concerns

[Momofthree33]

Hi I am a 31 year old. This year I started having vag. discharge , cramps and stomach issues , among other symptoms and was found by ob to have a 12 cm ovarian cystoma. This was removed and has not come back. I was referred to GI because months later I still have stomach issues. I have had constipation (don’t go but once every 5-7 days, longest was 10) but when it do go it’s often diarrhea. And it’s a lot of stool. Sometimes it starts more solid and then transitions to diarrhea. It’s extremely painful and I have tons of cramps with it. Most recently last week things got way worse, I spent 3 hours in and out of the bathroom with very intense cramps. I was in there probably 20 seperate times. Atleast half the times I went to the bathroom I sat there for 15 min and nothing happened, just cramps. When I was finally able to go it started with a solid pebble and then got softer and eventually was full on diarrhea. My concern is my 2nd to last stool was very very blood tinged and mucusy . Then my last one was all blood and mucus. When it came out I thought it was diarrhea but when I looked it was just blood and mucus. I see gi next week and I’m hoping they will do a colonoscopy. I am sorry for the graphic pic, but curious if anyone has experienced this and what it was ? My biggest concern is cancer. Can anyone provide insight? Thank you

[Momofthree33]

hi, just adding on to this. Since my last incident that I posted about today it’s been about 7 days. Today I had another incident: same thing , awful cramps, started off solid (pictured) and by the end it was watery and super mucusy.

I am Adding an extra pic because today the first part that was solid has a black spot in it and this is my first time seeing this. What is this? Should I be worried ? What are other people’s experiences that had similar symptoms?

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[OceanMetTheSky]

Hi. I have had similar symptoms but not completely the same. Basically all but the discharge you mention. First of all, have you ever had mucus visible before? Maybe not in the amounts you're seeing now but at all? Last year I was experiencing stomach issues such as pressure/full feeling, weird poops like different changes and sometimes like yours, alternating between solid to soft or diarrhea. I also experienced blood tinged mucus occasionally (which began to become often later on). I would say it went from once every few months to maybe twice or a few times in a few months moving forward. There were times I got awoken in the middle of the night with cramps and had to run to the bathroom and it was soft stool and gross. Even the smell was off. It almost smelled like a burning rubber chemical smell as gross as it is. I thought the worst of course because all of this had been going on for months and it seemed to be worsening. I feared I had cancer or something.

Flash forward through many appointments including CT scan of abdo which showed nothing and upper ultra sound around gallbladder which was also clear. I would sometimes have this pain in the center of the chest right below my boobs, like a pressure feeling seemed to always be my main pain feelings. I was diagnosed with H Pylori bacterial infection. No telling how long i had it because my grandpa i lived with in high school days also had this infection and it can spread through house hold. Many have it but it doesnt usually cause symptoms in people but when it does, it can be alot. I was also diagnosed with SIBO, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth which coincides with h pylori a lot. i went through 2 rounds of very expensive antibiotics, each a different type.

Let me tell you as nasty as it is, the first antibiotic i was in, i never had such perfect poops in my life. The antibiotic also killed off any smell so it was smooth sailing for those 2 weeks and i was going like.... 12-20 times a day, I kid you not. Solid stools. I am skinny yet this must have been accumulating in my stomach for a long time and i wasnt aware. I must have gone over 100 times in 2 weeks. I lost a LOT of weight from my stomach and felt immediate relief mentally. What im saying is just because you are having diarrhea or soft stool doesnt mean you arent extremely constipated. What i learned after that incident is that a lot of the times stomach pain and soft stool is because your body cant properly release it all so the only thing that can make its way is the soft yucky stuff and your cramps you may be experiencing might be chronic constipation overload and something maybe be causing you to not empty your bowels properly. Online and everywhere else, youre told "eat more fiber!" no, fiber made the situation tremendously worse for me. In fact, you may want to avoid it until you know if youre severely constipated or not. It can give you much more gas and more constipation.

Anyway, after treating those two bacterial infections, my digestion has been much much better. I am able to eat normally. After finishing the treatment for these though, i was still having a full pressure feeling in the stomach so it was thought maybe i had gastritis from the infection, so i was put on a ppi to reduce stomach acid for 2 months while my stomach healed. Now, much better!

But back to your main concern of the bloody mucus. I was still having this sometimes and i was still scared so i ended up getting a colonoscopy and... No issues! No ibd or cancer. I had internal hemorrhoids which were causing the mucus and the blood sometimes. Yes, hemms can do that and in fact when you see mucus, it can mean they are basically popping which is nasty but true. Bloody mucus and the other signs can be symptoms of IBD or other issues but they can also be very treatable things. You should see a gastro intestinal doctor for your body but also piece of mind. Ask to have a stool test so they can look for h pylori or something else that may be causing this. Even try for a colonoscopy. The blood alone would probably get you an approval.

Also just saw your follow up comment as i finished this one. I also had the black spots in my poop. I was scared it was blood. It is undigested food so something is making you not able to digest things normally and that could very well be a bacterial infection like i had. Occasionally you WILL see black specks in your poop if you eat things like spinach or other veggies. But overall, it shouldnt be a regular thing.

I truly think you could have h pylori, but that is only based on my experience.

Please see a gastro and explain all symptoms and ask for tests. Its probably nothing serious but you never want to ignore changes in the body

[GCCA-Survivor Administrator in reply to OceanMetTheSky]

A lot of really good points. Quite a journey to narrow down the symptoms. I see where h pylori can be a cause of ulcers as well which could contribute to blood as well. I had a nasty ulcer at the beginning of my duodenum where a stricture was occurring. I had to get stomach bypass surgery (gastrojejunostomy😲).

Thank you for sharing your experience. Some great advice to get things checked out. So many things could be going on and they definitely need to be narrowed down so you can focus on getting on a path to being well. You are definitely proof of that.

Tom

[OceanMetTheSky in reply to GCCA-Survivor]

Thanks for your reply! Glad to see you are a survivor and have come out on top this battle! Yes, I suspected ulcers as well which you're right, could definitely be causing blood. I would think it could also cause anemia and in turn, fatigue depending on how bad they are. I still have some problems with lower stomach pain around my pelvis since all but it seems to come during periods of intense stress, so i think its related.

Oh gosh, a stomach bypass sounds horrible i am sorry you had to deal with that on top everything else. I see your posts here all the time and they are always very helpful to people. Thank you for spending your time educating others and being there for them!

[GCCA-Survivor Administrator]

Hi Momofthree33,

Thanks for posting with us. I hate to hear you are having these issues. I think the response from OceanMetTheSky is really good and informative. Love the people that jump in with their experience. You are young and that's a huge positive on your side, but symptoms need to be checked out no matter your age. Never accept something couldn't be the cause because you are young. Also knowing family history is good information for you and your doctor to know as well. Anything that may run in the family or actually be hereditary.🤔👍

Bottom line, get it checked out. The speculation will drive you crazy. There could be so many things causing this. Blood in the stool is something to find an answer to. You'll probably get a FIT test which will come back positive as you already have blood in the stool (the test will confirm it). The colonoscopy will go a long way to getting the answers you are looking for. If after a physical exam it's not apparent, the colonoscopy should be next. It could be solvable with antibiotics, but you really need good answers.

I do wish you the best in finding out what's going on and getting some good answers. Don't jump to the big "C" as it literally could be being caused by many different things. Focus on narrowing down the answers. And please let us know what you find out as it is this type of information that can be helpful 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.