Endoscopy necessary?

[Beth270]

Hi. I am a healthy 52 year old woman with no medical conditions who takes no medication.
I have no stomach issues either.
About a month ago I went for my routine gynecology exam. Blood pressure is perfect (120/60) Pap smear was fine,etc
at the end of the visit they always do a fecal occult test there.Since I was 40 this was done in the office and it was always negative for blood.
This visit the gyn said they now have you do that test at home and send it to a lab for results.This is from one sample of stool
I was nervous to do that at home but anyway long story short the gyn called and said it was positive for blood (could have been a trace it doesn't say how much)She said of course to have a colonoscopy done for that and of course due to age.
Yesterday was the colonoscopy and all went very well.I just have an internal hemorrhoid that I know about and he gave me a paper on adding fiber to help that.
Before I left he said I should make an appt for an endoscopy since he didn't see any source of bleeding (from the positive fecal occult test I mentioned to him)
My question is..I do not feel ready to have that test done and don't even know if it's necessary.
For one stool sample I need to run for this other invasive test?
Does anyone have an opinion on this?
thankyou for any info

[Beth270]

Thanks so much for your suggestion on that talk with the Doctor and also about the ultrasound.
They are good ones.I just want to say I wrote to the company who made that particular fecal occult test and they told me straight out in email it is specific for lower GI tract blood only.So again I feel more confident now that I am fine.
Besides everything,my arm still has a small bruise from the IV during the colonoscopy I can't imagine the Dr thinks nothing of putting someone through another procedure including iv sedation, so soon  again.
Anyway I will definitely keep your suggestions in mind.Thanks again.
By the way I do think the hemorrhoid actually feels better since the colonoscopy. Yeah for that!

[ggreg]

But the test was only for blood in the large intestine, but you had blood in your stool (whether it came from hemorrhoid or up higher), so they still need to make sure you don't have blood higher up.  But that is between you and your doc as to what you should do.

[ggreg]

Well, but you can have blood originating higher up in the digestive tract, like from the stomach or small intestine.  This is why they want to do an endoscopy.  But I can't help but think your little hemorrhoid is what made the blood.  An alternative to an endoscopy, altho I'm not an expert about what you should do, that's for your doc to decide, but an ultrasound of your upper digestive tract and small intestine may be enough to find out if you've got some problem, it's not invasive, and I think it even costs less.  But just talk to your doc about what test should be next, and ask that doc if the blood in stool could have been consistent with your hemorrhoid flaring up.

[Beth270]

I now see the specific fecal occult blood test I had taken originally.(The wonders of the internet-they even have a video of that specific test online)Anyway,It is one of the new immunochemical tests and I read that that is more sensitive and specific for detected blood in the lower GI Tract.Says it checks for globin which doesn't survive being passed down from the Upper GI Tract.This makes me feel more confident then that I do not have a problem since the colonoscopy was clear.
I hope to have some input here soon.Thanks!