I'm going to call my GP tomorrow with these symptoms

[Viogner]

For the last three weeks I've been weirdly bloaty. Bowel movements feel unfinished (sorry), and I have a lot of wind. My diet is always quite varied but I haven't been eating anything unusual. I also have dull pains in my lower abdomen which have been around for the same amount of time but on and off although increasing in frequency in the last couple of days.

I have googled and am now terrified. What are the possibilities that are perhaps less concerning? And what will a GP do?

Constipation.
Irritable bowel.
Coeliac disease.

Thank you. It's not constipation. But the other two might be possible I guess: what would a GP do?

diverticulitis?

Could be diet related, food intolerances, stomach infection, IBS, celiac, possibly be something like ovarian cysts. There are LOADS of reasons that aren't terrifying.

Do you struggle with health anxiety normally? (Me too!) Are there ways you can distract yourself until you talk with a GP?

You seem sure it's not constipation, but it's very common to have looser stools that go around some stuck poo.

Have a look here so you can describe your stools according to the Bristol Stool chart, which your GP will have heard of link

Thanks for that. I am on the "normal" scale according to that.

@Viogner I’ve also replied on the other thread. You are doing exactly the right thing - I saw the GP with similar symptoms and was worried about ovarian cancer or cysts. I was taken seriously, blood tests were at the high end of normal but they also did an ultrasound.

My experience is they tend to rule out the most dangerous diagnosis first but there are lots of less serious problems that cause the same symptoms. Even though they do the tests for cancer it is unlikely to be cancer, as fibroids/cysts/endo are much more common.

I was worried at the time, like you, but so far so good.