mucus/blood in stool, PLEASE HELP!!

[Benth23]

this is sooo gross, but i'm concerned.  since i had my baby, my poo has occasionally been visibly mucus-y.  then this morning, as i was going pee, i had a slight urge to go #2.  so i pushed & something small came out (sorry..that's disgusting).  when i looked in the toilet, there was just a small blob of mucus (size of a dime) & it had speckles of blood in it!  

ok, fast forward to this afternoon - i had to go #2 for real this time.  i went.. no mucus, no blood.  BUT, at first it was very hard & there was a spot that was scratching me, but then it turned really soft.    

then all afternoon my stomach has been a little upset... kind of cramping.  if you've ever had diarrhea, you know that feeling like something is down there ready to come out.. and it's probably liquid?..lol..  well, i had that feeling a little bit (but i knew i didn't have diarrhea), so i went to the bathroom and had to push pretty hard.  2 very small bits came out & one had some visible mucus.. and 1 spot of blood in the mucus.  

ok, here are some things about me that might help any opinions you might have:

i've never actually been diagnosed with ibs, but i'm convinced i have it.  my poo changes a lot..  it always has.  

colon cancer does not run in my family.

for the first 4 months after i had my baby, my poo was very scratchy..

also for the first 4-5 months after my baby was born, i had an anal fissure that seemed like it would not heal.. but it is healed now.  

i don't have hemorrhoids (that i know of)

my baby is 11 months old

i recently started working out (3 weeks ago), mostly doing zumba and cycling classes.  when cycling, we go about 20 miles in 45 minutes, and the seats are very hard - i feel like i'm bruised for a couple days after i cycle.  i also have been lifting weights.  

i've done a self examination for internal hemorrhoids, but i have no idea what i'm looking for...

when i passed the small blob of mucus, i had to push really hard... same with the 2 small bits.  i strained pretty hard.  

last night i ate a fiber one bar.

i drink plenty of water.

i have a healthy diet - no pop or caffine, we have no snacks in the house.  i eat a lot of pb&j sandwiches, bread, grains, etc..  lots of pasta & pizza lately too.  

i'm still nursing.

i take a prenatal vitamin every day.


what do you think could be wrong with me?  i'm terrified that i'm dying of cancer & don't know it..  

also, A QUICK QUESTION - when there is "a lot" of mucus in the stool, how much is "a lot?"  because when i say "visible," i mean the size of 1/2 a penny or a dime.  i've never had more mucus than that & today was the only time i've ever seen spots of blood in it.  

THANK YOU!

[Benth23]

Hi,
I saw my doctor today & she examined me.  Apparently I'm developing internal hemorrhoids.. most likely from my cycling class.  I'm thankful it is nothing serious!  Thank you for replying!!

[Matthew007]

sorry correction *lactaid contains dairy not gluten*...

sorry! woops...

[Matthew007]

Hey there...I'll try and help with what info I've looked into this cuz....sadly i've had the same thing happen.

Ummm..where to start..?

Well first off the color of the blood counts..if it's BRIGHT red that means that the blood came from fairly close to the end of the tail pipe (car pun there..) and usually that's caused from too much pressure..straining.. basically not enough fiber in the diet...ect.ect...

the darker the blood is the higher up the pipe..so like people with black tarry stools or "coffee grind" looking stools have bad ulcers or blood coming from the stomach (gross I know..)

So the color of the stool counts and will tell you a little where it is..

On the mucus...mucus is formed by either inflammation or blockage.. in my case I am fructose/dairy/gluten intolerant..so if I have a nice tall glass of lactaid milk (which is still gluten) I get mass mucus (again sorry too much info..) but the body is totally rejecting it...so either yours is caused by...not enough fiber (IBS...) or food intolerance/allergy that suddenly popped up in your life (did mine and I hate it..) or it can be the doomsday situation you're talking about..(which I highly doubt..getting colon cancer at your age is very doubtful..)

So this is what i'd do..

One go out and get some citrucel...doesn't cause gas..it's non-allergenic (I guess you say hypo all...whatever...anyway!) and it's tasty too..sadly I can't do it cuz it has sugar in it but if sugar bothers you then get the pills..start slow.. 1/2 a teaspoon before breakfast and before bed ...drink mass water...cut dairy/maaaybe gluten...for a good 2 weeks...eventually work up to two tablespoons of citrucel (basically follow the directions..)

If you're still having issues try miralax..it's safe long term, harmless and should take the pressure off your colon.   Basically that's the goal is to take pressure totally off your colon and give a chance to heal and both of those will do it.

*IF* you're still having problems..then yes get to a doctor and sadly he'll probably suggest a colonoscopy if you're still having issues but it's probably lack of fiber or food intolerance is my guess (most likely dairy/casein)

Good luck!