes and goes but the last few weeks it's been noticeable more often.

To the poster who mentioned diverticulitis can I ask what your symptoms were? My grandma has this and it started with her in her 30s but I haven't been tested for it yet

I've also seen the fecal tests you can do for screening. I think you can even order them from private companies with a quicker turnaround than the nhs, keep seeing ads for them on Facebook. Wasn't sure if it's a reliable test...

Wasn't sure if it's a reliable test...

If there’s blood there, the FIT test will find it.

Obviously, there could be blood without it being bowel cancer - it could be due to diverticulitis, for example. So further explorations are then needed.

Bowel cancer isn’t diagnosed on the basis of the FIT test result.

I'm just wondering this on the off chance, but could you have injured your back/ stomach recently?
I may be way off track, but a few months ago I was in a lot of pain (just as you describe) with my back and stomach.
The doctor sent a urine sample off which came back clear.
It was put down to me having pulled my back lifting my child.

I have diverticulitis and when I have a flare up, it's just as you describe. Stomach pain radiating to the back, pain in left side mainly. Do you feel run down? I swap to a liquid diet for a couple of days and rest as much as I can. Then it passes.
If it is diverticulitis your doctor may prescribe antibiotics it it's a bad flare up.
The worst I had I was doubled up in pain, ended up with a perforated bowel and in hospital for a week.
I'd get to the docs sooner than two weeks if you can

Reading that back I don't want to be alarmist! Diverticulitis can be managed pretty well x

Thanks for the responses. Just feel crap and sick of being bloated and uncomfortable. I'm still eating, no sickness or diarrhoea but the ache in the lower right back is still there. It's not unbearable just niggle but I worry so much with my health anxiety

Guess I spoke to soon, had stomach ache, bloating and quite bad diarrhoea tonight :(