Small amount of red blood in stool.

[mb1983]

I have suspected that I may have IBS for several years now, but in the past month or so I've developed some unpleasant symptoms. I wake up for work at 6:30am, sometimes with mild GI discomfort. By 7:30am, I usually have a sudden urgency to empty my bowels. The stool is usually normal in appearance, sometimes on the softer side. Lately, I will have a second urge to go within a half hour of the first trip to the bathroom. Several mornings in the past few weeks, I have ended up going to the bathroom 5-7 times in the first part of the day. When this happens, the stools typically get smaller but more and more loose, but not quite to the point of calling it diarrhea.

Most recently in the last two weeks, I have noticed small amounts of bright red blood along with some mucous when I go. This obviously has me concerned, and I have appointments with both my general practitioner and a GI specialist in the coming weeks. I started taking probiotics every day last week, along with Benefiber. The first few days of this I felt pretty good, but have still had the same issues this week. Along with the urgency and the blood and mucous in my stools, my only other symptom is mild GI discomfort but no real pain. I'm not woken in the middle of the night with the need to use the bathroom, it seems to be limited to the mornings. No weight loss (have actually inexplicably gained nearly 30 pounds in the last six months), no fever, itching, nausea or vomiting.

Some background: I am a 30yr old female, no children. Formerly a heavy smoker but down to less than a pack a week, hoping to completely quit soon. Rarely drink alcohol, at the most maybe two or three beers in a week. After suspecting I may be lactose intolerant a few months ago, I have cut way back on my intake of dairy. I gave up caffeine three years ago but recently began drinking soda in moderation (no more than one can per day). Since the onset of these new symptoms, I have given up caffeine again apart from green tea several times a week. I rarely eat fast food, aside from a burger and fries or pizza once or twice a month. My diet mostly consists of baked chicken breasts, salads, tuna, salmon, lean turkey, whole wheat toast, granola bars, etc.  

I have read practically every website that covers my symptoms, doing everything I can to improve them. Has anyone experienced something like this? Any foods that I should start eating to help? My symptoms don't seem to perfectly match up with any one cause. Hoping it's just a fissure or IBS and not Crohn's or ulcerative colitis. Appreciate any assistance/advice.

[mb1983]

Forgot to mention another fun symptom: gas! It's usually not bad in the mornings but gets worse throughout the day, along with the gurgling tummy. Sometimes it is extremely foul. Hard to believe it could be specific to something I ate since lately my diet has been very bland.