I’m reaching out for some support. I’m a 45 yr old female and had a dr appointment with my primary physician because I’ve been seeing (from what I can tell) some flecks of mucus-y, blood in my stool intermittently. I also had some mild pain ( on a scale of 1-10, I’d give it a 1.5) on the right side of my abdomen, about two inches above my belly button. The discomfort comes in waves. Out of concern, my Dr ordered a complete blood and parasite test and a possible sigmoidoscopy. All my tests came back normal, except my ferritin (I guess this a medical term for iron)levels were low. I’m not sure why this is since I eat some kind of red meat around 3x a week. My periods are VERY heavy but they have always been that way with no iron deficiencies. When I googled my symptoms of course it points straight to the C word and now I’m panicking. I can’t really eat because I’ve been so anxious. I have a follow up appointment with my Dr on Monday to discuss the prep for the sigmoidoscopy. Have any of you experienced the same symptoms where your iron levels were low in conjunction with bloody stool? I’d love to hear anyone’s thoughts or kind words of support.
Kind regards
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Barrestar
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I’m so glad to hear that your mother’s procedure went well. I was thinking the same thing about why the sigmoidoscopy. Most likely because the blood I thought I was noticing was a brighter red. I need to ask Monday if he will order a FIT test or if the results are still pending. I’m also going to press for a colonoscopy. I’ll give an update on Tuesday.
I’ve never tried liver, but at this point I’m open to try anything! I’ve read that liver supplements are great too.
Hi I am 29 YO. Same thing happened to me 4 days ago. Saw a lot of blood in my stool “bright red” went to my pcp the next day and she thought it was hemorrhoids. I really don’t think it’s just hemorrhoids because I have been very gassy since then, very thin stools, cramps on my left side only and change in the consistency of my stools I am also so worry. I don’t have any health insurance but the dr gave me a referral for a anoscopy I just have to find a place to get it done but I been searching and that procedure is so expensive and of course I just lost my job due to COVID-19 I feel so depressed because like you I went straight to the internet and now I think the worse please let me know how did it go for your appointment on Monday.
I’m so sorry to hear what you are going through. I’m not sure what area you are living, but I would assume any medical facility would be willing to allow a monthly installment repayment plan. This is your health and you deserve some peace of mind. Stressing over the things you can’t control will only make your symptoms worse IMO.
I had to force myself to stop googling symptoms. Instead put that energy into calming, healing thoughts.
Cece88 ,I just replied to your other post but am now seeing this concern about insurance. Are you in the US? If so, there are two places I'd like to recommend for you:
The Colorectal Cancer Alliance has a program where they help people get screened for colorectal cancer. Check out their website at ccalliance.org - you can also request for a Patient Navigator to help you in your efforts to get screened.
Additionally, there's a program called Colonoscopy Assist where they help provide low-cost colonoscopy's - colonoscopyassist.com/. Please check them out and keep us posted!
Hi Rcam01, I have not done any tests yet, I went to my pcp last Friday because I’ve been constipated for last 3 months but I didn’t really pay much attention until last week that I noticed blood in my stool, cramps on my left side abdomen, gassy, and passing very thing stools. My pcp thinks it’s just hemorrhoids but why would I be so gassy and having cramps not only that but the consistency and thin stools really makes me think it’s not just hemorrhoids so Ms. Nicole_GCCA helped me through a website where you can go and request an appointment for colonoscopy since I don’t have any health insurance, so I went through colonoscopyAssist and I was able to schedule an appointment so I’m having my colonoscopy next Tuesday. I’m just hoping it’s nothing serious. I will let you how it went
Hello Barrestar , Thank you for posting and I'm sorry for what you are experiencing. The anxiety from googling symptoms is very real and unfortunately, it can actually increase symptoms because our GI systems are heavily impacted by stress/anxiety.
I'm so glad to hear you have an appointment. These are great questions regarding sigmoidoscopy, and it would be important to ask your doctor for the reasoning on a sigmoidoscopy v. a full colonoscopy, which would allow them to see your entire colon from the cecum to the anal area.
If for some reason your doctor does not want you to have a colonoscopy, and you feel it is necessary, you can seek out a second opinion / find another doctor. You know your body best and we always encourage patients to be comfortable that all tests/procedures have been performed to diagnose or rule out a diagnosis.
We're here for you and please keep us updated with how the appointment goes.
Hello @malcol - how can we help you? My college GCCA-Survivor is our moderator and administrator. We hope you'll find support from the many members in this group as well.
I’m an 18 year old male and for the past 2 weeks I’ve had change in stool mostly diarrhoea ,my anxiety has been horrible making me I’ll making my appetite come and go during the day
all started the day after I heavily drank one night and I don’t drink any other time then there was blood in urine like clots, I got that checked they said it looked fine no infection ,it hasn’t happened since but change in stool hasn’t gone away
Hi Malcol. Thank you for posting on Colon Cancer Connected. I hate to hear you're having this going on for the past two weeks. You mentioned that you had “blood and urine like clots” and had this symptom checked out. You also stated that you haven't seen this reoccur but that the issue of diarrhea continues. It is strange that this continues and the one thing you've done out of the normal is have a night of binge drinking. But the fact that this continues and you are obviously looking for some answers, I would go get it checked out by your doctor. There could be many things going on here as to the cause. It definitely won't hurt to get it checked out.
A lot of times anxiety and worrying about things can make things actually worse. Blood in the urine is definitely a symptom that needs to be checked out. You've done that and that's great. The diarrhea aspect is continuing and there are a lot of tests that can be administered to figure out what's going on with that. Getting things checked out will definitely give you some Peace of Mind.
You might want to make some notes on what you've been eating and doing for the past couple of weeks that may be contributing to the diarrhea. You can share that information with your doctor and it may mean more to the doctor than it does to you and myself as far as diagnosing what's going on. Another thing to think about is there any hereditary medical conditions they're running your family? Is there a history of urinary tract infection? Is there a history of any gastro intestinal problems? Information like this is good to inform your doctor.
We do issue the very best in finding answers to your issues. As always, when symptoms occur that are out of the ordinary it's always a good idea to get them checked out. Another good thing is you catch things early and that's the best thing to do. And also getting answers we'll put you on a path to getting well and not having to worry about it.
Please let us know what you find out. It's information like that that can be helpful to others on this site as well. Everything big or small always starts with some kind of symptom. I'm a big fan of getting things checked out just to be on the safe side.
Thank you,
~Tom, GCCA Survivor - Colon Cancer Connected Site Administrator.
Just a reminder - this group is here to offer support, share experiences, and offer our thoughts - but this is not medical advice, and you should always consult your medical professional(s). Additionally, for all emergencies, seek urgent medical care, never delay.
they said the blood in urine looks fine , my stool is what’s scaring me last time it was thin and smooth which I know isn’t good I have a doctors appointment tomorrow and I’m going to request any tests needed
I wasn’t being very active nor eating much for the past 2 weeks because of how bad my anxiety is which wouldn’t of made anything better I’m normally very active with gym every day and eating a lot but the stool is concerning I have no other symptom other than this
I also have a cough and some blood with phlemb came out today which has also triggered my anxiety to be as bad as it was but I think that’s just from a chest thing i don’t know if it’s related
Best of luck for your doctor appointment tomorrow. I'm proud of you it looks like you're all over this. Just make sure you share all your symptoms with your doctor so you get all the answers. You'll be on the path to being well by getting good answers.
Just tossing in my 2 cents, when things happen with me that are seemingly off and I know I've done something out of my normal routine, I'll retreat right back to doing the normal things that are a part of my day including eating habits and activities. Just to see if the symptoms will go away is what I'm aiming at by doing that. Of course, when we're talking about blood in the stool or while urinating, that requires a whole new approach in getting your doctor involved. You're doing great.
Good luck tomorrow. Please let us know how it turns out.
The symptoms that you're experiencing could be caused by all sorts of different things. You have several things going for you. You are young and have a healthy lifestyle and there's no hereditary aspect to certain diseases or cancer in your family. That is great but you are experiencing symptoms that need to be checked out and you're doing just that. In my opinion I would not think it would be cancer.
You are experiencing a lot of anxiety about this and that can push symptoms to the next level as well. Therefore, it's important to get you some good answers and get you on the way to getting well and thinking well. You are doing just that and you're doing a great job of it.
So please do make a list of all the things you are experiencing so you can tell your doctor and not miss anything. Things like what you were doing when you first experienced the symptoms and that it is causing you some concern. You need the anxiety taken away and getting good answers will do that. Also, never let an answer be shrugged off because of your age. There are many tests you'll probably be put through and you can probably expect to wait a little while for the results. But that's the nature of the beast. The important thing is you get those tests done and you get answers to those tests.
Again, all the best with rescheduling your doctor appointment as well as the results you get. And please let us know how it turns out and what tests you had to take and what the doctor had to say about it. That can be interesting stuff to others on this site as well.
sorry for not replying sooner however I rang 111 told them what’s up with me and they suggested to go to the urgent gp , they took my bloods and did an X-ray on my chest - the X-ray was fine but the bloods say I had a little infection but everything else clear , my anxiety had calmed down massively I can eat again 😂however that wouldn’t explain why I’ve had loose stool for more than 2 weeks I’m going to ring back in a couple days if nothing changes
That is good news. So, you probably have some meds to combat that infection. It is good that you got some answers and you're able to avoid some of the anxiety. Hopefully things will clear up for you in the next couple of weeks and you'll be back on the path to being well. It's great that you took the actions to get some good answers to what's going on.👍
I’m back and my bowel habits are still unusual which I’m panicking about , it’s been about a month like this I’ve been to the gp and done a stool sample I just need to hand it in , surly this means something serious after a month of the same thing ?
On 1/7, You went to the urgent GP. They took your bloods I took an X-ray said you had a little inspection everything else was clear. Tools have not cleared up and you were going to go back to get that checked out. Were you able to get another doctor appointment? It still looks like you need to have that stool sample evaluated. I don't think you should be panicking. You're doing what needs to be done and that's great. It has been a couple of weeks since you've had these symptoms and maybe from the stool sample they can discover something that can put you on a path to treating whatever's going on.
Just make sure your doctor knows that it's been going on for over a couple of weeks. Are you following your normal routine of eating and hydration? Whatever you were doing before these symptoms showed up. It's been about 17 days and I wouldn't think it to be “serious” as you still need to turn in your stool sample to get tested. I do think you're on a good path to getting your answers you're looking for. After you get the stool sample evaluated, hopefully the GP will give you an answer for what's causing it.
I have a question , I’ve googled it and it’s said to me symptoms don’t show until the cancer is at later stages / more advanced I’m just seeing if that is true
When you say “symptoms” don't show until the cancer is at later stages / more advanced, were you looking up a specific cancer type? A specific tumor type?
Cancers like colon cancer and bowel cancer do have indicators before they are in an advanced stage. Blood in a stool or abdominal discomfort to a known family history. You just have to have tests done to reveal what's going on. For example, the tumor they took out of me was a polyp in my colon maybe six years prior to that. Had I had a colonoscopy earlier it would have made a huge difference and I possibly wouldn't have to have had fought cancer at stage 4. You have to look for signs or symptoms and have them checked out. Also, your genes may reveal and predetermination to certain cancers. This could be discovered through genomic sequencing. And if your family has a hereditary cancer history, you could be put on a surveillance program where you would get tested periodically to see what's going on so you can either prevent or catch things very early.
You have touched on a big way to avoid a cancer fight as to prevent it from ever becoming this flight!!!👍
True. There are cancers that do not show any symptoms until they are in a late stage. Colon and bowel cancers are not two of those tumor types. They do have predetermining indicators and symptoms. But there are still ways to catch these types of tumors early and that's getting tested. If you have a cancer that doesn't show symptoms until a late stage, it could possibly be discovered using a Galleri test. If there is cancer in your body, it is usually discarding dead cancer cells into your bloodstream and tests like Galleri are able to discover over 50 types of cancers just from a blood sample. Just like you would sequence a biopsy of a cancer tumor to determine what's going on and help determine the best therapy, you can sequence a sample of your blood to determine if there are cancer cells present, what type of cancer it is, and also where it's located in your body. It's truly amazing stuff. Go ahead and Google Galleri test. 👍😁.
sorry, did not see this reply yeh I’m just waiting on results for my stool sample I don’t really have any other symptoms but I do have a change in bowel habits all the time some times they are very thin and flat and I have stomach aches every few days however once I go to the toilet the pain is relieved
Good question. I definitely don't mind talking about it. When I was first diagnosed, I was already at stage 4 metastatic colon cancer. Metastatic means that it had spread from the original tumor site. I was always the type of person that when something what happened that isn't good I would always look for a way to make that better and perhaps go away. Cancer was bad because I didn't know how to fight cancer. It was very mind blowing about how much I was “not in control.”
I do feel pretty lucky to be alive. I had two cousins passed away in 1991 and 1996 from the same type of cancer. I was diagnosed in 2012 and then in 2014 there was a clinical trial that was looking for specific patients with a certain biomarker which I happened to have. The cancer drug in the clinical trial was approved for tumor types that I didn't even have. But because my tumor type had similar biomarkers to those other tumors that have been approved for this drug, they thought that I may benefit as well. And I did. It was quite miraculous. Today, that drug is helping others they may find themselves in a similar situation that I was in.
For me life is pretty normal, but it definitely isn't the same as it was. Because I have lynch syndrome, I'm a good candidate to face some kind of cancer again. I don't think cancer is around every corner, but you kind of do think about the day you may have to face it again. I have to maintain a certain regiment of surveillance so if something does occur, we can catch it early. I definitely don't want to wait till stage 4 again😳. So, I get the annual colonoscopy, annual CT scan, annual blood work, and an endoscopy every three years. With all that it is hard to not think about why you are doing all this surveillance as it must be repeated every year.
Another big life change for me is trying to help others avoid what I had to go through. Early detection and screening make a lot of this preventable. Especially with colon cancer. Looking back, I should have been getting the colonoscopy in 1991 or at least 1996 given what my family history is. Hindsight is 20/20. So, as you can probably see I am pretty adamant about people getting symptoms checked out and making sure nothing sinister is happening or could potentially happen. And for those that have to face this disease, I hope to be a point of encouragement and knowledge to help them fight it. Maybe I can give some direction that would be beneficial?
Am I fully cured? Another good question. I am currently where every cancer patient strives to be. I am what is called NED (No Evidence of Disease). In 2023 it will be my sixth year of being NED. That is great and a huge milestone. It's kind of funny that all the surveillance that I have to go through annually is looking for evidence of disease. But I look at all these procedures that I must do annually as opportunities to prove cancer is still losing the battle with me. I look forward to those procedures to prove it. 👍👏💪💪
love the attitude mate but yeh that’s some battle you went through just like to say thank you again for responding and amazing you you’re nearly on your 6th year and pray you won’t have to face it again
Hi, I would suggest not to google symptoms because it will go straight to the most fearing illness not the tons of minor things in will most likely be , anyways you should eat lots of fiber in case it’s something in the stomach so it can clear out, update us !
Praise the Lord. Just prepare for your sigmoidoscopy and don't Google or over research. Iron deficiency have many causes. I m not a doctor but recently went through Colonoscopy and Endoscopy and was anxious and got into over researching . Please stop that and just pray. Our lord is an awesome god. I was saved by him.amd have certain issues that medicines can sort but our Lord can heal.
Don't Google or check reports. Levels of CBC go up and down for various reasons. Keep it in the hands of the lord
I started feeling pinching sensation in February 2020 and had irregular bowel movement. Went to see my doctor. He requested colonoscopy. I did colonoscopy in August. My results were normal except, I had mild inflammation in small intestine where small and large intestine meets. And redness in colon right and left. They did the biopsy and pathology, they found nothing with word «C ». But My condition has deteriorated a bit. I feel pain exactly WHERE YOU MENTIONED. And few other places. Pain level 1.5 to 2. So I order a colonoscopy report ( I live in Canada so they don’t give us reports). And I found that I might have crohn disease at stage 1. But nothing serious. I had no bleeding except if I push too hard then I bleed bright red blood. But no internal bleeding.
I hope this helps.
You can follow LOW FODMAP DIET until you get all you tests done. It will really help.
Hello Arif_Mtl ,Thank you for posting and sharing. Have you checked out this group on HealthUnlocked? You might find it useful: healthunlocked.com/crohns-c...
Hope you get some answers and are able to get some relief.
Thank you for your heartfelt message. I’ll check out the low FODMAP diet. My boyfriend was diagnosed with Crohn’s in 2013. Not sure what stage but he has a fistula in his colon. Honestly, his condition is prob worse than yours since he does not eat healthy (some people are stubborn eggs lol). He gets an episode (vomiting, diarrhea, major cramping for about 24 hrs-not fun), ,about every 6-8 weeks if he gets cray cray with his diet.
We’re researching Karen Hurds Bean Protocol, many people have eradicated their Crohns by following this protocol. Beans sounds like suicide if you have stomach issues but We have nothing to lose at this point.
Also, was it because of COVID that it took so long to get the colonoscopy? Seems like a long wait from feb - august.
Hi there, I’m 40, female, 5 foot 2, weigh 8 stone and I experienced symptoms same as you for 2 years and I kept putting it down to maybe piles further up the bowel caused by c section /pregnancy at 38... However in April the bleeding worsened and I ended up in A&E (I also have a clotting problem so was still hoping it might be piles). Due to covid it took until October to have a colonoscopy where they found a large polyp that was cancerous. The CT scan showed it had not spread. I have just had an anterior resection last Thursday (they have cut the piece of the bowel out) and I will now have to wait 4-6 weeks to see if any cells went into the lymph nodes- if they did, that will mean chemo. I am really hoping they don’t find any!! I want to tell you that I was worried for ages and I should have been braver and had it checked out sooner...could have meant a quick snip of just the polyp if I had! Don’t be afraid of the colonoscopy- it’s not that bad a procedure, just get FULLY checked ASAP (not sigmoidoscopy). I’m still in hospital as I write this and have met all ages on this ward from thirties to eighties male and female who have experienced similar. It’s more common than I ever realised... and you just have to get on with it. Best wishes xx
Hi Oscar7 ,Thank you for posting and sharing. I hope you are recovering okay in the hospital from the anterior resection. Are you able to have any family or friends visit or are there restrictions because of COVID?
Thank you for spreading the word about colonoscopy and how it can be a lifesaver.
We will be thinking of you and hoping that the lymph nodes are clear.
I may have asked you this already - but did they do any biomarker testing on your tumor? Depending on your biomarker results, there may be treatments that are more likely to be successful for you. Again, hoping you don't need further treatment. But good to know about biomarkers - we created a site all for educating patients and caregivers about biomarker testing and how it can impact your treatment options. knowyourbiomarker.org
Please keep us posted, hope you are able to go home soon!
Thank you x I’m going home today! Hurray! Just read your other post below. I am very pleased you are getting fully checked. In regards to low iron and heavy periods, have you been screened for Von Willebrams Disease? That is the clotting factor 8, that I am missing that I mentioned. It causes exactly those problems. When they do your bloods- please ask them to check for it, it is more common than people realise.
I had my appointment yesterday and I pressed for a colonoscopy so my dr put in an order with the G1. His main reasoning for the sigmoidoscopy instead of the colonoscopy was because the blood I was seeing in my Bm was a brighter red, indicating the bleeding is coming from the lower colon area. He was just weighing the benefits/risks (main risk, the possibility of getting punctured when there is no risk of bleeding that high up to begin with), and said my symptoms didn’t really warrant a colonoscopy. But I do not want to leave any stone unturned so he listened to my concerns and ordered the colonoscopy. Now I wait to hear back from the GI.
I would go see a doctor ASAP, they will help ease your anxiety by figuring out what’s going on. My dr also thinks my iron deficiency (I’m not anemic, which is weird) could be because I have extremely heavy periods. Like, I’m changing out my super plus tampons every 2-3 hours for the first 3 days.
Hopefully everything works out and praying everything is in the clear for you!!
Hi Barrestar - glad to hear you are getting a colonoscopy. When will that be?
Glad you were able to advocate for a colonoscopy. Also glad to hear that the doctor shared with you their reasoning because as with all procedures, there are risks associated.
Please keep us posted with when you are getting the colonoscopy so we can all cross our fingers for you.
The constipation has been going on since August, 2020. The blood in the stool, gassy, consistency in Bm, cramps and thin stools for a week now. Although blood stopped, I only noticed 2 times but all other symptoms yes they are every day.
i was experiencing low abdominal pain, and blood on t.p. and in stool. had a colonoscopy about a month ago,and dr. removed a 3cm. polyp from sigmoid colon, thankfully it was benign,and the bleeding and pain have cleared up,but dr.recommends follow up screening in a year ,due to size of polyp..
Glad to hear you got the colonoscopy and polyp removed. Please always stay on top of your future screenings - they can literally be a lifesaver! So glad the bleeding has cleared up.
HI there. How are your symptoms now? Are you still having thin stools? My symptoms were the same as yours to tee minus the blood in stool. Had a cole which showed a large 2cm benign polyp and grade II (prolapsed) hemorrhoids. Polyp was excised but I am still having the constipation, thin stools, gassiness, and occasional indigestion and bloating. Have your symptoms cleared up yet? If so how long did it take? All this just really stresses me out!
UPDATE: I had my colonoscopy yesterday and the GI said my colon was normal and healthy. He spotted hemorrhoids, hence the blood in my stool. I still don’t know why I was having stomach pain, perhaps the anxiety was making me physically ill. Thank you everyone for all of your support and advice. It really helped calm my nerves and guided me to know what questions to ask my Physician and GI.
This experience really shook things up for me and has motivated me to start taking my diet and stress levels seriously.
Most people who suffer from autoimmune diseases such as IBD, celiac, and all intestinal diseases, lack calcium and iron, you don't need to worry, I feel the same as you, which makes this anxiety because of the uncertainty of the diagnosis we are suffering from and the similarity of symptoms with a certain diseases that we are afraid of, as long as there is no certainty, make us more stressed and it will worsen your health, and it is not easy to try not to think about it, I also experienced it and it made my autoimmune develop into another autoimmune, when I started received appropriate treatment and confirmed the diagnosis, my health began to improve, and now with new symptoms and no definite diagnosis, my disease is progressing, this is like relieving one disease but moving to another disease
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I am also so worry. I don’t have any health insurance but the dr gave me a referral for a anoscopy I just have to find a place to get it done but I been searching and that procedure is so expensive and of course I just lost my job due to COVID-19 I feel so depressed because like you I went straight to the internet and now I think the worse 
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