Hello my name is Jessica and I am 27 years old. Since I gave birth to my last child a year ago I have been having pain in my lower left side, which started out mild and came one a month...then it was twice a month...now it is every week. I attributed this pain to a gallbladder surgical removal I had 6 months ago. Well recently the pain has been getting worse, and I have had narrow stools, gas, bloating, so tired all the time, constipation, and diarreha. I went in to the E.R. and had an X-Ray done which showed a tiny white blur (but nothing to worry about since my blood work was all fine, the ER doc said) Then I went to the ER again and they admitted me for possible Diverticulitus and gave me Flagy and Levaquin by IV and put me on a liquid diet, they sent me for a CT scan which showed a possible ovarian cyst and the early stages of diverticulitus. Then they sent me for an ultrasound of my uterus and ovaries and did not find a cyst. Then they did another CT scan and they did not find diverticulitis and all my white cell counts were within normal range. The only thing was my liver enzymes were slightly elevated, and the doctor asked me if I drink...I told him that I have not had any alcohol for two years because I have had two pregnancies back to back. I was then discharged from the Hospital with orders to see a gastro doc for a colonoscopy and endoscopy screening. I saw the specialist yesterday, I am cleansing my colon today, and he is doing the procedure first thing tomorrow morning! I just left the hospital on Father's Day (last sunday).

This doctor is putting me ahead of all the other patients he has! I think he is worried about me...the nurse said I am being schedule ASAP...and sometimes it takes others months to get the test done.

One last note....my second cousin has Colon Cancer right now...she is stage IV and 34 years old...she was diagnosed when she was 30 years old at a stage II.

So I am nervous about tomorrow....will I found the result out the same day or does it take days or weeks to know. Please tell me how long it took for you to get your results back, and your story.

Thanks,
Scared and alone

The doc can generally let you know what they found after the colonoscopy. They will take some biopsy samples and get them tested. Most polyps are not cancerous. I think they can usually look at a polyp and know if it might look cancerous. Don't jump to the worst case scenario before you get the results. The liver enzymes and family history probably has them being cautious. That is alot of CT scans. Did they do an abdominal ct scan? They are not very accurate for diagnosing colon/rectal problems. Colonoscopy is the only sure test. Have you been bleeding at all? Good luck, let us know how it goes.

I had two abdominal and pelvic CT scans....to test the progess of what they thought was diverticulosis.

I had a tiny drop of blood about 2 months ago...I told my PCP and he did an anal check with his finger and said that I had hemmroids.

Jessica:
It is true that there are often several polyps... but it is not true that they are rarely precancerous. Unfortunately, by the time most people get in for a colonoscopy, they are at an advanced stage, and by then it is a tumor, not a polyp.

In any event, you may be having hidden or occult bleeding. It is VERY important that get a colonoscopy. As another poster said, this is the ONLY way to tell what is going on. It is also true that an experienced GI doc can usually tell you right then and there if you have a cancerous growth, or if you had a precancerous polyp that s/he was able to remove. ANY rectal bleeding is abnormal and NEEDS to be further evaluated. A physician cannot just put his/her finger inside your rectum and tell you that you have hemorrhoids. Unless you have external hemorrhoids in which case they can be seen. Even then, you don't necessarily know whether the bleeding is coming from the hemorrhoids or above them.

In any event... you are doing the right thing having a colonoscopy to put your mind at ease, or to catch whatever is going on... the sooner the better. I don't mean to scare you. There is no sense worrying until you have something diagnosable to worry about. ;)

Good luck, and please keep us posted. :)

Regards,
CancerDad:angel:

MY STORY ~ Last summer~ June 2005 (I was 39 yrs old)... I started having pain in my lower right abdomen, I figured it was another ovarian cyst (I had one in '94 and the pain felt similar) I had always had painful episodes every month since I was 17 (cramps/pms) anyway, so I let it slide untilI had these terrible pains across my upper abdomen that actually felt as bad as labor pains. I went to my family dr. who did blood tests and found I was anemic... sent me for an ultrasound and determined I had a fibroid tumor, so he sent me packing to my gynecologist who concurred and suggested I would feel 100% after a hysterectomy as the fibroid was rather large. I agreed and he put me on iron supplements to bring my blood count back up and gave me a shot of "Lupron" which threw my body into a kind of early menopausal state and was suppose to stop my menstrual periods, so I could have the surgery, but July I had another period which lasted longer than usual... another blood test showed my bloodcount was a tad lower than before... so I was given another Lupron shot and told to add more iron supplements....Late July I got a low grade fever that would not go away...early August I went back to my fam. doctor about the fever... my blood count had plummeted so low I was put in hospital for a blood transfusion...after many scans/tests and a day later they determined the fever was from E-Coli sepsis...so I was put on intravenous antibiotics..a couple days later the fever finally went down so they decided to go ahead with the hysterectomy and the night before the surgery (I was still in hospital) the gynecologist who was performing the surgery came into my room and said he had been studying my scans and felt like my colon was involved somehow so he was going to have a general surgeon on stand-by during the surgery "just in case"...... anyway, I woke up from the surgery and after being taken back up to my room, the surgeon said they had found colon cancer....the "fibroid" was actually a cancer eaten mass involving my colon, right ovary and appendix so, in addition to my uterus being removed, they took out my right ovary, appendix and a small part of my colon, my colon was resected and some lymph nodes removed that were cancerous and they saw some spots on my liver....so I now have the experience of living with stage IV colon cancer. I'm on a break from my chemo now, go back for another scan next month and go from there.
Sorry to go on and on, but I actually shortened it a bit!!!