blood on toilet paper

[tigger1982]

I am 45 and have been in good health most of my life. I have noticed a couple of times a little blood on my toilet paper and it has freaked me out thinking i have cancer.Usually it occurs after i have had to wipe myself a lot from frequent bm's. I do have  a nervous colon.  I had a colonoscopy 4 years ago it showed no cancer but iI do have melanosis coli ( sp?) and i do have some fecal incontinence. I am afraid to go to the doctor because my hubby is out of work and i am our only income.

[tigger1982]

Thanks for your answer. I tend  to worry about Cancer a lot and sometimes i need to hear a calm voice. I avoid going to the doctor not because of lack of money, i have insurance it is fear of finding out i have cancer that keeps me away. I know it is an unhealthy, unwise reaosn, however, my fear is such that is irrational. I am trying to get up the nerve to go and make sure its not anything bad. Thanks again for your insight and your kindness. You have no idea how much i needed that. Tigger

[ggreg]

You can go to the county health department as a walk-in and they charge very little, bring your W-2, and you can be see by a physician usually the same day.  They also have a pharmacy there at low cost.  Blood that appears in waste does need to be taken seriously as it can indicate a growth or other serious problem in the lower bowel.  But usually what blood on toilet paper means, especially since you say you have a lot of bowel movements, is you may have ordinary hemorrhoids, they can flare up from constipation or lots of bowel movements, because hard waste or lots of waste will cause the swollen tissues of hemorrhoids to become very irritated and bleed a little bit.  Hemorrhoids are very common, usually happens initially from some hard constipation being passed with effort.

There's a couple remedies.  Preparation H from the drugstore will help shrink hemorrhoids, so they don't bleed as much or bother you in general so much.  Also, plain KY jelly from the drugstore put on the area after the Prep H after each time you bathe, and then you can reapply the KY after you have a bowel movement, you can put some more on with damp toilet tissue when you clean the area, it keeps the area lubricated and cleans better.  To help lessen the number of bowel movements and at the same time help your slight fecal incontinence, add either some oat cereal or 100 percent whole wheat bread to your meals every day, it kind of soaks up diarrhea and leakages, makes the loose stuff bind better.

There are wonderful drugs a doc at the health clinic can give you for your situation.  One time I took some bad medicines that gave me diarrhea a half-dozen times daily for six months, no one realized it was the bad medicine.  Anyway, a doctor prescribed hyoscyamine pills, and whenever I felt this endless diarrhea and lower body cramping, I let one dissolve under my tongue, it tastes sweet, and it would stop the digestion problems right away.  Hope you get better soon!