The HA Gods are laughing at me - why does this happen?!

[janehathaway]

So I am currently going back and forth on being terrified I have either ovarian cancer or colon cancer (occasionally both). 

Yesterday I was so obsessed about the colon cancer idea that I couldn't function all day.  I spent almost the entire day online Googling.

So guess what happened this morning?  A long, thin stool, of course!  Now I am more freaked out than ever.  I have had those on rare occasion in the past and never given it a second thought.  Why oh why oh why do I have to have one of those today in the middle of this horrible fear?  Is it a sign?  I think I'm going crazy.  My doctor used to have a drop-in clinic in the mornings where you could see one of the doctors without an appointment.  I raced right over there only to discover that they aren't having the clinic over the summer.  Arggghhhhhh.

[seoreh]

probably ibs I get that all the time. eat more fiber, flax seeds .. it will fill it out.

[thatsme36]

I was worried about colon cancer after the birth of my last child.  I had every symptom, and just when I thought I was getting better?  Suddenly another symptom!  I had a colonoscopy so I know all is well (I had insurance then) but anyways, I still have long thin stools now and then so they are normal, especially with IBS which I have and a lot of anxious people have.  I would not worried.  Our heads make us have symptoms, I sometimes wonder if turning blue was a symptom that we would all walk around looking like smurfs.  God Bless.

[Sandra01]

My stools are not always shaped as they should. But I went through a  phase of fearing colon cancer a couple months ago. But since you have it checked out you should be fine.

[rstkenpachi]

stress and anxiety can affect your digestion in a very bad way (simptomatic only, it won't actually harm you) I've had stool problems when my HA was at it's highest , color problems, consistence problems ... eat alot of fibers and relax, your stool will be back to normal in less than a week and the fibers will also protect you from colon cancer. stay sane.

[emma09]

when my anxiety was high my stools were terrible. ibs oculd defo cause flat / stringy stools

[teeps]

i agree on the ibs due to the fact you were nervous and then they happened. honestly i think all anxiety sufferers should take probiotics every day it is seriously the best thing you can do for your digestive system as it is what suffers so much with this dreaded beasty we suffer. i take ethical nutrients ibs support i was put onto it by a dietician. if i don't take it for 3 or 4 days my stomach and bowels are totally out of whack.

[shade]

i have long thin stools from time to time.  i always think colon cancer, even though this is not the case for either of us.  unless you have consistently PENCIL thin stools every time you go, then this is normal.  stools change shape, size, color and consistently based on what we eat, stress and metabolism.

[janehathaway]

Thanks everyone.  I'm having the roughest time I've had with my HA in years.  I've never suspected two horrible things at once either.  That's a doozy.

[jojo1976]

THink of it this way - the less stressed you are, the more formed your stools will be. The more stressed, the closer to diarrhea you get. Stringy poo is just somewhere in the middle. And this is for all animal pretty much. I work with animals and when they are stressed, the first thing to show up is loose or runny stools. The most stressed animals have straight out diarrhea...  I imagine it's the body's way of lightening our load just in case we need to RUN. Who knows, but pretty common.

[diana66]

Try drinking metamucil once per day - my gastro said it is fine to stay on it - (I started it when I was having symptoms last summer) - it leads to what I would call "consistency" and that is great for those of us with HA!

[tigerpaw]

Lets post our pictures in the Members Gallery..............

http://www.anxietyzone.com/index.php?action=gallery;cat=2;start=0