Hello, I posted on another forum I should of posted here. I noticed some red blood in my stools this morning, my stools have been light because I have been drinking alot of milk and eating bland white things, the Doctor said I may have an ulcer but he is not sure, it was not alot of blood but it is scaring me, does anyone else ever have this?? My stools have been kind of hard to pass lately due to the bland diet so I will not have stomach pain, I am so scared I am internally bleeding. If anyone has ever had this please write me back, now I am shaking with panic about internal bleeding and cancer, I should of never looked at them, it was a very small amount I hope from slight straining, my now my stomach is churning and burning up top, probably due to nerves. Thank you so much. Kucek.

Hi,

Go to the doc and if he puts you off go to a different doc. You have to take your health seriously and demand to be checked out fully. Don't discount everything to anxiety. Once you figure out what is bleeding then you can deal with it properly. YOu are worth it.

Reena

I DO feel my Doctor dismisses me, I wait and its like 10 minutes and out the door. I do not know much about IBS, the thing that has been occuring is for the last month my stools have been a yellowish mustard color, like dry hard pellets {Sorry to be graphic} I am just so scared and today I saw a little blood in my stool can this be IBS, yellow stools? I noticed when I started Paxil this started happening so I hope there is a connection, and also I have just been eating noodles and milk because of the ulcer and my anxiey and panic is sky-rocketing, any replies would so help, I know so little about IBS, are my symptoms could it be IBS? Thank you so much. Kucek.

Hi Kucek,

Some antidepressants can cause constipation. Any time you have constipation it can be like sandpaper on your intestines. That can cause a slight amount of bleeding. You should only see just a tinge on the outside none throughout, and no black or tarry stools.

My cat actually has had this problem, and my veterinarian reassured me. His problem was due to hairballs. Not too likely for you eh? ;-)
Sorry, bad joke. Just trying to make you feel better.

It sounds like you need a new doctor. In the meantime, what can you do to feel better? Advice is cheap, the only answers are the ones you see and chose.

Hope this helps,

Deb

Thank you Deb, it was a small amount just a little streak on the outside not tarry or black, I think the fact I have an ulcer is scaring me, I threw up blood last week and I am so scared I will do it again, I guess heartburn can cause this. I will phone the Doctor again tomm. I have started the program and are hoping that it will help me. GOd bless, Kucek.

Kucek,
Yes, I've had blood in my stool, too. Used to have colitis years ago (or IBS perhaps). I was down to drinking water and eating baby's rice cereal...and still had problems! I worried about "having to go" all the time, which made it worse.
This is what I've found, for me. I think we have a few similarities.
Noodles and milk, eh? Milk really bothers me, unless I have it with something else. The carbs turn into sugar, I believe - does sugar bother you?
How much water do you drink? Do you take something like Fibercon? I take two a day (you can take up to 8, which I don't do). Fibercon is not a laxative - it just adds the needed fiber we all should have. Rather than living on milk and noodles, try slowly adding other things, liked baked potatoes with skin, etc.
Actually, I can eat all the spicy stuff I want with no problem. It's the dairy, grease and sugar that bother me. You could very well be going in the wrong direction with menu choices.
Have you talked to your doctor about having a colonoscopy or upper/lower GI? I've had the lower and the colonoscopy (I'd rather have the latter, by the way). I have diverticulosis and hemmoroids. That's where my blood comes from.
If you are constipated (perhaps from your meds, lack of fiber and maybe not enough water), then of course you would strain in the bathroom.
Please don't worry - that'll make it worse for you. And please see a doctor that LISTENS to you. Have those tests done to put you at ease. Use google.com to look up subjects for the relief of your symptoms.
Good luck to you - you're on the right track!

Thank you for your reply, I noticed the last 2 days I have not noticed it, I drank a whole big glass of prune juice today to "get things going" and it helped, I was just so scared, blood in my vomitus then blood in my stools! The doctor did not seem concerned, my nurse thinks its all anxiety, boy this disoder is something else to cause all these horrrible devestating symptoms. I am trying not to think about it or dwell on it but its hard, every day I feel sick, like I have some "body flu" or something, on one had very panicky then on one hand achy tired and sad. Please let me know how you are doing. Thank you and God bless, Kucek.

Kucek,
It's so nice to hear from you. I'm glad the prune juice helped. Man, you don't fool around! Prunes....ha ha.
When I was a kid, I used to get car sick on vacation. Now, since learning so much with this program, I realize it was my parent's smoking, especially in a closed car with 7 people, plus nervousness. So when you mention your alternating flue and panic....I can relate.
Doesn't it help to have this forum to confirm that there are so many others out there like us? Does it calm you down somewhat? Oh, we sure can make things snowball, simply with our thoughts, right?
Hey, I have an idea. Think about trying this - almost like setting up a process of elimination (no pun intended.....)
Try adding more water and fiber to your diet. If you want, try one for a day or two, note the diffference (maybe in your journal), then try the other. I would recommend that you don't use a laxative, but simply fiber. There are off-brands that are the same as Fibercon (cheaper and just the same stuff). I take 2 a day, but I believe the bottle says you can take up to 8 a day. But drink your water!
Then try adding more veg/fruit. See how your body reacts.
I hope you are not straining when you are using the bathroom. That's not good. And staying in there too long is not good, either. That one surprised me (I think I read it in http://www.about.com - I love that site).
Well, I'll be looking to see how things are going for you!

It sounds to me that the blood in your stool is from hemroids. They can be caused by too much straining, and even by a lot of diarhea. The fact that the blood is bright red is indicative of hemroids, rather than something more serious.

Sometimes lighter, yellow stools can be caused by an ill-functioning liver. If you are taking a drug it could be causing some problems with your liver. Have your doctor check this out. Or it can possibly be just the diet you have been consuming. I think milk is one of the worst things a person could ingest.

Sounds like you need a new doctor.

I didn't have a chance to read thru all the posts here...so might be duplicating. Yellow stools are potentially from the bland diet...ever seen babies stools before they eat solids? If you are constipated, the blood might be from passing the stools...and covering the stool. Though you are on a bland diet...do you eat foods with fiber?

I work in a hospital so I will be more blunt. Get your focus off your bowels. Ulcers are normally not a serious issue. I agree with what all have said. I just got a new doc. Get a new doc but then remember he is more educated in medicine than you and trust him.

I have blood in my stools from hemorrhoids... have had this ever since my son was born six years ago. I bleed every time I pass a hard stool. I'm finally going to see a colorectal specialist next week to see if she can do anything about it. I heard of a procedure where they can tie the hemorrhoid off with a rubber band and then it shrivels up and falls off. I hope it's that easy!

Hemorrhoids are relatively common after childbirth. If I remember correctly, you have two kids, right?

I would advise seeing a GI specialist who will do a thorough workup of your entire GI tract. If your dr. won't make a referral, find one yourself.

Take care!

Jen

Thank you all for your replies, my internet was down for a few days and I could not read them yet. THe blood in the stools seems to have subsided a bit, stopping the paxil I think helped. Now I have a new problem, I have blood in my urine! It never stops! I am taking Keflex, an antibotic, I hope its just a urinary tract infection, I do not see the blood its microscopic I guess, the Doctor called it "alot of blood then I think "bladder cancer" I hate these negative thoughts, all this blood issues. I am taking zoloft now and I have noticed I am not as constipated, but its making me very jittery and nervous. Thank you all again. Kucek.

Antibiotics, like keflex, can kill off the "good" bacteria in your system. Many times, that's how you end up with bladder infections. I had this happen. You can also end up with too much yeast in your system (look up candida in http://www.google.com for info).

I had blood in my urine before, too. The dr sent me for a test where they viewed the interior of the bladder with a camera. The specialist said I was fine, but sometimes the bladder lining gets irritated. Do you have air escaping when you urinate? That could tell the dr something, too.

Anyway, bottom line was that I had blood in my urine and I was fine. I would suspect the Keflex/antibiotics may have knocked the good bacteria balance off and you just have an irritation.

Do you like yogurt? It's a very good thing to eat, because it replaces/balances the good bacteria.

Hope you feel better. I know how you feel. How is it going with the program? I'm working on the assertiveness chapter. So many surprises. It's a good journey.

This post seems to be a little old, but I thought it might be helpful... kirskyz touched on it with the bacteria... That is true, some bacteria can cause bloody stools, often bloody diarrhea, and it will take time for the mucosa to heal after an infection. Yogurt is great to help with re-balancing. Quite often if there is bleeding in the GI tract, it will resolve on its own.
Ask your doctor about some of the possible causes, and bring up the idea of bacteria because it does happen, often via contaminated water. And then trust them.
Ask them also about the signs and symptoms that you should watch for, that they would be concerned about. Blood in vomit is different from blood in colon, so be sure to tell them which you have.