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bloody stool. ohnoes!

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 2/8/2008 5:23 PM (GMT 0)
hey everyone, i'm new to the site and plan on contributing what i can here.

my reason for joining is to ask a question about something i've recently noticed.

i was diagnosed with crohns at the age of 16 in april 2002, after a 7" resection of my completely obstructed small intestine. while on 6MP, i still have D more often than anything else.

about 2-3 months ago, i noticed a little bit of blood on the TP after having D. not a substantial amount, but noticeable.

the next 2 weeks went by as normal, and then during the 3rd week, after the initial WHOOSH of first sitting down and releasing, i heard dripping. thinking it was just the D, i didn't get too concerned, but i decided to peek anyway.

whoa! LOTS more blood than last time. :( i didn't notice any extra pain, or remember anything specific that i ate that might have caused such an issue.

does anyone have bloody stool at all? i searched for 'bleeding' & 'bloody' in the forums and didn't find anything.

thanks in advance. :)

Posted 2/8/2008 5:33 PM (GMT 0)
Yup...call your GI...soon! Also take note of its colour as it can help the physician locate the area of bleeding.(Is it bright red, maroon, almost black, etc.) When do you get it? Only with D? anytime using the bathroom? all the time? This is what you should tell your physician. It could be something minor (well as minor as it can get with bleeding, meaning not immediately life threatening) like hemorrhoids, or something more serious such as ulcerations...I have had both. I have also had bleeding with a fissure. Anyway, there are all sorts of scenarios and you and your doc should investigate them...SOON.

Don't feel like you're bothering him/her...theses are exactly the types of things he/she wants/NEEDS to know to better treat you. Hope all is well.
Posted 2/8/2008 5:34 PM (GMT 0)
Lots of CD patients experience bleeding in the gut, usually from the apthous ulcers that are such a hallmark of active Crohns. As a general rule, bright red blood is from down low in the rectum or anus (and is often assoicated with hemmies or fissures) while darker to black-purplish blood is from higher up in the GI tract. Your symptoms could very well be from a roid or fissure, but could also be from a seeping ulcer. In some cases, patients will see blood quite often and not be alarmed. In others, anemia and low blood counts may result from steayd bleeding, and in very rare cases, a major bleed can require an emergency scope to cauterize the site, or even surgery. As a general rule, it's best to inform your GI and be checked whenever you experience rectal bleeding or bloody stool if this is a new symptom for you or if it increases in volume. Sinceyou had a stricture at 16, it sounds like you ahve fairly active/aggressive disease, and bleeding would not be out of the question for you. It may be time for a new scope to see what is going on in there.

Posted 2/8/2008 5:58 PM (GMT 0)
thanks for the quick replies and good info!

the blood was bright red, and now that i think about it, i do seem to recall feeling as though a roid was forming, but it never got bad enough to be bothersome, and because of that, i never noticed when it went away. hm.

what's a fissure?
Posted 2/8/2008 7:55 PM (GMT 0)

A fissure is a tear in the rectum.  They tend to hurt a LOT.  If you're not having severe rectal pain, then hopefully, you just have hemmies (internal or external).  I have internal and external hemmies and have had many fissures.   I think most of my bright red bleeding has come from the hemmies.  It can look like a lot more blood than it actually is....but you should get a checkup to make sure what's going on and have your hemoglobin checked for anemia.

Good luck to you!

Posted 2/8/2008 8:16 PM (GMT 0)
okay, so i just got back from the bathroom here at work, and as much as i hate going #2 here, the abdominal pain was really bothering me.

another bloody mess. :( but it is definetley bright red.
Posted 2/8/2008 9:19 PM (GMT 0)
I have a lot of bleeding most days.  I don't have any hemerrhoids or a current fissure, but I have many, many ulcers in the large intestine.  Last night and this morning I lost a decent amount.  Stinks...  Definitely not a good sign.  I've been told by my docs not to get too alarmed unless it's more than a half cup about.   But!  If it's not normal for you, a call to the doc is really important!

 

Posted 2/19/2008 6:14 PM (GMT 0)

  I think I may have a hemmie.  I don't know.  Can raw veggies do this to me?  I have recently changed my diet since Jan 15.  If you see my other postings, I said February 15 but I thought it was longer than a few days ago.  Sorry.  I lost 13 pounds in the first week. I did good.   yeah  I started bleeding a little over a week ago.  It has been bright red.  My stool is formed, painfully large.  sad Yuck! :0 :(  I may have a fissure, but I am afraid to waste money to call the GI cuz I haven't had to in about 6 months or so.  I am not good at taking my meds. :(  I know. I know.  nono I am supposed to be on entocort.  I try.  I have a slight case of Crohn's so I think I push it more than I ought to.  If I feel good, I stop taking my pills.  I am on only 9MG a day.  If I am actually having a flare, entocort helps me, but if I am bleeding or am having stomach or lower abdominal cramps, like now, it doesn't seem to help anyway.  I call my GI, his nurse calls back, tells me to go get a blood sample taken, then they call me in a few days to say my numbers are fine and there is no reason for the pain.  It usually comes back to, " You ought to lose weight, Tina.  The fat is pulling on your abdominal wall."  This is their reason for the side pain, but when I have stomach or abdominal pain, it is usually explaing away or downplayed.  I have tried to switch GI's but the one I want , won't take me because he is in the same clinic as my current one.  The guy I want was my grandfather's GI and he was a good one.  I was told that he looked at my case after I asked to be switched,but he said that the current GI is doing what he would have done, so he sees no reason to change. 

Posted 2/19/2008 8:55 PM (GMT 0)
could be a hemmoroid, but seriously see a GI soon..usually crohn's bleeding is darker purple as it is in the upper digestive track..but still, if there is sever bleeding, it could be from the intestines hemoraging as well which means it is really really bleeding..just see a GI instead of playing doctor.
Posted 2/19/2008 9:20 PM (GMT 0)
Exactly, it could be upper GI bleeding or your intestines, either of which isn't fun and you should call your doctor about.  You'll probably get an appointment sometime this week, that kind of thing is pretty serious when it's a new symptom.  I was bleeding everywhere (it was from my large intestine being almost totally full of ulcerations) when I first got sick with crohn's and it took a week to go away from the medication.  Still had to go a zillion times a day, to the point where it was making me lose weight, for 6 weeks before I started to get better, so make sure you start getting treatment right away since it may take some time for you to be ok again if you're all ulcerated.

Posted 2/19/2008 11:22 PM (GMT 0)
when i was first diagnosed at 14 thats how it happened. at first i wasnt telling my mom, just thinking it was my period. then it kept happening and i got scared so i didnt say anything. Eventually it started happening more often and i got totally week and mom took me to the ER. Thats when i was diagnosed and my mom didnt tell me until years later that the doc said id lost so much blood that i was close to death! i say that to say, don't wait too long to go check it with the doc. its better to be safe than sorry

also, just a note, my blood wasnt dark, it was bright red which was y i thought it was from my cycle...
Posted 2/20/2008 5:54 PM (GMT 0)
OK, Thank you everyone! I'll call my GI. I just didn't want to be over reacting to something if I don't need to. Thank You.
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