Gross alert - Just been urgently referred to...

[HugAndRoll]

The rectal bleeding clinic for investigation (by urgent they mean I should be seen within 2 weeks, so not immediate life or death stuff).

I've had GI issues for a long time (have a coeliac diagnosis) and have always put them down to that. Over the past few months I've swung between type 1 and type 7 stools, lost about 3 stone in a year without trying (I'm still technically overweight so just saw it as a good thing), and more recently have horrific nausea every time I eat a meal. Yesterday it came to a (fairly) dramatic climax when I passed a stool with black in it, then later basically shit a bowl full of blood (I'm not exaggerating, it was dramatic - like a horror movie).

I went to the GP today fully expecting to be told I had a pile or a fissure, it turns out I don't. They are more concerned about my symptoms than I was, and have put forward the urgent referral. Due to my age (33) they don't suspect cancer, but are thinking possible IBD.

Does anyone have experience of this? I've gone from being embarrassed to being quite worried about this. It's the urgent referral that's done it - who gets seen that quickly on the NHS for everything to just be fine?

Actually most people referred under ‘the two week rule’ will not have a serious diagnosis. But it’s done where the symptoms could be cancer. And rightly so. But it is a worry for you. It’s easy to say you should try not to worry too much about, but you wouldn’t be human if you didn’t worry.

Thank you for your reply. I know it's very unlikely to be cancer at my age, and I'm only at a very tiny increased risk due to being coeliac, but perhaps that's enough for them to want to use the two week rule, just to be on the safe side.

I've also got a referral (usual pathway) to rheumatology due to other physical issues, and looking at IBD symptoms, many of my physical concerns (chronic fatigue, joint and muscular pain, on-off folate deficiency, etc) could be explained by IBD, so again this has probably contributed to the speedy referral.

I'm very good at being logical about it, but then the worry monster creeps in, and I'm a natural overthinker. I'm sure it'll be fine, but I'm awful with the unknown (I already have autism and ADHD diagnoses which contribute to this). Someone needs to ship me off for glue!

It’s the rectal bleeding that is the red flag for the two week referral, even where there are many and varied reasons in an individual that make a cancer diagnosis unlikely.
Difficult to keep your thoughts from jumping to the worse case scenario, but at least you will have results quicker than a longer referral period.

If you have a coeliac diagnosis, it sounds like you may have ulcerated colitus , I know someone with that , she was diagnosed after severe bleeding

Other that would make sense, I know there's a link between IBD and coeliac.

I've just spoken to my dad (was estranged) and I've found out that he has had diverticulitis and his dad (my granddad) died from bowel cancer. I'm not (really) worried about the latter, but the former is a contender!