I'm a 27 year old man, at a healthy weight, and no history of health issues (aside from having my gallbladder removed a few years ago).
About 4-5 years ago, I first noticed small specks of blood on the surface of my stool. This was very infrequent, I only ever saw it every couple of months. Then sometime last year I began to notice that I was bleeding from the anus after having a bowel movement, which always showed up as streaks on the toilet paper after wiping. This still occurs sometimes.
Then towards the end of 2021, I began seeing bright red blood on the surface of my stool again, although sometimes it also appeared like it was mixed with strings of mucus. The amount was always very small. This happens once, maybe twice a month. It's been at least several weeks since I know for sure that I saw any blood.
The shape and colour of my stools is still the same, and my bathroom schedule is pretty regular (every other day). I haven't lost any weight, nor do I feel tired of fatigued. However, in the past two weeks I've developed this dull, gnawing hunger-like feeling around the area of my stomach. It's been pretty consistent and still hasn't gone away.
Anyway, this has got me feeling extremely worried and afraid of this being something much worse. I'm checking my stools everytime I go, and while I haven't seen any surface blood lately, I sometimes notice red things inside the stool, and I'm not sure whether this blood or from something I ate. This only adds to my anxiety.
I know first and foremost I should goo speak to a physician, and I intend to, but I just wanted to see if anyone has experienced anything similar and if they could share their thoughts.