Rectal Bleeding

[M.]

I'm a 31-year-old female with no known family history of colon cancer. I've been experiencing bright red rectal bleeding with bowel movements, but not consistently. I could go 1 or more months in between episodes. Sometimes it's just a little blood, and sometimes it's a substantial amount. Actually, I can remember having this happen when I was even a teenager, intermitently. With all the publicity being given to colon cancer, I'm really scared that I may have it. It seems every time I turn around there's another news story about this cancer. What are the risk factors for someone my age for colorectal cancer? Should I see my family doctor, or should I make an appointment right away for a colonoscopy?

[1488jacob]

A related discussion, Rectal bleeding at 15 years old, anything to worry about? was started.

[Michelle]

Sue,
I hope you have already gotten some help, but in case you have not, I have a suggestion.  There is a product called "Sween Cream" that has been very helpful to me.  I suffer from Crohn's disease and battle rectal bleeding and loose bowels constantly.  The cream sooths that raw itchy feeling from bleeding and going to the bathroom so much.  I'm sorry to be so graphic, but we all seems to be dealing with the same problems.
I had a colonoscopy yesterday and had a polup removed.  I am awaiting the biospy results and hope for the best.  I am also having problems with adhesions around my intestines where I had my Crohn's surgery 15 years ago.
Can anyone comment on relief for adhesion pain?  I have found that eating several small meals per day helps a little.
Thank you, in advance, for your comments and help.  It's nice to know we are not alone!
I can be reached at ***@****
Thanks,
Michelle

[lucas]

You know, this is great, I was worried about being so young and all the blood, but now I don't feel so bad. Whoo Hoo!
Anyway, here's my case: soon after I started college, I started finding blood in the toilet. Now, I hadn't really been looking n the toilet much, so the first time I noticed the blood I was scared silly, and it occurred to me that I could have been bleeding during EVERY movement for quite a while: but I never checked, so I never noticed. I've been checking regularly ever since.

What I've deduced is this: first, that there is usually NO pain involved. Second, that most of the bleeding takes place AFTER I have finished my movement, and while I'm just sitting there finishing the chapter of whatever book I'm reading. This was a relief since I had this idea that blood AFTER a movement couldn'r be nearly as serious as blood MIXED in with stools. Am I right about this??? I don't know.

Anyway, this bleeding usually lasts on and off, to differing degrees, for a couple of days to a couple of MONTHS. But it usually goes away for such long period of times that by the time I'm home to visit the family doctor, I've forgotten all about it.

My current wory stems from this: I just moved to NYC, and ALL of my medical insurance just ended, and I don't have any money to see a doctor . . . so OF COURSE, after nearly a year of no incidences of bleeding that I can remember -- I am now bleeding regularly with every movement. Yuck.

But after reading these posts, now I'm thinking that I'm just not eating enough fiber and drinking enough water. That could make sense. Or maybe it has something to do with times of high stress (First: starting college; later, moving to NY, etc . . .) --- Anyway, does any of my rationalizing make any medical sense here?

God, I hope I don't have cancer . . .

[Sherry]

I had a colonoscopy done a few months ago.  I had no pain killers nor anesthia given to me.  Let me tell you people, I wanted to come up off of that table!!!  I suggest to all of those out there that you request something to relax you.  Of course I lived to tell about it, however, I know I will never go through another without something to put me into la la land.  FYI, my understanding is that the procedure for some reason is more painful to women than to men.

[Garrett]

wow, i didn't know that there are other people in my situation.  i am 19 and healthy, and for the past year or two, off and on, i have had the same problem, sometimes a lot of blood, sometimes barely any, no pain, obviously i am not too excited about confronting a doctor about this, do you all think that i should worry at all?, every once in awhile i think it goes away, but then it suddenly reoccurs, if anyone has any valid advice, please post...THANKS

[malley678]

A related discussion, gi bleeding was started.

[d.brown]

i'm a 32 year old female with no known history of colon cancer.  i've been experiencing slight rectal bleeding with bowel movements for the past three days.  what treatment should i seek?

[NICOLE]

HI EVERYONE OUT THERE...I WOULD FIRST LIKE TO THANK EVEYONE FOR WRITING IN...I FEEL SO MUCH BETTER NOW, THAT I READ EVERYONE'S EXPERIENCE'S...I HAD BLOOD AND BY BOWEL, THIS PAST WEEK, ONLY ONE TIME...I HAD NO PAIN....I WENT TO THE DOCTOR THAT DAY, I WAS A NERVOUS RECK, THINKING THE WORST....THE DOCTOR TOLD ME IT WAS HEMROIDS...ALTHOUGH I AM STILL A LITTLE NERVOUS, BECAUSE I'M NOT ITCHY, OR BURNING...I HAVE CREAM I HAVE TO APPLY, I ALSO HAVE TO DRINK METAMUCIL..I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SAY TO ANYONE WHO HASN'T GONE TO THE DOCTOR....PLEASE GO, WOULDN'T YOU WANT TO CATCH SOMETHING EARLY TO STOP IT, IF ANYTHING SERIOUS WAS WRONG?

[NICOLE]

HI EVERYONE OUT THERE...I WOULD FIRST LIKE TO THANK EVEYONE FOR WRITING IN...I FEEL SO MUCH BETTER NOW, THAT I READ EVERYONE'S EXPERIENCE'S...I HAD BLOOD AND BY BOWEL, THIS PAST WEEK, ONLY ONE TIME...I HAD NO PAIN....I WENT TO THE DOCTOR THAT DAY, I WAS A NERVOUS RECK, THINKING THE WORST....THE DOCTOR TOLD ME IT WAS HEMROIDS...ALTHOUGH I AM STILL A LITTLE NERVOUS, BECAUSE I'M NOT ITCHY, OR BURNING...I HAVE CREAM I HAVE TO APPLY, I ALSO HAVE TO DRINK METAMUCIL..I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SAY TO ANYONE WHO HASN'T GONE TO THE DOCTOR....PLEASE GO, WOULDN'T YOU WANT TO CATCH SOMETHING EARLY TO STOP IT, IF ANYTHING SERIOUS WAS WRONG?

[Steve (Pistachios)]

"Pistachios".  I have had Rectal Bleeding for approximately 15 years.  I am now 38 Years old.  My Granfather had Hemmorroids so bad he had to wear tampons  because of the leakage so to speak.  He ended up living to the ripe old age of 101 years. My grandfather had his Hemmorroids removed in his 50s or 60s.  I now suffer the same symptoms but I have never really had an exam.  I have lost moderate amounts of blood almost on a daily basis for the last few years.  I do fear going to the Doctor but I may save myself from something which could be somewhat serious in the future if not now.  I guess it could be that I procrastinate for convenience, if that makes sense.  I should probably go in but never quite get to it.  Anyway one day I was going through the postings on the internet like this one, and found one where a person mentioned his or her Mother having a serious problems with Hemmorroids.  She started eating Pistachios and has had no more problems.  I figured trying it myself.  Normally I don't eat Pistachios and the strange thing is I had bought some just for the heck of it.  Then I ate almost an entire bag one night.  The next day and following days no more Bulging Hemmorroids or Bleeding.  I stopped eating them immediately and then they came back.  The moral to this story is try Pistachios.  Don't know why but it worked for me as well.  Good luck to you all.  By the way I work for a company which manufactures Antioxidants including fiber food supplements. look up our site at www.biotec-foods.com and ask for steve or Marika. Believe me I feel and have felt many of your pains out there, when addressing Hemmorroids. My email address is adolf_kipling***@****.  Peace and good health to you all.

[Steve (Pistachios)]

"Pistachios".  I have had Rectal Bleeding for approximately 15 years.  I am now 38 Years old.  My Granfather had Hemmorroids so bad he had to wear tampons  because of the leakage so to speak.  He ended up living to the ripe old age of 101 years. My grandfather had his Hemmorroids removed in his 50s or 60s.  I now suffer the same symptoms but I have never really had an exam.  I have lost moderate amounts of blood almost on a daily basis for the last few years.  I do fear going to the Doctor but I may save myself from something which could be somewhat serious in the future if not now.  I guess it could be that I procrastinate for convenience, if that makes sense.  I should probably go in but never quite get to it.  Anyway one day I was going through the postings on the internet like this one, and found one where a person mentioned his or her Mother having a serious problems with Hemmorroids.  She started eating Pistachios and has had no more problems.  I figured trying it myself.  Normally I don't eat Pistachios and the strange thing is I had bought some just for the heck of it.  Then I ate almost an entire bag one night.  The next day and following days no more Bulging Hemmorroids or Bleeding.  I stopped eating them immediately and then they came back.  The moral to this story is try Pistachios.  Don't know why but it worked for me as well.  Good luck to you all.  By the way I work for a company which manufactures Antioxidants including fiber food supplements. look up our site at www.biotec-foods.com and ask for steve or Marika. Believe me I feel and have felt many of your pains out there, when addressing Hemmorroids. My email address is adolf_kipling***@****.  Peace and good health to you all.

[chris]

fffff

[Cathy]

my story continues... By the grace of God, we both survived. I had weighed 103 when I got married and 96 the day I had my baby and 63 the next day. They diagnosed me with ulcerative colitis and sent me home after two months with taking 28 pills a day. My older brother has colitis. That's where they diagnosed that, along with doing exploratory surgery when they took my baby.I was ok for almost a year. I never could gain much of my weight back and still bled a little,was always very weak and under alot of stress. In October, the following year I had to have surgery. They gave me a temporary iliostomy. It never worked and I was always in the hospital. This lasted for another year. I had another surgery to remove it and they had built a J-pouch previously for me to see if that would help. I always had to be near a bathroom and was tube fed because of nutrition needs. I had to go so much I had to have a bedside commode. I wound up sleeping on it with my head laying on the bed. That's how bad it got.I was still bleeding, clots so big they looked liked pancakes. They then put me in a so called halfway mental ward because I was too sick to go home but not sick enough to be on a regular floor. They said I was anorexic because I couln't keep my food down. Boy, did that make me mad!! Had to sign a contract that said if I ate 10 bites of food and kept it down I could interact with other patients. Three days later I was in Intensive care. To make a very long story shorter, I wound up having 5 surgeries and have an iliostomy. I have only 6 feet of small intestines and after my last surgery I was finally diagnosed with Crohn's disease. I went through so many tests that it was not funny. MRI's (5 or6),Proctoscopes, CATSCANS, I even had a disease specialist to test me nuclearly for any unknown diseases. Upper and Lower GI's any kind of tests you can think of but nothing showed up. I was in the hospital 1 1/2 years out of three. It has taken a long time, 16 years later I have finally gained 10 pounds and kept it on. I BEG ALL OF YOU TO BE TESTED AND DON'T GIVE UP UNTIL YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU HAVE.

[Cathy]

To anyone out there who is bleeding, it is imperative that you see a Dr. immediately. If you don't have insurance, there are hospitals with clinics for those who can't afford to pay.
I have had Chron's disease for 17 years now. Mine started out with my stools having a lot of mucus in it and having to go to the bathroom after I ate. I then noticed a couple of times that it looked like a chewed up apple with blood in it. I went to the doctor and he didn't want to give me the kind of examination I needed because he thought I was too young. He said I had a small cut on the inside of my rectum and gave me some steroid cream to insert. That seemed to help a little. I got married and became pregnant three months later. I had the flu early on and I became really weak. Three months after I became pregnant, I started bleeding again and having abdominal cramps. Went to dr's many times and they sent me home and said to eat plenty of milk and vegetables and that it was just hemmoroids. I was really constipated at that time and they put me on every kind of laxative there was. My stools were black and I would almost pass out from loosing so much blood. I would also run a fever of 105 every evening at the same time and could only find releif from pain from  being on my hands and knees and rocking back and forth. My mother would give me tylenol and take me to the hospital and they would send me back home. I didn't have a fever when I got there. One day I was in so much pain and my fever was high that my mom called the dr and he said not to give me any pain medicine and to bring me in. I fought like a tiger! I was not going back to the emergency and wait for hours and they send me back home again. My husband had to literally drag me to the car. I got there and my fever was 106. I had lost so much blood that my baby didn't have enough oxygen to breath. I was given 2 or 3 pints that night and then I started having diarhea really bad and couldn't hold it. They admitted me and I was in there two months. They had to finally take my baby at 27 weeks so they could treat me. Only one of us had a 50/50 chance of making it.

[Bert Nosnum]

Can eating tomatoes give your stool the appearance of having blood in it?  I ate a sandwich last night with tomatoes on it and my stool this morning had red spots in it.  It wasn't streaked through it but appeared almost like chunks within the stool.  I have diverticulosis and have always feared getting cancer.  Any ideas?

[lori]

Water, Water, Water. Drink it.Lots of it. Cut the junk food and eat lots of fiber.Most of you will feel better. Good Luck.

[MY Jenkins]

I am 35 years old and have had the same type of problem over the last 4-6 months.  I just had a colonoscopy to ensure that this was not colon cancer.  I was diagnosed with internal hemmorhoids and told to eat alot of fresh fruits and veggies and keep my stool soft.  I was glad to hear that, but still have problems with seeing this bleeding from time to time especially because I've always kept my stool soft.  I am not sure if you've seen a doctor, but I definitely recommend getting a colonoscopy.  My aunt, actually my father's aunt, died of colon cancer because she did not check out her rectal bleeding.  Better safe than sorry and if you tell the doctor that you have history of cancer in your family, the insurance will definitely cover it.  Hopefully, the insurance will cover it anyway.  Good luck.

[Kamont]

i am a teenage male,experiancing rectal bleeding. This just started, but one week before this starting I had a hard time getting a stool out. This may have caused some strain on me, could that be a cuse of this? Te rectal bleeding started when I had a bowel movement,but I could not go. I had a feeling of pain and then bleeding as I tried to stop the stool from exiting me. Again, just as last week the stool is hard and painful, but this time bleeding occurs before it even leaves my body. And it hasn't left. What could be the cause of this?

[to mke]

Jacqueline,If you don't eat right sometimes you will have trouble having a bowel movement,with will cause you to bleed if you stain alot,more than likely at your age you don't have colon cancer( very rare at your age),but you still need to tell your mom so you can get help before it gets worse,not knowing why your bleeding is alot worse than any test you can have. Good Luck

[n]

I'm fifteen year old.  For about two months, I would get sharp, severe pains that almost made me double over in pain in my rectal area.  These would come about once every two weeks.  Finally I got the courage to tell my parents about the problem.  After seeing the doctor he diagnosed me with a rectal fissure.  Now everyday I have to drink a glass of metamusil.  This is to allow the bowels to become more soft so the rectum can heal.  Everytime I had to go to the bathroom I would re-tear open the fissure.  Go to the doctor though if you experience any thing!  I only had about a drop of blood once.  Don't try to diagnose yourself, go to the doctor.

[jammin]

Anyone ever have an anal fistula? Do you have to have surgery?

[Jacqueline]

i've noticed that a lot of teenagers have said they had rectal bleeding. i'm 15 and i've recently had bleeding in my bowel movements. i also had some back when i was 14. is it possible for me to have colon cancer at my age? i'm too nervous about asking my mom to take me to the doctor to find out. she got checked for colon cancer because of rectal bleeding but it turned out to be just hemmaroids. does anyone know the chances of someone my age having colon or rectal cancer?

[Shea Mctavish]

well, i think ill tell you all the things i can. i happened to be a contourtionist, and i was doing my show the other day when it happened. as i slowly bent over to stick my chin between my bum cheeks, i noticed something close to my anus. it was a pollop. it was puffy like a spounge, the color of the sidewalk, and it smelled like the dirty rags beneath the sink....
i just want to tell you youre not alone. the quest for the salt encrusted pollop....

[Jacqueline]

i've seen that their are some teenagers who've experinced rectal bleeding.i'm 15 years old and i've recently had blood in my bowel movements. i also had it back when i was 14. am i too young for colon cancer? i'm too nervous about telling my mom so she could take me to a doctor to find out. my mom had blood in her bowel movements too and when she went to the doctor it turned out to be hemmaroids. does anyone know the chances of me having colon or rectal cancer?