GI Bleed mystery

[super70]

Hello,

  I’ve been having a problem with a GI bleed, and was hoping to get some feedback. Here is a little background on my self:
I am 39 year old male, 5’ 6”, about 152 lbs. I exercise 6 days a week and eat generally well. Lots of fiber and very little red meat. For several years I have had on and off episodes of Diarrhea (clear liquid) bowel movements, usually triggered by stress and anxiety. I always assumed this was IBS. I have had soft, loose stools for as far as I can remember. I’ve also been very regular my entire life, with at least 3 bowel movements per day. About 10 years ago I was diagnosed with a fatty liver through an ultrasound.

Family history:
My father had digestive problems, although I am not sure if it was anything specific. He died from complications of a brain aneurysm in 1982.
My mother is still alive, although she has type 2 diabetes and digestive issues (reflux, chronic gas)



About 2 months ago I started experiencing a bit of irregularity, some days I would wake up with no urge to have a bowel movement, other days the urge would actually wake me up from sleep. I also started experiencing this weird tingly, burning sensation on my skin(all over body, and it would come and go). The other thing I noticed is that I wasn’t gaining any weight, despite eating more and my increased snacking at night.

The big scare happened about 3 weeks ago when I woke up and passed stool with obvious blood in it, the blood was colored dark red.
This happened for about 2 days. The blood was definitely IN the soft stool, and the water in the toilet was also a maroon color. Very shocked and concerned, I went to see a GI and he performed a colonoscopy
as well as an upper Endoscopy. The colonoscopy came back clean (no polyps), except for a non-bleeding internal hemorrhoid. The upper endoscopy revealed Hiatial hernia and Short segment Barrett's Esophagus with no Dysplasia.

The puzzling thing is that there is no definitive explanation for the bleed I had weeks ago. I had my 2 week follow-up this past Monday and my GI sent me home with a 3-day occult test, which all came back positive. So I am still bleeding!!
He also sent me for a small bowel series (barium), which came back normal.


What can this be? What should be the next step? I am waiting for my doctor to get back with me, but the anxiety is killing me and I am starting to wonder if he missed something during the colonoscpy/upper endoscopy. I feel very tired and run down, which may be due to the worrying, I don’t know.
Should I see another doctor?

-Vic

[boron]

Nice swallowing of that candy camera :) .

[super70]

Thanks for the replies. I definetly need to control my anxiety, I agree...

I spoke to my doctor and he said the next step is to do a pill cam test next week, where a camera capsule is swallowed and thousands of photos are transmitted from your small bowel to a computer hanging from your waist.

The waiting game is the hardest thing......

[boron]

Anxiety was once said to be a strong factor in developing stomach/duodenal ulcer. You should consider how to control anxiety.

[boron]

Barret's esophagus may be due to constantly increased acid in your stomach. If you experience upper abdominal bloating, and you belch more often as you think you should, it may be a H. pylori infection of the stomach. Maybe you should have a breath test for H. pylori, this is the firt thing.

Avoid any acidic food (fruits/fruit juices, also vit C, aspirins, vinegar and so on. Also try to avoid proteins (animal food in general), which trigger acid secretion. Dark red blood may be from the duodenum, from inflammation caused by H. pylori.