Just before I get my period, about four days before, I start to have spotting only in the morning or when I poop. It happens only on those nights I have night sweats….I did have a colonoscopy two years ago and all is great. but I don't know why this happens….does it sound like perimenopause?

I recently had a colonoscopy and this is what they found. it wasn't fun. I also have a gallbladder with a "0" percentage refraction(?), a heital hernia, acid reflux and a hyperactive small bowel. I am a slender, young, attractive female with terrible gastro issues! I currently take no medications of any kind. Can anybody help?

All that I know about it is that it usually results in problems with constipation. I have never known anyone to have it though. Your probably overwhelmed with all these GI problems but you are blessed to not have to take any medicine right now. good luck with everything!!

You don't take any meds? Wow! I'm on plenty, two for my gastro issues if you don't include the prune juice;). I've been on other things for my gastro issues, too. (At least you're slender with it. I don't even get THAT out of it.lol) I know you can fix the hernia and take Nexium or something for the reflux but I've not heard of the others. I'm sorry you've got to go through all that.

The only way to know is after surgery. A biopsy following a colonoscopy can tell if there is cancer present, but the only way to know for sure if the lymph nodes have been invaded is after surgery (which is only performed if the tumor has gone into the colon wall–otherwise, there is no way the lymph nodes are invaded, since they are on the outside of the colon). the part that is removed will be inspected, and they will check then to see how many lymph nodes (if any) have been invaded.

go to your doctor!

My 31 year old husband has pretty much every symptom of colon cancer. I'm so worried about him and I'm just wondering what else it could be? The only symptom he doesn't have is fatigue. he is scheduled for a colonoscopy next week, but I'm just wondering if anyone knows if it could be anything besides cancer.

If could be other things, the colonoscopy will find cancer or rule out cancer. If he isn't fatiqued then he must not be losing blood, having blood in the stool is one of the symptoms as a tumor bleeds.

polyps

ulcerative colitis

Crohn's Disease

diverticulitis

Don't worry. it could very possibly be a non-serious thing.

medicinenet.com/colonoscopy/a…

Im 22 years old, woman of course, my whole family on my moms side has genetic Colitis, funny that I am adopted and so was my sister, we have the same issue, my mom doesn't have it but all my cousins and my grandma has it. I have lots of pain and running to the bathroom a lot and lots of mucus diarrhea. I cant drink juice or anything too much grains. Certain things trigger it and Ill be sick all night, this messes up my period too making it way too painful. I am going in for a scope downwards and upwards and colonoscopy too. what is your ways of getting through the pain and the running to the bathroom I had dicetel for stomach problem and gaviscon but it doesnt work. So I need something for pain.

Jaime Winstone catches her breath and pauses to sip a glass of water. She has taken a break from her latest acting project in London to explain how her close friend Paul Nicholls died from colon cancer last year, aged only 27.

The experience has had a profound effect on Jaime, the actress daughter of actor Ray Winstone.

Indeed, watching Paul’s terrible suffering prompted her to move momentarily away from acting to front a BBC health documentary.

Actress Jaime Winstone is fronting a BBC health documentary on human papillomavirus, the fastest-growing killer among her generation

‘Paul began to feel unwell over Christmas 2009,’ says Jaime of her DJ friend of five years. ‘He’d recently gone on a health kick and changed his diet, so when he became severely constipated he thought it was his body’s reaction to that.

‘Within two weeks, his stomach swelled so much he said he looked pregnant but he thought it would sort itself out.

‘After visiting family in Glasgow, he boarded the train to London but spent the journey being violently sick. He collapsed when he got off the train at Euston and an ambulance was called,’ she says.

On New Year’s Eve, a colonoscopy revealed a 2in tumour in his bowel and cancer throughout his abdomen. Doctors broke the news to Paul that he had incurable bowel cancer. the condition is rare in those under 40, with about 85 per cent of sufferers aged 65 and over.

‘That sort of news takes a while to sink in,’ says Jaime, 25. ‘I was ignorant of the facts about cancer. I had no idea what the symptoms of colon cancer were or how it could suddenly be terminal. When you’re in your 20s you think you’re invincible. everyone thinks that cancer happens to other people and certainly not to those my age.

‘Paul deteriorated so quickly. Immediately after diagnosis he had chemotherapy and radiotherapy, which were gruelling and made him very poorly. But his cancer was aggressive and resisted the treatment. He was no longer able to fight it.’

Jamie with her friend Paul Nicholls (sitting down) who died from bowel cancer

Paul’s illness was the reason Jaime agreed to a BBC offer to front a health documentary.

‘Having seen the fabulous work the medical profession do, I find myself looking at those in my industry being paid millions of pounds for making movies and thinking, “What have you done to earn that money? You haven’t saved someone’s life.”‘

Famed for acting roles in the films Kidulthood and Donkey Punch, as well as appearing with her father in TV drama Vincent, Jaime was approached by the BBC soon after Paul’s diagnosis.

‘You feel so helpless,’ she says. ‘Suddenly you have a loved one with cancer and there’s not a thing you can do about it.

‘I couldn’t make Paul’s illness go away or ease his pain. I asked my parents what they thought about the idea of me presenting a documentary about cancer. They said I should do it and were proud of me for wanting to do something to help, as was Paul’s mum.

‘Paul was deteriorating before my eyes. Chemotherapy had debilitated him and he was unable to eat much. He was wearing children’s jeans and even they were big for him.’

The documentary tackles the link between the human papillomavirus (HPV) and rising numbers of head and neck cancer cases among young Britons, described as ‘an emerging epidemic’ by Cancer Research UK. Rates of these cancers are up by 50 per cent in men since 1989 and rising by three per cent a year in women. Oral cancers kill 1,800 a year in the UK.

Jaime says her dad Ray and mum Elaine (both pictured) are proud of her for doing the cancer film

Data from America published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that 70 per cent of oropharyngeal cancer cases are now caused by HPV.

‘The documentary isn’t about the same cancer that Paul died from but it’s the one that’s increasingly affecting people of my generation,’ says Jaime. ‘The most important message to get across is that we must all take responsibility for our health, regardless of how young we are.’

Paul died on August 29 last year. during the course of the film, Jaime discusses HPV and the rising number of head and neck cancers with Professor Margaret Stanley, a world leading expert on HPV from Cambridge University, and Hisham Mehanna, a head and neck consultant specialist at University Hospital, Coventry. He now sees one or two patients a week with this form of cancer. A decade ago it was just a few a year.

Prof Stanley explains that HPV lives in our skin and is so common that about 80 per cent of the sexually active population will acquire it at some point, although almost all will get rid of it. Even so, about one in ten people will not, because their immune system cannot handle it, and that is when problems occur.

Prof Stanley says: ‘These specific cancers are associated with oral sex, but we don’t want to scare people or for them to feel they are at huge risk. the key preventative measures are to limit the amount of partners with whom you have oral sex.

‘Many young people have oral sex because they deem it to be safe, hence the soaring rates of HPV-related head and neck cancers in younger people. if you smoke or drink heavily then you dramatically increase your risk of these types of cancers, too.’

Head and neck cancers associated with the HPV virus seem to respond well to treatment  -  surgery, aggressive chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy.

‘They occur in very specific places  -  either on the tonsils or at the base of the tongue,’ says Prof Stanley. ‘Symptoms include difficulty swallowing and hoarseness, but are unlikely to be accompanied by a temperature or fever as they would if you were suffering from tonsillitis or a throat infection. if you have persistent symptoms for two weeks you must see your GP.’

Vaguely aware of HPV through having cervical smear tests, Jaime admits she thought it was a virus only girls could catch and that led to cervical cancer. HPV is recognised as the cause of cervical cancer in women, so two years ago the Government introduced a national vaccination programme for teenage girls.

Now, however, there is a growing argument for boys to be included in the vaccination programme because of the links between the spread of HPV and head and neck cancers.

As part of her investigation, Jaime speaks with various teenage girls about their reluctance to have the free vaccine.

‘I don’t understand why some girls aren’t having the vaccination. They don’t understand that it can prevent cervical and also oral cancer.’

According to Dr Lesley Walker of Cancer Research UK, vaccination against HPV should reduce the level of infection.

‘Evidence suggests that people are more likely to have an HPV-linked cancer if they have had multiple partners, whether they are men or women,’ says Walker.

‘From what I’ve learnt during filming, I strongly believe the vaccine needs to be made available to both sexes,’ says Jaime.

‘It can be bought privately but how many people have ?400 to spend on a jab?’

Has she had the vaccine? ‘Of course. I’m a young woman and I like to have fun. But as a result of Paul’s death and the documentary I’ve made, I know the risks of my behaviour and how to educate and protect not just myself but my generation.

‘If the documentary leads to just one person taking responsibility for their health then it will have been worth it.’

Jaime’s documentary will air on BBC3 at 9pm tomorrow

I have serious digestive issues and the doctors can't find the root of the problem. Crohn's disease showed up positive in my blood but when they did a colonoscopy they couldn't physically find it in my intestines. Does anyone here have it or know anyone who does, and how they were diagnosed? Symptoms? Treatment? I know a lot of people go on steroids as treatment, and I had a question about that…I heard they make you gain weight. is it the actual steroid itself that makes you gain weight or is it the increased appetite?

Please do not consider steroids. To say they are deadly would be an understatement. I have a natural supplement for you to look at. here are some testimonials. glycoresource.com

More info on my page.

The first step is to find a good doc. if you are not happy with your current one, then find another. the next, is too try different med combos until you find the one that works. Currently, I am on no steroids, but am on an Anti-inflammatory (Asacol), and an immune suppressant (6mp). I have been on this regimine for quite ahwile, and have done fine. I have also found that being on birht control helps with my flares around period time.

The thing with Crohn's is that EVERYONE is different. the treatment is really discovered by each person and their doc through trial and error.

symptoms – exudative diarrhea, bowel habit changes(obstruction, abdom.pain)
Place of origin can be distal ileum or/and proximal colon

DON'T let them put you on steriods. unless it is a step down for ony 1-2 weeks. Don't worry about the weight gain, steriods cause so many other problems that you can not begin to imagine. I have Crohn's have had it for years 4 bowel resections. Blood work can not tell if you have it. Takes a lot of tests, a great Dr. and time. there are other diseases that are very simular as far as symptoms. a colonoscopy will show any damage as far as ulcers, strictures etc Please make sure you see a good Dr. check him out at the local hospital and with other Drs. Talk to nurses at the hospital he is with. they will tell you the truth about what he is like. Also don't jump into a treatment called Remicade, it helps buy can be dangerous. What makes you think you have Crohn's as opposed to some other IBS ?

I was diagnosed with Crohns about years ago. Strangely enough, it started with these huge open wounds on my leg (pyoderma gangrenosum). Long story short, I started to have severe diarrhea and lost a ton of weight very quickly which was accompanied by sores in my mouth, etc. I had a barium procedure and a colonoscopy which found the ulcerated tissue but there may be instances where a colonoscopy may not show the ulcerated colon the first time ,so another colonoscopy may be needed. You defintely need a good Gastroenterologist though. As for steroids…STAY AWAY!!! I had to be on them for almost 2 years which is an extremely long time. they make you insatiably hungry (I could outeat anyone!) and its the constant eating that makes you put on weight (me, 50 lbs) plus serious water retention. Not only that, it really messes with your emotions. You've heard of "roid rage"? They're not kidding. I went from happy to angry to tears in the span of 10 minutes. It also can damage your internal organs. there are treatments such as Methotrexate (my fave), Remicade, and other immuno suppressants (since Crohn's is caused by an overactive immune system). I wish you all the luck in the world with this and I hope things get better for you soon!!!! Cheers!!!

Hello! Well, I was just recently diagnosed with Crohn's Disease this year. 2 weeks before my 16th birthday, spent it in the hospital. Anywho! I was diagnosed, by a barium x-ray, and a colonoscopy, and endoscopy. they will give you steroids if the inflammation is very severe. my first and only words are, dont take them,UNLESS you need to. I am a petite person, I am 5'6 and was 126 lbs. after I took the steroids, I kept eating and eating, and couldn't stop. I went from 5'6 to 5'8 Thanks to the roids, they make you grow for short time use. and gained 32 lbs. some say I was severely underweight, some say it was water weight. I hate it! I got off the steroids nearly 3 months later. Since then, I have only lost 6 lbs. they say it will come off slowly, these are Miracle Drugs, if you need it, then take it. I know this weight will come off, with a little bit of exercize and diet. just don't worry and Trust in God.

My ex-husband had it back in 1984. It was caused by stress. He chilled out with xanax and hasn't had any more signs or symptoms. good luck, Kitty

Symptoms of Chrone's include irregular bowel movments, diarrhea, severe abdomnimal cramping and fever.
If your colonoscopy was negative, ask your doctor about a disease called "the Sprue" (also called Celiac disease).
The symptoms are often very similar, but the Sprue is basiclly an allergy to wheat and gluten.
Back to Chrone's…it's can be managed with a medication called Questran, which helps calm and soothe the intestines. Steriods are also used to decrease the inflammation in the intestines, but, yes, the side effects of steriods can be awful. they do make you gain weight, but yes, this is usually because there is an increase in hungar or appetite.
Feel better!

I think i have colitis (not ulcerative colitis though) because i have all the symptoms of it. my doctors have been diognosing me with Ibs but i think it is colitis because the symptoms seem more like what im getting. is a colonoscopy the only way to determine i have colitis?

Thanks

Intro:

I’m 32 years old and first saw a GI doctor 7 years ago as I was concerned about blood in my stool. I was diagnosed with IBD at this time. a year ago I decided to see him again as the blood was back along with minor pain and fatigue. I was diagnosed at this time with UC and have had nothing but issues since.

My Ulcerative Colitis Medications:

I had taken Flagyl for inflammation and found this to work. I was taking multiple infusions of Prednisone while in the hospital and found this to help. I switched to 50mg of pills once a day by the time I left the hospital and slowly started to ween off it over the next month. I have also had 3 infusions of Remicade since and think it’s starting to work but only now that I started taking 40mg of Prednisone along with it last week. the Prednisone is definitely not fun as I am not a pleasure to be around but it seems to keep my inflammation in check along with the Remicade.

Now For my story:

I had a colonoscopy done along with a barium enema and was told the bleeding is from hemmoroids and sorry about your luck you have Ulcerative Colitis and this is for the rest of your life and there is no cure. my GI doctor prescibed Salofalk, a rectal enema. this only made me feel worse after trying it for 2 weeks. I was not given a very good explanation of what this disease was or what else can be done about it so I basically carried on with the fact I had a “bad gut” and just deal with it as I always had. Over the past year the blood was becoming more prominent and fatigue was becoming a major factor. the pain was also becoming a lot more severe in my lower left side. I play soccer and hockey and consider myself a pretty active person who has always been in shape, but this was really starting to affect all aspects of my life. I then gave a Naturopath a chance and after spending hundreds of dollars on different supplements I actually started to feel better. this went on for about six months and slowly stopped working. I was also a smoker and finally decided it was time to quit. What a mistake! After quiting smoking in the beginning of July I started a massive flare up and slowly started to become immobilized. I could not leave the house for any summer events or family time. the pain was too much and was going to the bathroom around 30 times a day. by the time I admitted myself to the hospital in mid-August I had lost over 20 pounds in two weeks and was very frail and pale. I spent over 3 weeks in the hospital and almost had emergency surgery when i arrived as my colon almost ruptured. at this time I was also diagnosed as Anemic. I am home now and am still not at work and am still experiencing pain and fatigue and am on Remicade and Prednisone. I have since changed to a great GI specialist out of St. Pauls Hospital in Vancouver, BC where I live.

My wife and I are now looking at all the different diet options as I am still trying to figure out all my “trigger” foods. the more we browse on-line the more confusing it gets as there are a lot of contradicting stories and foods. I realize everyone is different but some just doesn’t make sense. my major issue right now is getting over the Anemia as this seems to be really putting a damper on my life. I can deal with the pain and constant bowel movements but not having the energy to drive to the store and back is brutal. I need iron and am taking supplements but some of these diets say red meat is bad and some say it is good.

What is a diet that can work for someone who is Anemic and is recovering from a severe case of UC?

I am having some itching, and i took zentel but it is still happening, i dont past my stool everyday so i am very concern.

Blood in the stool is the classic symptom. Testing is done using a colonoscopy.

Blood in the stool is NOT always a sign of cancer-you could just have hemorrhoids that bleed. if the blood is really red, its okay. if its old blood-kind of Brownish, then it would be bad as you are bleeding further up in the colon. a test for cancer is a biopsy taken inside the colon. the procedure is so painful and degrading that you get anesthesized before they do it. if you don't REALLY think you have cancer, stay away from the test. It really sucks. Itching is not a sign of cancer.

Parts of all 3 answers so far are correct. Rectal bleeding is a classic symptom, but red blood is NOT okay many colon cancer patients have bright red blood. Colonoscopy is the best test to check for colon cancer.

All of Goldie’s symptoms are correct and you can add anemia to the list. Basically any changes in bowel habits, even if they come and go are symptoms and should be investigated regardless of age. Itching is not a symptom.

If you are 50 years old you should have a colonoscopy even if you have no symptoms at all. never ever stay away from them they save lives and are not painful. the prep is actually the worst part. now having a baby can be degrading and is so painful you don’t care.

During a colonoscopy any polyps found are COMPLETELY removed if possible and if you do have cancer hopefully it is confined to a polyp and that is the end of your treatment. Cancer found this way has a 5-year survival rate of 95-100%. However, a stage 4 colon cancer only has a 5-year survival rate of 5%. This is why colonoscopies save lives. Waiting until you have symptoms is an indication of advanced disease and dangerous.

In your case, it sounds more like you may have hemorrhoids, anal fissures or maybe just inflammation from something irritating you. Try a soak in the tub with Epsom salts or baking soda once every day or two. you may also want to use moist wipes instead of toilet paper for a little while; you can find them next to each other at the grocery store. if you are not better in a week then see your doctor.

Stomach cramps, constipation and blood in the stool are the three main symptoms of colon cancer.
If you are concerned, talk with your doctor and ask to have a colonoscopy performed.
A colonoscopy is done by you drinking a very salty, watery contrast drink to clean out your colon. 24 hours later, you are taken in a lab where the nurse gives you a drug (usually by IV) which will pretty much knock you out. the doctor then inserts a small camera into you through the rectum and checks your entire colon to see if there are any polyps.
Or if your family has a history of colon cancer and these family members are still alive, you can check to see if you have the same genetic type of cancer. Whatever you test does not ensure that you will or will not get colon cancer.

Basically, talk with your doctor and share your concerns. It's better to get tested and to detect early than to wait and have something that is incurable.

hi, Colon cancer doesnt really have sympotms that are unique to colon cancer which is why it is sometimes missed. the typical symptoms which you should be worries about is a change in bowel habit for more than 6 weeks, a feeling of fullness even after you have opened your bowels, blood in the stool, stomach cramps, anaemia, weight loss and a general feeling unwell. a colonoscopy is the usual method for detecting colon cancer and if any polyps are found, these should also be sent to the lab for testing as a polyp can grow into a cancer. Although the majority of cancers are found in people over 60, anybody that has had any of the symptoms should go to there doctor, just to rule out anything serious. go to your GP, just to rule this out and put you at ease but it doesnt sound like typical colon cancer! hope iv helped! x