Bloody diarrhea after running

[debbiemc2000]

Hi,
This question is a follow-up to another I read on this forum.  I have been a runner all of my life, but had to slow down due to my 2 pregnancies.  After I had my first baby, I got back into running and was doing great.  Then I was running a 10K, and 1/2 way through I had severe stomach cramps and had to find a restroom.  I had bloody diarrhea which really scared me.  I walked the rest of the race...had a bit more blood in my stools and then back to normal.  Not long after that I got pregnant with my 2nd child and stopped running again (never had bloody stools after that one day).  Now it has been 7 months after giving birth and I began to run again.  I've been training for a 5K and running pretty hard.  After about a week of training I started getting bad stomach cramps and the bloody diarrhea came back.  The diarrhea is bring red in color and after I go, the next time I have a bowel movement it is still a little red (but more firm), and then back to normal.  The stools are normal again until I run really hard.  My doctor doesn't know what it is and has referred me to a GI specialist.  My doctor checked me for hemorrhoids (both internal and external) and she said that wasn't it.  She also checked me for an anal fissure...that was a negative also.  Has anyone else had this problem?  Does this sound like bowel cancer?  


This discussion is related to Blood in Stool - After Running?.

[runmama280]

I've had similar experiences - Bloody BM just before or after my menses. Recently the bleeding has accelerated and now I'm bleeding quite frequently. SCARY! Had a consultation with GI doc and asked about endo. He said it is very rare to show up in the colon( meaning he was not taking me seriously). I have a colonoscopy set for next month. Very relieved to find this post.

[curlytop89]

I too have had this problem over the past two to three years or so. Intermittently.  It is definitely worse in the summer months and around my period.  I don't have bloody diarrhea after every workout either.  Only hard or long runs.  The diarrhea usually lasts for a few hours then the next day I am fine, usually.  I have read many places on the internet about it.  Since it was worse in the summer I assume hydration has something to do with it. I took a few pieces of advice and cut down on my fiber intake the day before a long run and then I ate a bagel with creamcheese that morning, two hours before I ran and drank 2 glasses of water. I also drank some G2 about half way through my 10 mile run.  I did have a bowelmovement after, but not as loose, and not much blood.  I plan to keep this up.  I did talk to my doctor today about this and she suggested that I see a gastroenterologist just in case.  Especially since there is blood present.  She said it might be endometriosis.  I am 38 with 3 kids and have been running since I was 12 with a few months off here and there, and I didn't run during any of my pregnancies.  I will probably end up having a colonoscopy, but I will try to get  back with any findings.  

[sonmaher]

I am so relieved after having read everyone's posts this morning.  I just came back from a 4mile trail run, and had to run to the bathroom & shockingly had bloody diarrhea (bright red & quite a bit). I am a 37 year old female with 3 kids- 8 and twin 5 year olds. I have been a casual runner 3-4 miles a couple times a week for 3 years.   In the past 6 months I have amped up my running to 4-6 miles 3-4 times per week. I have had 3 episodes of bloody diarrhea, all with varying degrees of intensity during this time.  It is not uncommon for me to have diarrhea after running, but the blood part is new. I have found that if I don't go to the bathroom before I run it is more likely to happen.  I also found a correlation with that time of the month.  Thank goodness it does not happen every time. I will have to call my doctor this week to have things checked out, but hearing similar stories to mine makes me a little less worried. I hope all checks out OK .

[runnergirlz]

I am having a problem with this as well.  I am 35 with 4 young children.  I run about 35-40 miles a week including a long run like 12ish on the weekends.  I have been experiencing bloody diarrhea since I've gotten into distance running heavily since having my last child who is now 28 months.  I don't always get bloody diarrhea after a longer run, but it does seem to coorelate with getting closer to my period.  I can deal with it but just want to make sure all is ok and I'm not causing permanent damage.  I've had a colonoscopy and bloodwork and all have came back fine.  Even negative for stool occult blood which shocked me!  Its just not very pleasant at all to experience and my non runner friends tell me its my body telling me to stop running!  I am so glad I am not alone in this.  I really don't want to stop running, I don't know what I would do with myself, its such a needed thing for me!  I'm definately addicted and I nor my family would like myself w/out me running!  Would love to hear some solutions to this.  I am going to try to stay more hydrated, I definately don't hydrate much while running.  Just before and after.  Thanks for all the info here.

[reesed]

I am a female runner, two children... one by c-section.  There's a host of things that I've been educating myself about since my bloody trots have started.  I have had an endoscopy and colonoscopy this week and both were negative for anything conclusive causing the bleeding.  Does any other female other than me find that the bleeding seems more rampant once it's close to or close after that time of the month?  I haven't had any bleeding except when it's been close to my period.  Just wondering if anyone else has noticed that.  Also, if that's the case, I might have endometriosis but that should have turned up in my colonoscopy.


A friend of mine who is a distance runner that's male that has been through the same thing as me (minus the periods, of course) said that he was told his might be Ischemia colitis which runners get and is common.  He was told to hydrate, hydrate and hydrate and that helps the colon to not get so dried out - kinda like a bloody nose in the winter when the heat is high and humidity is low.  

[running4God]

Just wanted to add that this always happens to me following a hard run.  The mileage doesn't seem to matter but if I up my pace a good bit or just run hard, I'm running for the bathroom when I'm done.  Its only happened twice in the year I've been running but its scary and I am thankful, like the others, no matter what the docs say, to see that it is a little common.  I am female, 35, and have 3 children.  The blood that passes with my stool when this happens though, tends to be darker, almost maroon, not bright red like with hemorrhoids.  I do wish someone had an answer.  Feeling the pain with you,