Tons of blood in multiple BMs tonight. Should I be worried?

[iNeedaBreak94]

Genuinely concerned about the amount of blood during bowel movements tonight.

This has been consistent during four BMs this evening. I have had fissures once before - extremely painful and no blood so I am ruling that out. I do have frequent, sometimes excessive BMs, especially after eating. There were some clumps of blood (I’m guessing blood clots). I am not bleeding externally.

I am a 26 year old gay man but have not been sexually active in over a year. Eat well, healthy (for the most part - I did have kidney and liver failure at 21), weigh 175.

I’m not necessarily concerned about the bleeding as if I had to guess this is most likely the result of a hemorrhoid but rather the amount of blood given the multiple BMs

Any advice, suggestions, or knowledge you have on this matter would be greatly appreciated.

[Oscar7]

Hi there, that looks like what I have been experiencing for a year now.... I am lying on my recovery bed at this moment after having a colonoscopy to find the cause. It looks like I have a likely cancerous large polyp. CT scan next to see if it’s spread. You must go and get this looked at properly. Do not leave it/ignore it as I have done all this time.

[Martinmartin in reply to Oscar7]

Hi Oscar, sorry to hear that. Have the doctors sens the biopsy to lab to definitely confirm the presence of cancer? Where is the polyp located and what symptoms brought you to specialists to perform colonoscopy? Most importantly, how old are you and do you suffer any other medical issues? I hope that your biopsy and CT results will be much better than you anticipate them to be!

[Nicole_GCCA Partner in reply to Oscar7]

Hi Oscar7 ,

Thank you for sharing and I'm sorry to hear that you may have a cancerous polyp. Have you gotten any more information in the past 5 days? Have you had your CT yet or is that coming up?

We appreciate you sharing your story about not ignoring symptoms and to get checked out.

Please keep us updated with any results you get - we're here for you.

~Nicole @ GCCA

[Oscar7 in reply to Nicole_GCCA]

Had CT scan yesterday but now have to wait 2 weeks before I hear anything else. Iron is low so going for a unit of this shortly. It’s so worrying and stressful, especially with covid around too.

[AshTan in reply to Oscar7]

Hello Oscar I've been diagnosed with cancer in my rectum. I've had my Ct Scan this morning to find out which stage its at & as you are i have to wait a couple of weeks. Which is hard. Even though I have alot of caring family & friends around me. I still feel alone dealing with this mentally

[Oscar7 in reply to AshTan]

Thank you for your message, it’s made me feel better to know there is someone else going through the same. I keep wanting to wake up from this bad dream! Do chat to me if you want to.

[AshTan in reply to Oscar7]

Hello Oscar x

[Nicole_GCCA Partner in reply to AshTan]

Hi AshTan , I'm sorry to hear of your diagnosis, and ugh, waiting to hear what stage it is must be incredibly stressful for you.

I hope you can connect with others on this site - look through some recent posts and you will see several members who have also recently diagnosed.

In addition to dealing with the shock of a colorectal cancer diagnosis and everything that goes with that, there's COVID-19 and so it's an even scarier time.

I would recommend asking your healthcare team how COVID-19 will impact your treatment - will anyone be able to come with you? It's heartbreaking how many people are going through treatment alone without family or friends to physically be there because of the pandemic.

We'll be thinking of you and please let us know when you have an update.

~Nicole @ GCCA

[Nicole_GCCA Partner in reply to Oscar7]

Hi Oscar7 , I'm sorry you'll have to wait 2 weeks for the results. Between your health issues and the global pandemic no wonder it feels like a bad dream.

We're thinking of you and please let us know when you have an update.

~Nicole @ GCCA

[Martinmartin]

Hi, it is always a good idea to have it checked out. The amount of blood you pass can however be a fissure or internal haemmorhoids - the amount of blood in the bowl appears more than it actually is due to its mixing with liquid stool or mucous. Blood clots are very difficult to identify during watery bowel movement. This one looks like a physical injury of colon from straining or a bout of inflammation. Do you have any other perianal and colon symptoms? How long has it lasted? Any signs of anaemia or weightloss? If not, can you arrange a sigmoidoscopy somewhere? It does not require such extensive preparation (short self administered enema right before procedure - so easy, peasy compared to dietary regimen) and can quickly find the culprit. That being haemmorhoids, fissures, diverticulae, bleeding polyps and any signs of lesions such as ulcers and signs of inflammation. However if it is the first occurence, you may try some simethicon tablets and anal suppositories for internal haemmorhoids. That should reduce the bowel movements and straining the muscles. Moreover it should give time for wounds to heal and soothe the pain. Keep hydrated and in case that it persists and does not reduce in intensity, please visit you GP or in case of aubstantial amount of blood go to A&E. Cancer is very rare in your age, but other conditions that can influence your quality of life are not.

Let us know how it goes and stay safe.

[Dalph87]

Get it checked, its a decent amount of blood, it also happens at night and that's an alarm flag.

Can be Ulcerative Colitis from the way you describe the urgency, but again, I'm just guessing here so pls get it checked.

You are too young for Colon Cancer (its unlikely you have it) so at worst it should be IBD.

[Nicole_GCCA Partner]

Dear iNeedaBreak94 ,

Thank you for posting and I'm sorry to read about what you are experiencing with the bleeding.

While there are many causes for blood in the stool, whatever the cause, it needs to be checked out by a specialist.

At 26 years old, the hope is that you do not have colorectal cancer, but I do want to clarify, that there is NO SUCH THING as "too young for colorectal cancer." Colorectal cancers are on the rise in young people, and it isn't entirely clear if this is due to environment, diet, hereditary facts, etc. The only way to rule out colorectal cancer is by seeing a specialist.

The hope, of course, is that this is something that is easily treated with medication.

Depending on where you live/insurance you have, you may need to see a primary care doctor first to get a referral to see a specialist. If your primary care doctor performs a rectal exam in their office, while that is good for them to be able to see if there's any obvious cause for the bleeding, there is a limited view of what they can see. Even if they do a flexible sigmoidoscopy in the office, that still won't cover the entire colon, a colonoscopy is required for them to be able to see to the secum (top of the colon).

Please do reach out to your healthcare provider and make an appointment. It is important to rule out something more serious, and also important to know what's going on and treat your symptoms.

Please keep in touch,

Nicole @ GCCA