Long term rectal bleeding

[gollylagger]

I'm a 24 year old female with no kids, generally healthy, taking prozac and oral contraceptives. For the last 3+ years I've had some amount of rectal bleeding with every BM. Before the bleeding began, I had a perirectal abscess. I don't know how that could be linked, but shortly after the abscess wound healed, the bleeding began. It is usually a small amount of red blood on the toilet paper. There also appears to be blood on the outside of the stool (the blood is bright red).
Less frequently, there is red blood in the toilet but it seems thick, it doesn't turn the water pink, but it stays together in one spot. Also, there will randomly be days when the BM produces more blood than I usually experience. Today the toilet paper was saturated with red blood.
More recently, I've been noticing clear mucous with my stools, the mucous seems to keep coming after I've wiped a few times..

I used to have constipation, but for the last few years, my bowel movements have been regular, each day. They are always rather wide in diameter and hard, but there is no pain when I have a BM and I do not experience any strain at all. I also never have diarrhea.

I saw my Dr. about this when it first started happening. He told me to take fiber (which didn't help) and referred me to my perirectal abscess surgeon. I asked my OB/GYN and she told me to see a Gastro specialist. I never did, however, because I lost my insurance.

I figured it was tears or hemorrhoids so I put off medical attention but it's been so prolonged and now it's changing. Does anyone have any suggestions.. my aunt just died of colon cancer and now it's starting to scare me.

[Morecambe]

I agree with mammo's comments.  Rectal bleeding is never normal and you should seek medical advice.  So that you are better informed, google rectal bleeding and click on to one of the many sites - the Medicinenet site is particularly informative.

If your G.I. specialist's diagnosis is at all vague (such as "well it looks as if it might be anal fissure or haemorrhoids"  - both minor causes) then I suggest that you request a colonoscopy and, in view of your family's previous history of cancer, you may like to ask whether follow-up colonoscopies would be prudent at intervals of ??? years.

regards
Morecambe  

[gollylagger]

Thanks for your advice, my aunt was 55 when she was diagnosed but all of the women in my mother's family have had cancer. I guess I'm going to make an appointment which is depressing because I'm still paying off the surgeon for my abscess which occurred over 3 years ago.