Scared! Advice?

Hey everyone.

I've been to the doctors a few times regarding this and seen a couple of different doctors but they each turn me away by telling me it's probably IBS and can affect us in "all different ways". I've had some strange symptoms for about seven months or so now, ever since the third trimester of my pregnancy. During the end of the pregnancy I had bad diarrhea which would make me feel very weak and strange, and I'd be going up to 7 times a day on bad days. The doctors tested my stool at that time but it came back clear of both infection and blood. I had a blood test to check for colitis too, also came back clear. My brother has colitis and my mother had diverticulitis. My mum's mother died of bowel cancer and my grandfather had bowel disease but is remarkably still alive today.

After the baby was born I assumed my hormones would stop playing up maybe and my digestive system would go back to normal. I had awful hemmorhoids which have since gone down mostly, and they don't seem to bother me too much now, but I haven't had them checked in a couple/few months.

So my symptoms which don't seem to change are as follows-

My stools are soft and sticky (not watery) and come out in parts. This doesn't change and is the same everyday. I had a small short bout of diarrhea for one day the other week for the first time since the pregnancy and I took Immodium which worked but gave me cramps the next day, then I didn't go for a couple days before going again like my usual (sticky).
Gas and bloating
Need to go constantly(!)/feel the urge to mostly always go
Passing BM between 2-6 times (6-7 on a bad day!)
Tailbone pain/lower back pain
Some right sided pain, sometimes in my back, sometimes in my front...
can cause nausea after BM/before BM
Full feeling in rectum like I need to go... /rectal pressure.

Now the thing that confuses me is that my stools have not been liquidy except that one day (except when I was pregnant) and they haven't been hard like constipation. This isn't typical of IBS but my doctor says everyone is different.

I've noticed blood mixed in the mucus of my stool occasionally (not often but I'm physically examining each one thoroughly now on...) there was none in the toilet water nor huge quantities. Doctor said it could probably still be from hemmorhoids but I said I thought they would have cleared up - he says they're always gonna be there...

I've lost 2.5 stone since having the baby (obv some of it's normal but I'm half a stone under my pre-pregnancy weight) and I haven't lost any more but I can't seem to put anymore ON.

So although I've asked now for a colonscopy and have asked before, I'm refused one. I'm 27 and he thinks that it's unnecessary (as do the other doctors who spoke to me) to send me for tests when my symptoms could be stress or IBS related. So I don't have the option.

I'm now petrified. But he's said to take Mebeverine to see how it goes. Will this calm me from going too many times a day?? Should I be worried or does it sound possible it's IBS due to my age and the fact that I've been stressed lately and had a baby etc? Any reassurance would be great!

I've only had one blood test to check for Colitis, around the same time they took the stool sample last August/Sept. It came back negative. No other tests. I've had my FBC checked for anemia many times in the past six months or so for different reasons and had one recently taken for my ongoing gynaelogical issues, but I've not had any other blood tests.

Ides makes some great suggestions. I don't know what a blood test for colitis is, but if you are seeing blood in your stool and having other digestive issues it is worthwhile to ask your DR to check for inflammatory markers in your blood. I would be though, that the blood tests they've already done to check for anemia have, in fact, also checked for C-reactive protein and/or sed rate, both common tests to evaluate whether there's an inflammatory process going on. If there is not evidence of this in a blood test, I would really stop worrying and perhaps start keeping a food journal or some other kind of record of how you're feeling, then revisit with your regular doctor in a few months.

Docs aren't doing more because they don't perceive your problems as urgent or debilitating. You are not losing weight uncontrollably. You are not anemic. You are not fatigued. You are not feverish. You're really doing ok, and even though you have some complaints about your bowel function they don't seem to be that serious (to me). I'm sorry that you're struggling with this, though, and hope you can feel better soon.

Are you nursing your baby? I ask because breastfeeding takes a whole lot of calories, and I know I was at my all-time lowest weight when my breastfed babies were about 7 months old. Once I weaned, though, there was a bit of a weight gain (I called it the 10 lb bounce back).

Mind you I do feel fatigued a lot of the time and that's even with 7 hrs sleep so I'm not sure if that's something to do with it :/

Why all the anxiety? If you're anemic then you'll take iron supplements and feel less fatigued, and your DRs will be interested in further understanding why your blood count is low. I've been anemic or borderline anemic for all of my adult life. It's manageable.

Your DRs are likely to be most suspicious of the vaginal bleeding - it doesn't sound like you're having a lot of bloody stool, but it's always possible that you have some occult blood in your stool (requires a stool sample to confirm) or that you have poor nutritional absorption due to some small bowel issue (like Celiac or Crohn's). None of this is an emergency.

Take it step by step.

There are a few kinds of anemia and you can read about them on the web. Mine is always iron-related; the last bout I had involved my iron stores getting very close to zero, even while the circulating iron was reasonable (I think my hemoglobin at this point was a 10 where 12+ is normal). I have had hemoglobin levels as low as 6 (a mistaken blood donation), but more typically I get in trouble at around 11 and then I get it back up. My last bout, where my iron stores got so low, I needed to take iron supplements for about 6 months. My DRs for years blamed menstruation, and maybe that's part of the problem, but the last round I think it was poor absorption related also, because I was in the midst of a Crohn's flare. I never saw blood in my stool.

So yes, some information in blood counts can indicate a possible source (bleeding, poor absorption, other), but usually there's more testing needed. Or you can take iron supplements and see how it goes.