Hiya, I am currently waiting on my 1st gastro appt but recently noticed a red section in my stool & wondered if this is blood in my stool??
So sorry for the graphic image but I need advice I have been taking pictures of my poo to log down a “flare up” poo & discuss with the dr but this one has been playing on my mind
Can anyone offer any advice If they know if this is blood in the stool??
Any advice leading up to my appt would be greatly accepted too!
it looks more like a chunk of undigested tomato than blood. its so difficult to see it when in the loo. When in flare I usually go to toilet and near end fold up toilet roll and pass some on that. its gross I know, but it helps identify blood and mucus that can be difficult to see once in pan and mixed with water.
with darrhoea stools go through the bowel so quickly that some foods are not fully digested. have you eaten anything that could be mistaken for blood? usually blood and mucus follow the diarrhoea, so try my tip of going on toilet roll so you can see better and also take better pics. pics are a good way of showing drs what it is your passing as they hear so many weird and wonderful discriptions I think it can be hard to visualise sometimes x
Hiya, I had thought this but when I checked my food diary I had not eaten tomatoes or anything similar in about 2 weeks, it is so hard to tell sometimes I will try the loo roll solution, I was told to take photos as it is easier to show the dr than explain it. I know the image isn’t to clear either.
I feel like I have been waiting for this appt forever & things are not improving, hence asking for advice & the graphic image.
Can Mucus be white or always orange in colour? I have also had rather yellow poo which shows more yellow when I wipe this particular stool was also yellow when I wiped.
Sorry for the TMI, I am just trying to get a few tips and advice for my own sake
Dont apologise, the more info, the more I can hopefully help. Im not a dr but Iv had crohns for 25+ yrs, and im a nurse of 18 years, 5 of which I did in gastro.
Yellow poo is indicating that bile salts are not having time to mix in with it, so your transit time is too quick - if you see green streaks this means exactly the same, that bile has not had time to mix in. This does indicate however your not absorbing nutrients properly.
Mucus should be clear/whitish/yellowish. if its grey/greenish this means there is pus from ulceration, orange suggests blood mixed in with mucus, again because of the ulceration.
When is your appointment because it sounds as though you are in a bad flare up and need help ASAP.
you are also at risk of dehydration so drink loads of water if you can - I dont want to frighten you but your obviously suffering.
Are you keeping a stool chart? its easy to do - if your not. just write date, time, type (1-7 see bristol stool scale for types - all drs use this), colour, blood, mucus, top of page and then fill in every time you have bowels opened.
have you lost weight? are you managing to eat? how often are bowels opening in a day and whens your appointment?
sorry to ask so many questions. big hugs xx
Hi thank you for all of this, I have not been diagnosed with anything yet I am waiting to see the DR my appt is on 18th December but I have been told it could be either IBS or crohns so I’ve been told not to do change any life styles or take any pain meds until they can tell me what it is...
It’s getting to the point I don’t want to go/ eat out now & the pain is horrendous.
I haven’t done this a stool chart, I will start doing doing this I haven’t been given no advice from my GP or anything so I’m going in blind
I haven’t lost any weight in fact I cannot physically loose weigh which sounds weird but for the last 6 months I have stayed the same weight to the 1/4 lb
I am eating but usually feel sick afterwards or mid meal or am rushing to the loo right after but some days I am ravenous & other days I am not hungry at all just eating because I know I have too
Thank you
bleeding is definately not IBS, nor is having to leg it to the loo midway through a meal- I get this with Crohns flare up (sorry) and it indicates there is inflammation - normal digestion process is that the bowel begins to secrete enzymes etc as you are eating ready for when the food gets there. obviously if there is inflammation it causes pain and the need to go to loo as the bowel tries to pass the 'irritant'
To be told not to make changes is ridiculous. I agree strong pain killers can mask the problem and opiates can firm the stool, but I think your GP needs a kick up the backside! regular paracetamol is not a problem, but avoid aspirin or ibuprofen as if you have an ulcerated bowel this will make it worse.
Try eating low residue foods - white bread, boiled potatoes, white fish, chicken. These are very low in fibre and mean the gut doesn't have to work as hard - meaning less pain for you.
keep a food diary along side the stool chart - you may identify foods that are making symptoms worse
I too do not lose weight even at beginning of flare, then it suddenly drops off. Weigh yourself at least weekly and if poss do it in kgs (Drs use kgs and it is more accurate)
have the GP not done any blood tests?
I was told that bleeding isn’t common in ibs but I feel like my dr is just assuming it is that that’s why I have been told to hold off & make no changes until i see a professional. The GP Even prescribed me a fibre drink which is similar to fibre gel which has laxatives in - like I need them?
I have tried to google to get advice & try make some changes myself but without any guidance on this I am struggling, my GP sent off the referral in August & I had not gotten an appt until October which I had to kick up a fuss to get booked in which is now in decemeber, I don’t feel like the GP are to bothered by it but it is now effecting my life as my friends think I am using it as an excuse to not go out etc and as a 23 year old girl it’s a bit of a low blow to have no social life.
I will 100% do the stool & food diary & Weigh MySelf weekly but everyone just assumes as I have lost no weight just serve bloating that I am fine & it’s probably IBS.
They had done them & a stool sample a lot of the blood tests came back abnormal & showed I had low folic acid so I am taking some folic acid tablets also I done a stool sample which showed I was clear of celiac but my cal protein was about 92 I believe but then they never done any more bloods or stool samples to see how it has been since they have just left me to it which I think is a little strange
Calprotectin over 100 is indicative of IBD, even though your results are slightly under I cannot believe your GP is not doing regular blood tests to check your inflammatory markers
I think that how things are your GP should def do repeat bloods and calprotectin test
Yeah, my inflammation blood test was one of the ones which was raised & my last calprotein was in August to & as it was just under 100 I thought they would have done more of them to keep an eye on it & also more bloods but nothing since she said she will refer me.
I was shocked at how they have acted about it all, my partner was looking at private clinics to get a better care plan etc but we cannot afford it!
you can ask for your bloods to be repeated, it will help at the Gastro appointment too, otherwise you will have bloods done then and it will mean you have to wait for Gastro to get results back and inform your GP.
If I were you I would ask to see a different GP in the practice and jusy say to them that you have been advised to have repeat bloods done for your Gastro appointment
Can I?? I’ll give that a shot thank you, I have seen several drs at the GP as it took me a while to get a referral & they are all the same there, I am currently looking to change practice I will definitely ask for repeat bloods
I wonder if they’re telling you not to make any changes at this stage because if anything is going on they want to see it at full severity? I have bleeding and unfortunately need to rush to the toilet on a regular basis, it seems like mine is ibs as I’ve had a colonoscopy and all was normal. However, I never had a raised stool sample result. I hope you get answers ASAP if you haven’t yet.
Hiya, I completely understand that but then surely they would rush an appt I first went GP about this problem in August/September & was reffered to gastro then & my appt isn’t until 18th December so they’ve left me struggling for some time with this all
If I was you I'd phone the hospital/clinic that you have the December appointment with and see if you can get an earlier appointment.
That really sucks, I thought there was some sort of guideline for waiting and that seems like it would be far too long. 😔 I second that you should try and get an earlier appointment if possible.
It really sucks, I thought that they did too but my hospital clinic forgot about me that’s why I got my appt so late I had to call daily to chase it up, they don’t have anything sooner been trying to see if I can get a cancellation appt but none available
I've had various episodes of bleeding and raised calprotectin. My brother suggested taking photos of these symptoms and others I've been having. Had scopes up and down plus MRI and they can't find anything. So saying complex IBS. They didn't seem interested in my photos. I applaud you for being brave and putting this on for people to have a look at. Only just joined this site and already doubting the IBS but I'm glad that nothing serious is going on. I just have to monitor calprotectin via GP. Which reminds me I need to do another one. Its 2.16 am and I'm in pain so just taken some codeine. It helps control the pain when bad, reduce the diarrhoea and helps me sleep xxx
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