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Anemia, blood and mucus after BM, and negative colonoscopy

I have had mucus after a bowel movement, sometimes tinged with blood.  Once in a while I'm constipated, but am usually regular.  I had a colonoscopy, but the doctor said everything looked fine.  My anemia seems to be getting worse, although I take my iron and eat an iron-rich diet.  I am 41 and normal weight.  I eat a healthy diet (most of the time).  I have a feeling that the anemia is somehow tied to my gastor intestinal problem.  Anyone have any thoughts about this?  It's been about two years since my colonoscopy with worsening symptoms.  I hate to go through another colonoscopy, but could they have missed something?
Any feedback would be appreciated.
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Avatar universal
thank you so much for sharing your story.  that gives me quite a few things to look into.  I remember a doctor mentioning something about Vitamin D, but I didn't really pay attention; so maybe it's time to look into that. :)
I really appreciate all the details.   you shared somethings I never thought about or heard of before.
please keep me posted on how things go for you.
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681148 tn?1437661591
I would err on the side of caution and put up with the colonoscopy again.

Have you been tested for Celiac?  Many people who have IBS are also gluten and lactose intolerant.  Celiac can cause malabsorption.  I was tested negative for Celiac Sprue, but I had not been eating any gluten for long enough that there probably just weren't any antibodies for the gluten left.  It is known to be genetic, though, and my nephew tested positive for Celiac.  Regardless of what the tests showed about the Sprue, I feel better being off of gluten.

Is the blood in the stool really bad?  When I mentioned this to a coventional doctor some time ago, I was given the kit to do the fecal test at home.  This actually showed negative blood in the stool, eventhough I had definitely seen some red on the outside of the stool.  They were not especially worried about this, and told me it was probably the anal fissures or hemorhoids caused from the constipation.

Eversince I stopped eating gluten and all dairy and introduced flaxseed meal, which is actually pleasant tasting, I have not had any mucous in my stool and I have not seen any more blood.  I suggest avoiding psyllium fiber, because it is irritating to the gut and can be initially constipating.

I did have blood work done a few months ago and was told that I was anemic.  I was never told what the suspected cause was, but my primary care doctor, my nephrologist and my naturopath are all on the same page when it comes to taking the amount of iron that I was told to take.  I can't take the prescription irons, no matter if I follow the suggestion to take those awful things with food or not.  I am using chelated iron from the supplement store and eating foods rich in iron that are ones that I'm not allergic to.

With myself, I still wonder about all the years of living with possible Celiac and not eating a gluten-free diet?  I was hospitalized with renal failure not too long ago and no one has figured out what the underlying cause for that was either.

The other possibility for mine is the extreme vitamin D deficiency messing up my entire immune system.  My naturopath suspects that I may still have inactive Epstein Barr Virus (EPV) from when I was very sick a year and a half ago.  Since I don't have any other manner to get vitamin D, I am taking the high doses that were recommended by all three of my doctors I just mentioned.  I do know that most people are actually low on vitamin D in this country.  So, it won't hurt to test your vitamin D levels, even if that doesn't solve the mystery of why you're anemic in the first place.  Taking care and regulating your vitamin D levels can only help your overall health, rather than hurt it.  My naturopath suspects that once my vitamin D levels normalize that other deficiencies and irregularities in my blood tests will normalize to some degree, too.  Since vitamin D is the critical key component to the immune system's normal functioning, there could be something to this.

I don't know if your anemia is related to the gastro problems.  I mentioned my personal story here, because I'm still searching for that elusive answer for myself.  It's possible that the anemia problems are from another source, something other than the gastro related problems here.

I am wondering about anemia for myself.  Keep me posted on what you find out.  And, may God speed.

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