Blood in Stool

Hi Margo, I can't tell you what is causing the blood in the stool but I can tell you that any bleeding from the bowel no matter how insignificant needs to be checked out by your doc ASAP.  Here's hoping it something minor.  Good luck!

Love n hugs.  Chrissy

I had this 6 years ago. Had a colonoscopy and it was an anal polyp. Because of its size I had to have it surgically removed. Fortunately it was benign.  Get it checked!

Best wishes!

Have you been constipated? Does it itch around you anal opening? It could be a fissure. Did you have chemo? I have diverticula from being extremely constipated during chemo. They bleed sometimes if I eat nuts or popcorn. A fissure will itch. Thrombosed hemorrhoids (internal or external) cause a dull ache after going.

Do keep us posted --

I have ulcerative colitis, which is a form of inflamatory bowel disease (which also includes Crohn's disease).  My symptoms began with mucus & blood in the stool,  then diarrhea, then the frequency of bowel movements increased dramatically over the course of a few weeks, then I had an increasing sense of urgency -- when I had to go, it meant RIGHT NOW.

I've been treated for it for a few years now, and I go into long periods of remission, followed by flares that vary in length & severity.  I'm slowly coming out of a flare now.

I waited too long to talk to a doctor about my symptoms when they started.  I could have saved myself a lot of angst and physical discomfort if I had called my doctor right away and gotten on the appropriate meds.  

The good news is that ulcerative colitis isn't fatal.  The bad news is that there isn't any cure.  Well, supposedly there is a "cure" but it involves a colostomy and I'm not ready for that.

But that's only one of the many things that blood in the stool can signal.  In any event, do see your doctor asap and do keep us posted.

I had the same thing, though I've struggled with hems for years, I never had them bleed before chemo.  My oncologist told me if it happened again, she wanted me to get checked out.  It didn't.  I use suppositories and work hard at keeping the hems from getting activated.  If it's bright red, that's usually what it is.  Internal hems sometimes don't have symptoms other than bleeding, and they aren't always noticeable on a physical exam.

I see you went to the doctor, that's good.  It would seem to me if it keeps up, a colonoscopy would be ordered.  The physical rectal exams have limited prognostic value as far as I understand.  Also, a colon doctor can really examine by*gross* putting a tube up in the opening to see internal hems.

Not a Doctor but my Oncologist told me that is no correlation between colon and breast cancer that it is so rare they haven't connected that yet.  Also, my GP told me if the blood is bright red and is in the toilet water it is most likely NOT cancer.  A cancer would present as dark, dried looking and bordering on brown old looking blood attached to the stool (poop).  Sorry to be so graphic but wanted to calm you a bit if it is bright red in color.  It's always good to get a change checked out medically but if it is bright red, it probably isn't your worst fears.

Jwatrlily

margodae - I have had blood in my stool a number of times.  As grannyducks said, the colour is significant.  Bright red blood is often due to a small tear in the colon, as it was in my case, and is not uncommon.  If it's cancer, it's my undertanding that the stools are often black or very dark from the blood - not usually bright red.  What colour is the blood in your stool?

I have had 2 colonsocopies and have not found them at all hard to take.  The worst part is the preparation where you have to clear things out, but it's not that bad, like having diarrhea for an half a day.