lower back pain and blood in stools

[radioranch]

  I am a 48 year old female, I have been having rectal bleeding for months along with lower back pain...  Internal medicine dr requested a CT of abdo. area.... All looked good except ovarian cysts and  asebaceous cyst.  He sent me to OB/GYN.. She said at my age, these were common and are not big enough to be a problem..  We would watch them and they will probably shrink on their own...  But she scheduled the colonoscopy..

I had it last week.. Two polyps found and internal hemorrhoids.. On polyp is located on the anus and he tried to remove but too many nerve endings...He did take a sample and it came back negative.  The other polyp was positive but "thank GOD"... he says he was able to get all of it.. He went to the muscle tissue to remove...  I will go back in six months for another colonoscopy..

I asked him if this is what is causing the bleeding and he said no... Probably the hemorrhoids... But what about the lower back pain?? I am on a heating pad right now.. I can always connect the lower back pain with what happens next.. I feel the urge to have a bowel movement and when I go there is blood... When my back is not hurting, there is no blood... What are we missing??????????????

Thank you in advance,
Sherrie

i had called the doctor and he said it is my bone in my lower back that it can occur because of stress,  or arthritis? also he still maintains the bleeding is from the hemmorrhoids. if hemmorrhoids are not treated can they become cancer? i have noticed that if i eat spicy foods or dairy the bleeding starts continues for a long time. i have stopped all that and sometimes for no reason at all it starts. even if i pass gas it bleeds. and the blood is bright red. please give me your opinion on this. thanks.      

[radioranch]

Thank you for all the tips.. I will try them all :)

[ggreg]

The internal medicine doctor already did a CT scan of your abdomen, and the spine is part of that anatomy.  If you had the pictures, you could see it clear as a bell in there.  Occasionally the radiology report will mention something like "mild arthritic changes in the lumbar spine" if he thinks it's worth mentioning.  Another way to see just bones, altho not the best, is an ordinary plane black & white X-ray, very inexpensive, you could even get them yourself by going to an urgent care center and asking for them.  When you go back to see your OB-GYN, be sure to tell her about that bad polyp the gastro guy found.  

And I forgot to mention yesterday that there are a couple other things you can do if you have a bad back, whilst you work on strengthening your tummy muscles.  One is to get from the drugstore a little waist wrap that stiffens up the back.  If it's bothering you on a particular day, you can wear it when you're up and about, it'll help it not hurt so much.  Two is to lay flat on the floor with your legs up in a chair, takes all the weight off the spine and temporarily makes it feel better.

[radioranch]

I failed to mention, the OB/GYN did a ultra sound (even though, she had a CT report).. She wanted her own measurements.. She said they were small and very common for a woman my age (perimenopausal)--  When I go back next month, she will do another ultrasound.. She is watching them for change in size.. The hope is they will shrink on their own..

[radioranch]

Thank you so much for the information..  What test does a dr perform to check your back for arrhritis in the lower back?? X-ray??

P.S.  the last paragraph of my posting is not mine (lol)---- It must have been a accidental cut and paste mistake of mine :(

[ggreg]

Bright red is a good sign, and confirms what the doc says about it being hemorhoids, and no, they do not turn into cancer.  The colonoscopy was the best thing you could have done, to resolve any colon cancer issues, and it is good the doc was able to get the bad polyp all the way out!  Hemorhoids are swollen tissue from straining with constipation, and lots of stuff can irritate them, including spicy foods as you mentioned, diarrhea-causing foods like milk (altho lots of things can do that), but most of all it's not getting enuff fiber foods or water.

On the ovarian cysts, while the OB-GYN said they were small, I think that since the gastro procedure found a bad polyp, I think you should re-visit your female doc and tell her that, and perhaps she can do a needle biopsy of those things, even tho cysts are common and are usually just left alone unless they get big.

About your back pain, since the internal medicine doc ordered the scan, and he says that discomfort is from the bones in your back, then go with that idea.  People get arthritis in the lower back a lot, lumbar pain is very common.  One way to help that is to tighten the tummy muscles, because they hold the back in place and help take the weight of movement off the spine.  Heat pad is a great idea that you're doing, because heat helps pain in the back.  I have a bad back and keep a heat pad handy.  But finally mine got so bad that my neurologist put me on Lyrica, which is expensive... there is a cousin called Neurontin that is cheaper... and it killed my lower back pain instantly.  The drug has to be increased three-fold within a couple months until you reach a plateau.  But the side effects can goof up your vision and balance, so if you are working, you will have to use it judiciously and perhaps just in the evenings and on the weekends.  Anyhow, it works for me, so that's how come I bring it up.  Could be a milder codeine type medicine will work just as well, it doesn't have as many side effects.

I hope this covers everything and gives you a little info to work off of.  Go back to the OB-GYN, and also see if your regular doc will give you SOME kind of pain meds, be it the gabapentin type drug I take or regular pain killers, so you can get some relief when you are in a position to take them without it interfering with your regular activities.