tell me whether I'm being a hypochondriac or whether I should go to the docs

[hatwoman]

for some time now I've had bowel, ahem, urgency, stomach ache that comes and goes, and is very occasionally painful. gp ran some blood tests, nothing interesting showed up. said it was probably IBD and as I was "coping" and my symptoms really weren't that bad, then not to worry. fine.

now just recently I've noticed a change in my appetite. it has dropped off. This seems particularly unusual as I have also recently upped my running. normally whenever I increase my running my appetite goes varacious and I enjoy eating loads and my weight staying the same. this time I'm eating less and, obviously with the increased exercise, I'm loosing weight. I've also noticed that I feel full very quickly. and then sometimes hungry a couple of hours later.

So am I being silly to feel a tiny niggle about all this? or am I right to think I should go back to the docs? other than this I feel fine.

Definitely go back to the doctor - you know your own body, don't be fobbed off and don't be afraid to see a different GP if there is more than one in the practice. I'm not at all knowledgeable medically but I think you have to trust your instincts and if you are worried it is best to put your mind at rest. Hope you get sound advice from other MNers and your GP

Go to your GP and get him/her to refer you to a gastroenterologist. Your GP shouldn't be diagnosing IBS/IBD without you having an endoscopy and other tests. You should go and get it checked by someone who knows what they are doing.

You should go if you are loosing weight aswell.

she was a bit funny about the IBD. she didn;t diagnose it as such...she kind of said "if the tests don;t show anything then we're probably looking at IBD...and with IBD it's a case of "managing" it, rather than treating it". I haven't been back since she said that because the tests showed nothing and I am managing it.

IBD is conditons such as crohns disease and always needs investigating (normally via a camera up the behind to check for ulcers). It's not the same as IBS and normally this too is only diagnosed once IBD has been ruled out. IBS doesn't have a specific treatment, it is managed, as is IBD, however the management of each is completely different. You need to see a gastroenterologist in either case.

yes, I see IBD is quite specific - in which case I think i've done her a disservice and she said IBS.

Ahh. Even so she shouldn't be diagnosing IBS without the relevant 'camera up your bum' biopsy to check for IBD (crohnes etc) as the symtoms are very simlar. Do go back and get a referal. As the symptoms of both conditions are the same, it does need looking into (sorry for the pun!). Crohnes is a nasty disease and requires specific treatment. You do need the tests to rule this out. You do need to go back if you are loosing weight.

thanks scrooged. a friend of mine has chrohnes and I know how difficult it makes life for him. as it's an auto-immune disease I worry a bit, as my immune system is nadged - I already have one auto-immune disease (ms) - I have no idea if that makes it any more likely. blummin eck. so I have to grit my teeth, put my assertive hat on, and say "I want a camera up my bum". marvellous...

genuine thanks. you've made me think I do need to get to the bottom of this (pun entirely intentional...)

lol! The camera's not too bad. It's the medicaton they give you to clear your intestines out that's a bit of a shitter!

It does sound like IBS to be honest. Do you get diarhhoea then constipation? Slimy poo? These are classic symptoms along with abdominal pain but can be symptoms of both which is why it needs checking.