Am I wasting the GP's time?

[BlumAndFlip]

A few weeks ago I started suffering from piles (checked by GP as had blood in stools). Came about from poo being too soft (not diarrhoea but needed to strain a bit to finish iyswim..hence the piles), GP gave me some cream. It has taken a long time and still painfulutter agony up until about 3 days ago/uncomfortable but finally on the mend in that area. But poo still quite loose.

And now, to add insult to injury, for the last 5-6 days I have had indigestion. Not hugely painful - but nearly constant. Discomfort, bloated upper tummy, very windy (very embarrassing when a big belch comes out of almost no-where). Cannot take over the counter antacid thingys as on Levothyroxine. And am totally new to indigestion. Seriously, the only ever time I have had indigestion before was when heavily pregnant. Ditto the piles - only once before when pregnant with DS.

I have booked another GP appointment as I am worried that these sudden(ish) digestive issues are just wrong. Piles from no-where. Now indigestion and bloating from no-where. Diet/exercise/everything else has stayed the same, it is just these digestive issues.

Am I being a hypochondriac? like my NHS abusing mother Should I cancel the GP appointment and just suck it up?

How long have you been on Levothyroxine?
Have you looked into changing your diet?

No go back with those symptoms. It's not a waste of time at all.

Definitely go back if these symptoms persist.

On Levo for about 6 years now. Levels very stable and symptoms totally under control.

I read of gut issues with Hypothyroidism... possibility?

I’d also suggest you re-check your thyroid levels.

I am due my yearly thyroid check up.

Though to be honest I am very sensitive to thyroid levels - so if "out" I get all kinds of ancillary symptoms (insomnia, anxiety if too high and heavy periods/am asleep on the sofa by about 9pm etc if too low - even by 10mmg) so GP and I treat symptoms as well as pure numbers. Never had digestive issues before though.

Will report back once seen GP. Thank you for reassurances that am not wasting GPs time. My mother seems to live at her GPs there for any twinge so am very conscious not to follow in her footsteps.

You're not wasting their time. Any unexplained, persistent change in bowel habits ought to be checked. There are lots of possible explanations, and often it's just one of those things, but it shouldn't just be ignored. I hope it improves soon

I dread to think what my on-line footprint/history looks like the last few weeks "How to firm up loose poo" would definitely be a theme. Followed by "indigestion and bloating"/

Am not a poo-troll. I promise.

Just a quick update. Having a couple of tests:

Blood - both routine for thyroid and also a raft of tests (full blood count etc) for digestive stuff
Stool sample (lovely !) to check 1) for infection and 2) to test for Faecal calprotectin - which I think is to rule out any inflammatory bowel stuff.

She was pretty sure it was nothing to worry about and symptoms were coincidental timing wise but "got" that they were odd. Especially as my poo has been consistently "too" soft for a couple of months. She wants to rule out bowel inflammation/infection. If they are all clear and symptoms disappear then great. If symptoms still there in about 3 weeks then am to go back.

She suggested zantac for the indigestion symptoms.

Thank you for your support.

See your GP.

I'm glad she's being thorough. Hopefully you'll feel better soon. And fingers crossed for your test results

*note to self, read the fucking thread.

hope you feel better soon .

Have you checked you’re not pregnant this time too?

Autumnal very valid question. There is almost zero possibility (timing, coil, age 46, just had period etc etc) but I did actually POAS at the weekend just to 100% discount it. Not pregnant --thank fuck, love DCs but no no no no no to another00

That made me laugh OP

Just to report back! All the test results came back clear. Had a thought that a lot of this kicked with my (ahem, sorry if TMI) frequency and softness of BM increasing a lot around December time. And just a bit of very low-level underlying tummy-not-quite-right. About the time DH started faffing around with took more interest in coffee. So I have had more than one cup a day. Some very strong.

Doesn't take long to google the connection between IBS like symptoms (frequent/too soft BM/indigestion etc) and coffee. More coffee...dodgy guts....piles....

So I have stopped drinking coffee. Now BM once a day. Much more normal consistency am as grumpy as fuck in the mornings but hey and indigestion like stuff totally gone.

Piles (and possibly a fissure) taking longer to sod off though. Have been suffering horrifically with the post-poo pain if I sit down.

This weekend I dug out the steroid cream for the piles again (stopped using it after the stated 7 days back in February so think is safe to use again now). Also just to be safe am taking a daily fybrogel to keep things regular. Today was my first pain-free day. Hurrahhhh

All I will say is I am hoping when all is totally cleared up I may try and re-introduce a weakish coffee once a day as I am missing my daily fix. But if it upsets the equilibrium again I think I may just have to accept I can no longer drink it

Thank you for your support.