Help! Tailbone pain/numbness/rectal bleeding/upset stomach

[Lindsb512]

Hi,
Im 25 yo female, almost 26. I had sharp tailbone pain on and off for 3 days in i think march 2012...went away that was that. then i found out i was pregnant. the tailbone pain recurred in middle of pregnancy on and off and sometimes severe. About a month after i had my son in Jan 2013 I had an xray of tialbone (2/13) everything fine. then the very next day i had rectal bleeding!! I freaked called dr was given the xray results and came in to dr they said probaly internal hemmoroids from recently delivering a 9lob 10oz baby vaginally and pushed for 1 1/2 hours! I agreed with this (especially since i had a colonoscopy in march 2011that revelaed small internal hemmoroids so i assumed they just flared up.) Dr peaked at anus but did not do DRE. The tailbone pain persisited along with numbness and tingling in the area and occasional numbness/twinges/crawly feelings a long my vagina/clitoris. neurologist poked me with pins checking my sensation which was intact and sent me fro MRI due to my request(3/13)..MRI was fine. NO edema no fracture or sign of old fracture, no infection etc. sighh. Ok so then i lost my insurance(4/13). the bleeding has contiuned on and off but mostly on with large bowel movements. it hurts a lot upon exiting my anus and feels like its ripping apart (however i have no evidnece of a fissure, only one medium sized internal hemmoird based off a recent DRE) the tailbone pain/paresthesias has been on and off as well, mostly off. but suddenly i began really worrying last week for some reason. all of a sudden ithought holy s**t what was i thinking waiting a year for an internal exam!? So since firday i went to my primary, he did a DRE listened to abdomen etc everything fine (ordered abdominal ultrasound with attention to my gall bladder) and barium swallow (due to occasional difficulty swallowing dry meat (like chicken) and also dry rice) and i have developed abdominal pain, bloating, nausea, no appetite, and constipation the past few days. I saw GI dr who had done my colomoscopy in 2011 and he bascailly said youre 25, you had a colonoscopy 3 years ago it was perfect( i said well was it a good study, good prep, etc?) he said yes. he obviously visualized my rectal/anus area since he noted internal hemmoroids. no polyps no inflammation, etc. Oh i had the colonoscopy in 2011 for consipation by the way (terrbile from may 2010-march 2011) did miralax and stuff and was fine after. have had large fromed BM about every other day since then. Sooo anyway GI doc says its your hemmoroid bleeding. the tailbone/vagina issues sound nerve related (as my neuro agreed and wants to do an EMG-nerve test) im thiking ok is it nerve related due to a tumor compressing something near my tailbone??? (like in my rectum)...the bleeding, now constipation again? i dont have much abdominal cramping had bloating for 2 days and a lot of right sided pain in my upper abdomen and back (where the gallbladder ultrasoudn order came from) at that time i was havign a few starnge BMs darker green with mucous, formed and small. no though i havent gone much at all but it is back to brown without mucous howeever much thinner than ususal (not pencil or ibbon thin though, but my BMs are usually quite large nto to be gross) i also have pretty much no appetie and a strong burning/hot anxious feeling in my stomach right at base of ribs. i cant sleep or focus on anything but my symptoms and i am soooo scared. I am suppsoed to be leaving for Florida saturday to take my 5 yr old daughter to Disney fo rth e first time with my husband, our 1 yr old son, andmy mom and sister! I have bloodwork in am (CBC because i want to see if im anemic) and an abdominal ultrasound (couldnt have thtat today because they want a completely empty stomach for 12 hours, and i have a proctologist appt. teh proctologist told me if i felt really bad i could go to ER as he has not seen me and cant say what to do without an exam, but to otherwise come in the monring. So i have 815 lab work, 9 appt with proctologist, and 1030 abdominal ultrasound...i hope proctologist gives me answers (esp as to if that one internal hemmoroid realy could be giving me so much trouble) and i hope he orders an anoscope or sigmoidoscopy or something before im suposed to go to FL, i need to feel better and know whats going on. i knwo the liklihood of cancer being in my rectum (which is wehre im worried due to the tailbone pain) is low because of my age, sex, and clear scope 3 yrs ago but i know things are missed and happen (due to my recent googling marathon!) I also have a history of generalized anxiety disorder and my mind runs away with me. my daughter lost her biological father almost 2 years ago so i really worry about myself for her but am now kciking myself fo rnot doing something sooner, esp if theres something bad going on! i have also been tired for years (even before my tailbone pain started) but i attribute that to another condition. Other nerve things that have been going on are neuropathy type feelings in my feet. also freezing cold feet and chills, no fever (wrroied im anemic) and worried why i could be... (if this was long and confusiong im sry! The digestive things have been going on about 6 days by the way if that go tmixed up in there) Other than that i was able to always eat whatever i wanted and a lot of it!!

[Frank Farrell, MD]

Hi.  I'm a gastroenterologist who is answering questions in this forum.  I'm sorry you're not feeling well.  I think your rectal bleeding bleeding is probably due to an anal fissure that the doctors aren't seeing.  This is actually common because the fissure can be up near the anal sphincter and has to be felt more than seen.  Sharp pain with defecation along with rectal bleeding in the setting of passing large stools is an anal fissure until proven otherwise.  External hemorrhoids can produce bleeding and also give you pain with defecation but this should be obvious on inspection of the anus.  I would suggest that you discuss treatment for an anal fissure that would include a nitroglycerine-based ointment along with a stool softener/laxative (for example, Miralax).  You want your stools to be soft like soft oatmeal and you want to avoid straining at stool.  Also, when you wipe after a bowel movement I would recommend that you use a wad of toilet paper that is soaked with water and that you blot your bottom and not wipe excessively or hard.  Soaking your bottom in warm/hot water for 15-20 minutes is helpful as well.  As for your tailbone pain, I think this is unrelated to your rectal bleeding.  It is highly unlikely that you have a growth in your rectum that has infiltrated your nerves and is causing the neurologic symptoms.  This would be almost unheard of in light of a normal colonoscopy 3 years ago.  Be careful with stories on the internet about missed diagnoses.  Yes, they occur but they are exceedingly rare.  I'm glad you're seeing a proctologist.  Enjoy Disneyland with your family.  All the best.

Frank Farrell, MD

[Blondieeee]

How did all of your appts go? I hope all is fine and u are on the mends! God bless you

[Lindsb512]

also belching frequently (never used to) this buring has been going on on and off for a few months but increased with this GI upset

[Lindsb512]

wow thats long! Also i have no family history of colorectal cancer