concerned about continuing bleeding

[Wuestlife11]

hello!

Since the middle of November I have had blood on my stools, like streaks ranging from bright red to a maroon red colour. It’s not every day or even every motion but it’s very regular. It is NOT present on wiping, or staining the toilet water, only on my stool.

my doctor has ordered blood work checking iron Hb and CEA and other tumour markers and inflammation markers, all came back completely within normal limits. I have also had a CT which showed nothing of concern no thickening of the bowel and lymph nodes looked good too.

I am scheduled for a colonoscopy 24th of January, but I’m seriously concerned as two different doctors have done a rectal exam and neither could feel hemorrhoids, but both said that’s what it is likely to be?!

[GCCA-Survivor Administrator]

Hi Wuestlife11,

Thank you for posting on colon cancer connected. I hate to see you're having to deal with all these symptoms, but I am glad to see that you are taking action and moving forward to finding your answers. It is good that your iron and CEA test came back with good results. You have also had a CT scan as well. You are all over this. That's great.

So you have had a lot of tests performed. To me it looks like a little bit of a strange progression of the testing types that you've gone through. Since we are dealing with blood in the stool, no abdominal pain and you've had two rectal exams I would have thought the colonoscopy to be the next step. I usually see the colonoscopy then the CT scan after the colonoscopy had revealed some things. Either way, it will be the colonoscopy that will go a long way to determining what is causing what you are experiencing. Please know that there are a lot of things that can be causing what you are dealing with. You are well on your way to getting those answers.👍

As a part of my annual regiment of tests that I have to go through because I am a stage four colon cancer survivor and have lynch syndrome which is hereditary, I get an annual colonoscopy and an annual CT scan as well as blood work and an endoscopy every three years. So the CT scan can see things the colonoscopy cannot and the colonoscopy can see things the CT scan cannot. So having both those tests is not completely out of the realm of determining what's going on with you. But you are going through the progression of narrowing things down and that's a good thing.🧡

We do wish you all the best in finding out answers to your symptoms. It would be very helpful if you could update us when you get your colonoscopy as this type of information can be very beneficial to others on this site as well.

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.

[Wuestlife11 in reply to GCCA-Survivor]

thank you for your reply, I believe I had the CT due to my age (30) my gp wanted to rule anything obvious out before referring me onwards. He referred me to a public surgeon (in Australia) and they wanted me to wait until March for an initial consultation. I opted to pay out of pocket and go privately (due to no insurance) to be seen earlier.

[GCCA-Survivor Administrator in reply to Wuestlife11]

Ahhhh, I think you're right about the CT scan being due to age. I hate to see you have to pay for this out of pocket but you are absolutely doing the right thing. Is there any way such as contacting a different doctor to get this moved up? A colonoscopy is the best way to see what's going on with you and give you some answers so you don't have to speculate and wonder what might be going on. I wish you could force the government run healthcare to pay for this or at least reimburse you.

In some of the cancer groups I'm involved with we see people in their 20s and 30s having to deal with colon and rectal cancers and these are people who are active and otherwise living a very healthy lifestyle. So, you are never too young to get a colonoscopy. Although it is a small percentage, genetic testing and a colonoscopy should have been happening at a very young age for them.

Please keep us up to speed with your progress.

[GCCA-Survivor Administrator in reply to Wuestlife11]

Perhaps look at this org for assistance in getting a colonoscopy date moved up?

bowelcanceraustralia.org/

You can email a nurse there.

[Wuestlife11 in reply to GCCA-Survivor]

thank you, my colonoscopy is on the 24th January so not too much longer

[Wuestlife11 in reply to GCCA-Survivor]

hello, had my colonoscopy today.

I had moderate second degree internal hemorrhoids and a 19mm pedunculated polyp with typical adenomatous appearance.

He told me not to stress about it, and that I’ll likely just need another colonoscopy in 3 years

[GCCA-Survivor Administrator in reply to Wuestlife11]

Yay! 👏👏Thank you for sharing your update. I am so glad to see you got that colonoscopy done. You did great. And from the looks of it, it's a good thing you had it done as you caught things early which is exactly what you're supposed to do. You were right from the beginning. I am proud of you. 👍❤️

Be healthy!! And no more stress. 😁

Tom

[Bolli in reply to GCCA-Survivor]

PLEASE PLEASE SEE A DOCTOR ASAP, my stool looked just like that and I got dx with rectal cancer

[Dogs4321]

Hi does sound like haemorrhoids higher up so best to check on Colonoscopy. Good luck

[Wuestlife11 in reply to Dogs4321]

thank you for your reply. My husband keeps telling me to stop stressing as Al other testing is clear, but I’m a worry wort.

[Dogs4321]

Me too ! X

[KimberlyMM]

Did you ever find out what was causing the blood in your stool? I am a 51 year old female. I’m having issues. I had blood in my stool about four years ago. I went to have it checked out, and I ended up going to the Mayo Clinic. They found ulcers on my descending colon. When I went, I was in a lot of pain. I was having quite a bit of blood in my stool and the toilet in general when I would go. The cramping was horrible, and I would feel lightheaded. The first thing it always seems like they check for is hemorrhoids, which I have never had. Although, I can see why they check for that. Not too long after that, the symptoms pretty much stopped. Then every once in a while, I would see a tiny bit of blood, but nothing alarming. Honestly, I tried to ignore it. Fast-forward to almost a year ago, and I started having the bad cramping again to where I could not ignore it. Also, I was having more blood in my stool again. I went to gastrologist, and he did some bloodwork. He said that my iron was low and told me to take iron. He also put me on a probiotic that you have to buy behind the counter in the pharmacy. He didn’t seem too concerned, and I was supposed to go back. But, being me it stopped bothering me so bad, so I didn’t go back. I guess I’m a horrible patient. Well, now I am having the cramping pretty badly again, and more blood in my stool again. I also just had an aunt passed away almost 2 years ago from stomach cancer, so that’s been on my mind. Honestly, I’m scared. I’m hoping it’s nothing but I am scared to find out. I was just wondering what other people might think or suggest. Thanks in advance.