Question: Last week I suffered from a common cold which gave me no stomach symptoms. I shook it off at around Thursday but starting Wednesday is when I began having this dull discomfort in my upper abdominal area that is constant throughout the whole day and unrelenting, a little bit worse at night. I also feel very full and sometimes bloated after meals. It is mostly mild and can go unnoticed when I become distracted with my daily activities, but it always feels to be present in some way. My stools are also softer now and I became particularly worried today when I saw my stool tonight was a light brown color and had these large orange/reddish patches on them. I became increasingly anxious because I fear it might be blood, though yesterday night I did have a pizza for dinner and watermelon for dessert and maybe that’s what caused the change in the color.

I am now in a constant state of anxiety believing I might have stomach cancer and cannot stop thinking about it, the fear is dominating my thoughts throughout the days and nights. I don’t know if this might be related but I took Ibuprofen 600mg for a sore throat last Tuesday (the day before my stomach discomfort began) morning without eating anything. I figured it might have damaged my gut in some way but if that’s the case is it normal for the discomfort to persist throughout the whole day and for a whole six days straight? I am really hoping it’s not stomach cancer, I’m very afraid.

I’m getting blood tests and turning in a fecala nd urine sample to the doctor’s next Monday and I am wondering also if those blood tests could detect any potential anomaly in my stomach and if they will be able to tell if there might be occult blood in the sample (or do they have to order a specific test for that? My GP wrote for a search for H Pylori)


I should also add that I found no blood whatsoever when wiping after the stool situation I mentioned, but the stool was very loose

one more addition: I don%E2%80%99t usually use Ibuprofen or related drugs at all whatsoever, it was mostly my mother who insisted I take it for my sore throat at the time

Hi, thank you for your fast response. It is very relieving to hear that the chances are low. I have two more questions for peace of mind...

The watermelon slice I ate, I had it the night before not for dinner the same night that the stool came out with the reddish patch. Does that still more or less confirm the watermelon?

And the second query, well... I had an endoscopy conducted about two years ago that gave an all clear (no ulcers, no cancer). Is it possible that in this span of two years I could have developed a cancer and be feeling these symptoms because of it? Should I make an appt with a gastroenterologist and ask for another endoscopy?