blood and mucus in stool for a few years now colonoscopy has came back clear

[Pamela-c]

I’m a 25 year old female and I was diagnosed with IBS many years ago. I used to get really bad stomach pains after eating and then the pain would subside after having diarrhoea this happened for awhile on and off this made me very anxious and I was weary at what I ate I stopped eating red meat for awhile and the pains stopped I’ve had mucus and blood in my stools for years also but it has always been bright red I am making myself sick with worry I keep having panic attacks because I am convinced I have cancer. I’ve had a colonoscopy which came back clear and I’ve also had a nuclear medicine test to check for any inflammation in my small bowel also had all the checks with the finger up the bum and they can’t find any cause for what’s going on they just keep telling me I have really bad IBS and I’ve just been prescribed sertraline to try and “calm” myself down because they believe this is all due to my health anxiety which I very much have and I am getting CBT therapy for it’s all I can think about and it’s ruining my life I don’t know what else to do I do feel the bleeding is worse when I’m more stressed (constantly stressed) and constipated my bowel is very infrequent sometimes I have diarrhoea and sometimes I have constipation - I am so so unbelievably scared and ive been to multiple different doctors and they just don’t seem to understand how much this is affecting my life and how it’s affecting my anxiety. I’m so young I don’t want to die yet

[Pamela-c]

oh forgot to mention I also get pain in my lower back usually on the right

[Nuthatch]

Did they get all the way round on the colonoscopy? I had a similar experience although many years ago and didn’t know the woman who did my first colonoscopy had given up without going all the way to the start of my colon because apparently I was complaining too much of pain. Which I didn’t remember because they gave me midazolam (without explaining what it does..). It took 2 further colonoscopies before they eventually found Crohns and that was at least 20 years later. Might be worth checking?

[GCCA-Survivor Administrator]

Hi Pamela-c,

Thanks for posting with us. No one wants you to die❤️. I don’t want you to die❤️. I do want you to get some better answers👍👏. I hate to hear you are having to go through all this. Ugh. So, what was the answer to the bright red blood in the stool? There is an answer. I was going to suggest a 2nd opinion but you’ve already been to many doctors and none have been able to help. CBT and sertraline are not the answer😞. The blood is coming from somewhere. Did you get an endoscopy to look onto the stomach. I was once bleeding from an ulcer in my stomach.

Is there any family history of certain diseases in the family? That should lead to some further testing if there is.

Do you think you are geing treated this way because you are so young🤔😲? Symptoms are symptoms no matter what the age and they need answers no matter what the age.

If you want to put your mind at ease right away pertaining to you being convinced you have cancer, there are tests that can detect cancer cells in the blood. It’s called a liquid biopsy. If there is cancer, the cancer would be depositing its dead cells in the blood stream as waste. The technology is called Grail. This should be discussed with your doctor and from there it can be ordered. If your doctor can't determine the source of blood, tell them you want this test to competely rule out having cancer.

If your doctors are having issues with diagnosing the source of the blood in the stool, the tests should continue until you can determine the cause. My opinion is that it’s ridiculous the source of the blood hasn’t been found.

Also, if knowing you do not have cancer would help your anxiety in this situation, get the liquid biopsy and know for sure. It’s a blood test. It will put your mind at ease.

grail.com

galleri.com

I do wish you the very best and hope you get answers SOON about the source of the blood in the stool. Please keep us up to speed when you find out new information or plan to take further testing. There is a cause. They just haven’t found it yet.

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.