Hemorrhoids or something more?

[Wesman]

Hello, I’m a 31 year old male and since July I’ve been experiencing bright red blood in my stool. It’s off and on (every 5-6 weeks for 1-2 weeks) and usually just a little on the end of my stool or on wipe. My anus is also frequently pretty itchy and normally if I don’t itch it then my symptoms seem to get a little better but they keep recurring every few weeks or so. During this last bout of symptoms I also noticed a burning or tearing sensation while pooping as well.

I did a teleconference with my PCP and she said it’s most likely hemorrhoids because of my age but recommended that I do a blood test, FIT test, and see a gastro just in case. Blood test and FIT test both came back good and my gastro said he couldn’t see any fissures or external hemorrhoids but said that I could get a colonoscopy just to be safe. With my terrible insurance right now a colonoscopy would cost around $3,000 which I don’t really have the money for. Just wondering if anyone has had similar experiences as I am pretty scared that it could be something more and would like to catch it early.

Thanks

[Nicole_GCCA Partner]

Hello Wesman ,Thank you for posting and I'm sorry to read what you are experiencing. While there are so many possibilities for what has caused the blood in your stool, we really do recommend following through with the colonoscopy.

Are you in the US? Colonoscopy Assist is a company that can help connect you to a GI in your area (if US) that will perform a colonoscopy for a reduced cost. colonoscopyassist.com/

Also, if you are in the US, Colorectal Cancer Alliance has a screening program where they help with fees associated with screening. ccalliance.org

Please don't let the cost be a barrier to finding out for certain, and ruling out, something serious like colorectal cancer. If you aren't in the US let me know which country so I can look to connect you with an appropriate resource.

Please contact Colonoscopy Assist and Colorectal Cancer Alliance - better to get checked out and be safe rather than not get the colonoscopy.

Keep us posted, we're here for you.

~Nicole @ GCCA

[Nicole_GCCA Partner]

Hi Hidden , Thanks so much for commenting and sharing your experience.

Glad to hear you are staying on top of colorectal cancer screening, especially with your family history. Hereditary colorectal cancers account for a small percentage of colorectal cancers overall, but if you have the hereditary component, your chances of developing the disease are greatly increased.

Did your mom (or you) ever have any type of testing done to determine if her cancer is hereditary?

Also, it's good to see that you are weighing the risks and benefits with colonoscopy - they definitely are not without risk - anything with anesthesia, but also potential complications with the procedure itself. Curious, did your doctor mention to you anything about FIT or sDNA (stool DNA - you may have heard of Cologuard) not being appropriate because of family history? I'm not sure if it depends on where you are in the world but I was under the impression with an immediate family member with the disease that the guidelines were colonoscopy, not a stool test (I could be completely wrong here).

Thanks for posting those tips to help with the discomfort - good ideas!

~Nicole @ GCCA

[Cece88]

Hey. Because of the symptoms you are describing, it could be recurring hemorrhoids, it does sounds like simple hemorrhoids to be honest, I am no doctor but if it was something more serious you would have more symptoms, such a as; cramps, excessive gas, stool frequency, narrow stools. But anal itching, feces leakage, blood in stool, constipation , it’s more likely hemorrhoids. But hey I’ll tell you something, I know you are thinking about it to much and you have no peace of mind, I would say get that colonoscopy done or start by getting an anoscopy first it’s cheaper and they can see a lot from it if they see anything further abnormal then they will highly recommend a colonoscopy next, look your health matters more than anything, get a credit card or something and get this done. Even if everything comes back negative at least YOU KNOW.

[Nicole_GCCA Partner]

Hello Hidden ,Thanks for the update - sorry to hear what your mother endured - the infections at hospitals are really scary and unfortunately can be deadly.

That sounds like a bad experience with the anesthesia causing those issues, that sounds scary. Do you know what kind of anesthesia was used? I think it might be good to know, you might be sensitive or allergic and it could be important to have on your medical record.

There are options when it comes to the sedation they use - and I do know some brave souls that opt for NO sedation!

Just for your future health - and ensuring your health record reflects and possible allergies, it might be worth it to do some digging on why that happened to you. Also thinking for future procedures (unrelated to your colon), you might want to know what other sedation options exist.

Have you looked into genetic testing for yourself? Might be worth it?

[Mcarps]

Hello Wesman, I have had your exact same symptoms for almost a month now. Like...exact symptoms!

I'm going to get graphic in an effort to help you out.

One day I had a pretty good bout with constipation. I hadn't been that constipated since I was pregnant. However, I was not drinking enough water....so go figure.

A few days after that incident I went to the bathroom and it was a rather large bm. At the very end of that bm I noticed a bit of bright red blood on the tip of the feces. Like a pinkie fingernail's worth.

That freaked me out, because I'm 44 and have never seen blood in the toilet before. At least not that I can remember.

I immediately called my GP and Gastro office. Gastro office said I needed a rectal exam. GP nurse told me it was probably hemorrhoids and to call back if it happened again. I was not impressed with that response, as I am 44 with a new onset of rectal bleeding.

Well, it did happen again so I made an appointment with my GP. She did a visual rectal exam and also a digital rectal exam. She said I did not have hemorrhoids, but noticed a small tear in the lining of my rectum. She put her finger on it and it hurt a little bit. It's called an anal fissure. However, mine has NEVER caused any pain during bowel movement. Only mild discomfort in the following hours.

She prescribed some cream and that was that.

A few days later I noticed some more fresh blood on my toilet paper when I wiped. It doesn't happen every day. In fact, it's only happened 2-3 times now in 3 weeks. I have felt some discomfort in my anal cavity....like itching and scratchy feelings. I've also felt some pressure down there. Almost like I'm sitting on chards of glass without the intense pain, but rather scratchy and a pressure like feeling.

I called GP and requested a colonoscopy....just to be on the safe side. My colonoscopy is scheduled for Monday the 7th and I'm not looking forward to it. In fact, I'm terrified!

I guess we'll see. However, I was relieved to see you had the same symptoms as me.

I think fissures can be hard to heal, because they can easily break open again with each new bowel movement. Hopefully the cream will help. My insurance wouldn't cover what the doc prescribed, so I'm just using Preparation H.

Best of luck and please keep us posted.

[digar in reply to Mcarps]

How was the colonoscopy?