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Bowl cancer v Celiac (feeling v scared) & questions around gluten challenge

fionafionafiona

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fionafionafiona Rookie
fionafionafiona
Posted

Hello everyone, I'm hoping you can help with making me less anxious about possibly having bowel cancer. :( any information  would be very helpful. 

around Christmas I noticed numbness in my face which spread to my hands and legs  as well as a sense of dizziness. There was also increased gi problems mainly with bloating but this wasn't bad enough to make me go to the doctor as a primary concern and I didn't think to mention it.

I had a general blood count and vitamin blood test which came back normal apart from low iron ferritin level 11 and was referred to neurologist and have had an MRI - awaiting results.

After googling, the numbness subsided following giving up sugar and gluten, & taking a low mtivitin since mid Feb. Which is great but

HOWEVER the gi issues have continued- feeling very constipated since giving up gluten /so that I can only pass very small, sometimes pencil thin stools or d which was often green and slimey in colour. 

I have recently completed a two week gluten challenge for a celiac blood test and didn't notice a dramatic change in gi symptoms when eating gluten again.  Possibly bloating / constipation returning more vigorously but no immediate obvious reaction when eating gluten rich foods.

 UNTILL the last day of the challenge My gi problems are intense. I feel constipated but can only pass d. Like my insides are swollen. ?? Have been feeling these intense symptoms for five days with no gluten. Usually worse at night where I wake up sweating.

Im worried this is just showing increasing bowl problems irrespective of gluten which means it could be cancer :( 

positves are: 

I have had half the second blood test results back and since giving up gluten / sugar my iron is up slightly To ferryin = 17  and numbness hasn't returned which is good. 

I also have historically always been low on iron/ skinny kid/ problems with anxiety ( you may be able to tell!) and headaches, which looking back fits  with a gluten sensitivity. Im not sure where sugar fits it but the numbness seems to return more dramatically / instantaneously If i have any refined sugar. 

is it possible I'm just having a delayed reaction to the gluten challenge?

And I still had gi problems after giving gluten up as my body was adjusting to different diet?  

Has anyone else first identified a problem with gluten following numbness rather than gi issues mainly.

Othet postives are 

i feel like I put on weight during not eating gluten,

I haven't noticed blood in my stools,

no marked abdominal pain. possibly an increased feeling of swelling im the upper left hand side ( maybe I'm just paranoid) 

I have been to the doc and she couldn't feel and lumps / tenderness.

the doctor wants to waiting until celiac bloodtest results are back before referring me to a gastro but I'm scared to wait and I feel increasingly weak. 

My only symptom really regards cancer is increasingly actute gi problems over the last 4 months but I'm still very worried so any thoughts gratefully received. I'm 30 years old, female. 

Thanks everyone 

fiona

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cyclinglady Grand Master
cyclinglady
Posted
6 hours ago, fionafionafiona said:

Hello everyone, I'm hoping you can help with making me less anxious about possibly having bowel cancer. :( any information  would be very helpful. 

around Christmas I noticed numbness in my face which spread to my hands and legs  as well as a sense of dizziness. There was also increased gi problems mainly with bloating but this wasn't bad enough to make me go to the doctor as a primary concern and I didn't think to mention it.

I had a general blood count and vitamin blood test which came back normal apart from low iron ferritin level 11 and was referred to neurologist and have had an MRI - awaiting results.

After googling, the numbness subsided following giving up sugar and gluten, & taking a low mtivitin since mid Feb. Which is great but

HOWEVER the gi issues have continued- feeling very constipated since giving up gluten /so that I can only pass very small, sometimes pencil thin stools or d which was often green and slimey in colour. 

I have recently completed a two week gluten challenge for a celiac blood test and didn't notice a dramatic change in gi symptoms when eating gluten again.  Possibly bloating / constipation returning more vigorously but no immediate obvious reaction when eating gluten rich foods.

 UNTILL the last day of the challenge My gi problems are intense. I feel constipated but can only pass d. Like my insides are swollen. ?? Have been feeling these intense symptoms for five days with no gluten. Usually worse at night where I wake up sweating.

Im worried this is just showing increasing bowl problems irrespective of gluten which means it could be cancer :( 

positves are: 

I have had half the second blood test results back and since giving up gluten / sugar my iron is up slightly To ferryin = 17  and numbness hasn't returned which is good. 

I also have historically always been low on iron/ skinny kid/ problems with anxiety ( you may be able to tell!) and headaches, which looking back fits  with a gluten sensitivity. Im not sure where sugar fits it but the numbness seems to return more dramatically / instantaneously If i have any refined sugar. 

is it possible I'm just having a delayed reaction to the gluten challenge?

And I still had gi problems after giving gluten up as my body was adjusting to different diet?  

Has anyone else first identified a problem with gluten following numbness rather than gi issues mainly.

Othet postives are 

i feel like I put on weight during not eating gluten,

I haven't noticed blood in my stools,

no marked abdominal pain. possibly an increased feeling of swelling im the upper left hand side ( maybe I'm just paranoid) 

I have been to the doc and she couldn't feel and lumps / tenderness.

the doctor wants to waiting until celiac bloodtest results are back before referring me to a gastro but I'm scared to wait and I feel increasingly weak. 

My only symptom really regards cancer is increasingly actute gi problems over the last 4 months but I'm still very worried so any thoughts gratefully received. I'm 30 years old, female. 

Thanks everyone 

fiona

Unfortunately, all celiac testing requires you to be in a gluten free diet.  I am not sure how long you gave up gluten, but a two week challenge may not have been long enough according to this US leading celiac research center:

Open Original Shared Link

Antibodies can take a long time to build in your system.  It sounds like you were just staring to feel the impact of your short gluten challenge, but it may not be enough to get measurable results.  Talk more to your doctor about a re-test if your results are negative.  

Bowel cancer?  Your risk is very small at your age.    You certainly might have celiac disease.  That would be more probable.  

I wish you well.

fionafionafiona Rookie
fionafionafiona
Posted
  • Author

Thanks for the reply. Very much appreciated 

Ennis-TX Grand Master
Ennis-TX
Posted

 You need to be consuming gluten for 12 weeks at least a half slice of bread a day or a wheat based cracker for the blood test and 2 weeks for the endoscope. Otherwise it could show up false negative.

Second, this could be many issues last of which I would say could be cancer it has a better chance of being something like celiac, crohns, IBS, or Ulcerative Colitis. You mention issues in your bowel that are consistence with irritations and inflammation which could be any of these. You should see about getting colonoscopy in addition to the endoscope to see what your dealing with.

Now lets work on helping some of the symptoms a bit in the mean time. Numbness and bowls issues are common with low magnesium levels, the numbness could also conside with low b-vitamins, and various other nutrients and fast that commonly work together to support you body. IF you have damaged intestines or inflammation it would cause you to not absorb the ones you need in sufficient quantities or at all. So you can try supplementing them a bit if you wish in the mean time and trouble shoot it that way.  

I am no doctor but I would suggest a magnesium like Doctors best or in your case you might be better off with the calm magnesium supplement. it is a magnesium citrate while a bit harsh it can trigger bowl moments in people and you want to start off at lower dose with it. B vitamins use what you wil but I like to use a liquid form by liquid health easier to absorb and no pills. I use the stress & energy blend and the Neurological support blend half serving each 3 times a day. NOW while these might work for me we all all different and this is just a idea/suggestion.

Also on the gluten free run you did. it can take 2-6 weeks for the antibodies to go down sometimes much longer. That is if your on a strict diet, gluten contamination is probably present in your kitchen via crumbs in draws, counters, gluten in scratched pots or utensils. Gluten can rarely just be scrubbed off pours surfaces and you need gluten free dedicated cook wear.  toasters, pots, pans etc. There are a few methods for cleaning some kinds of pots but all that is another topic.  Point is you probably still had gluten in your little  gluten free run unless you were eating just raw foods, did your research and took care of all this before hand, or ate strictly gluten-free certified goods premade. 

We do suggest when you start a gluten-free diet to use whole foods only nothing processed, and we suggest not having diary or oats for the first few weeks to jump start your healing. You can later try reintroducing them and seeing how you react, again this is another topic to discuss later.,

Now you mentioned sugar issues, this could be the trigger for the intestinal inflammation we talked about, if you have IBS, crohns, UC sugars, dairy, gluten, soy, and starchy carbs and sometimes all grains can cause flare ups. All people are a little different with these. I personally have celiac and UC and just eat a keto diet of fats, and protein and my issues with random stool issues and bleeding stopped.

It might also be a allergy/intolerance to the foods your eating try keeping a food journal and recording everything you eat, food, condiment, spice, beverage, etv. and record how you feel, physically, and emotionally (neurological symptoms), along with some space to how it effects your stool 8-20 hours later.   Eat a varied rotation of foods, and spices while doing this every few days changing cuisine a bit see if you can get a base line and find a culprit.

I will give some helpful links and suggest you talk to your doctor on these issues and see about some test to narrow it down.

CANCER is the least likely but if you have it it will show up between the blood test or the scopes when they go to check it out. But more then likely it is one of these other issues and you just need to adjust your diet.

https://www.celiac.com/forums/topic/91878-newbie-info-101/

https://www.celiac.com/forums/topic/117090-gluten-free-food-alternatives-list/

https://www.celiac.com/forums/topic/116482-supplement-and-foods-you-take/

 

Jmg Mentor
Jmg
Posted
On 8 April 2017 at 10:34 AM, fionafionafiona said:

m worried this is just showing increasing bowl problems irrespective of gluten which means it could be cancer :( 

As cycling lady says above this is highly unlikely and do not discount that gluten or some other intolerance is driving or at the very least enhancing this feeling of anxiety.

i tested negative for celiac but after I removed anxiety, depression and brain fog went too.

i did however notice that for a longish time after my challenge that my stomach was all over the place, noisy gurgling and enough to make me paranoid that I was about to give birth to an alien John hurt style (google it if you must).

your gut is linked to your brain, once you understand that it makes it easier to understand how what you eat can impact your state of mind. Be positive, you are on the way to getting answers and you will soon look back on this time and wonder why you were so stressed. 

Best of luck :)

 

 

 

 

fionafionafiona Rookie
fionafionafiona
Posted
  • Author

Thank you for the alien reference that made me laugh :) much needed! 

Yes it's hard not to tailspin into anxiety when I thought I had the numbness covered. Managed to convince myself I have ms so now  I'm just prepped to fear the worst . Mornings always seem particularly bad for some reason. 

i will have a look at magnesium... I have been taking vitamin d which I understand can lower magnesium levels so will have an explore. 

Its been a week since I had gluten so I'm hoping my symptoms will calm down soon! 

Prevoisly while gluten free I was just avoiding the obvious but still having dairy so very possible that explains why I was still feeling worse. 

 

Thanks everyone for the support. It's tricky not to feel like I'm losing my marbles. 

 

X

 

cyclinglady Grand Master
cyclinglady
Posted

Glad we can reassure you.  But, your big concern may be the fact that your not-knowledgeable doctor ordered a celiac blood panel after a two week gluten challenge when the standard is 8 to 12 weeks.  Going gluten free again, prior to an endoscopy or a GI consult, may be another.  If your blood tests are negative it will not rule out celiac disease.  Please read up about celiac testing.  Note too, that celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder triggered by gluten (it starts it).  A flare-up can last for weeks, months or longer!  

Consider insisting on that GI consult.  Let her know that your challenge was only for two weeks if you get negative results.  

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