Bleeding?

Well, I think you should push for a colonoscopy. You can never be too safe when it comes to bleeding. If your doctor doesn't want to go the expense of a colonoscopy for insurance purposes, he might suggest a Flex-Sig.

Two examples of rectal bleeding and the outcome - I had constant, mild bleeding, during bm's and when I would urinate. It was always there, for 4 months. I had a Flex-sig and my Gastro found a malignant tumor, barely inside. Rectal Cancer, Stage 1.

My husband had sudden rectal bleeding last December, only when having bm's and he had to strain to go. He showed me the blood - it looked like a lot and it seemed to fill the toilet boil. Of course given my history, I wanted him to have a colonoscopy, ASAP. He did and it turned out he had one benign tumor and there was evidence of divertulosis. He's now on a high fiber diet and has to exercise, drink water, cut back on alcohol, etc. He's doing fine by the way. Also, he takes Metamucil and eats berries every single day.

So there's a good outcome and a rather not good one (but I am alive!).

IMHO, you just shouldn't ignore rectal bleeding. Please call your doctor and figure out what this could be. It could be a lot of things, not necessarily cancer. But in hindsight I wish now I had called my doctor the day after my bleeding started. I had two benign colon polyps just the year before. But I didn't call him for a while. I think I was trying to talk myself out it being a concern. Please don't do that. I wish I had called him right away!

Mary/marsky

I third the advice. C-scope, stat!

I wish someone would tell me the same exact thing! Here's my specific timeline.

1997 - blood showed up on anal smear done as a routine part of a pap exam. My GYN recommended and ordered a colonoscopy. No ifs, ands or butts (sorry, that's a bad pun!). Two benign polyps, told to return in 3 years for a colonoscopy. Again, nothing but the most thorough procedure.

1999 - blood began showing up on tissue after bm's and after using the bathroom, even to urinate. Not a whole lot but it was there. And it was not vaginal bleeding. I kept thinking it was because I hadn't been eating right, it was the holidays, parties, etc. By January, I went to see my Internist for another problem, she said it was probably hemmoroids. Well, you want to believe it is that and not cancer. By Feb., I knew I'd better call my Gastro. He booked me an appt, no prep. He examined me with my clothes ON! Pushing on my stomach, etc. No dialation. He ordered a Flex-sig.

By now I had another pap and my GYN decided to do a rectal exam. Found "something", he said it was probably a skin tag. I wanted to believe it was a skin tag. But by this time I had a Flex-sig ordered. A blizzard came up and I had to cancel.

By the time I got my Flex-sig in, it was April 6th. My bleeding began Dec. 16, almost 10 years ago.

The mere second my Gastro dilated me and saw the "skin tag", the entire room was hushed, no one spoke. I knew then and there it was a malignant tumor. I began crying. I knew in my gut it was cancer.

Of course you know by now it was. I had my CA diagnosis within 20 hours. And my Gastro had me booked for a colonoscopy as fast as he could - 3 days later. I could tell he was so worried there were more (there weren't, I haven't had a single polyp, benign or malignant since 1999). My tumor was barely inside. I did at some point examine myself, yup it was right there.

They say hindsight is always 20/20. In my case it was so true.

I put off checking this out thoroughly. But to be honest, when my Gastro saw me in Feb. and didn't have me do a prep or anything, I figured, hey if he's not worried, why should I be?

Nearly every single nurse and doctor who saw me thru my cancer all said - you are much too young for rectal cancer. I was 43, almost 44. Well, guess what guys I still got it.

I could tell all of these professionals in my care wished they had done a colonoscopy right away.

And now with high copays and insurance companies balking at every bill that comes their way (they wouldn't pay my last colonoscopy bill), I shudder to think how many people are put off or ignored.

I am just one example. What my situation taught me is to speak up. Always speak up! Become your own advocate and never take no, it's probably....for an asnwer. Find out what is wrong!

But of course I am alive and it was Stage 1 (no treatment required). Oh but my life has never been the same since......

Mary/Marsky

Believe it. Well, it does go towards my ind. deductible, which is $2500. My husband works for a very small company and insurance premiums for their employees have quadrupled over just the past 4 or 5 years. This is the most affordable plan they can offer employees. This is yet another reason it would help our family if I could work full time and for a large company, offering excellent medical insurance. But I just don't think I am healthy enough for that many hours. I'm in a no win situation. But I did get my colonoscopy and my doctor did take hundreds off the total bill, because the ins. company wouldn't pay for it. They have rebilled it and added the word screening but since I'm a cancer survivor, I fall under a different category for billing purposes.

All I do know is the type coverage I had 10 years ago was awesome. I shudder to think what my bills would have been if I had this plan, then. Back then my two hospitals stays were under $40,000. But our out of pocket expense was around $1400.

IBS symptoms can be very similar to IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) symptoms, with the exception of bleeding unless there's a bleeding hemerhoid involved with your IBS, however bleeding can be a common symptom with IBD, if you had a fissure that was bleeding that badly then you'd feel like you were pooping razor blades because that's what a fissure feels like, if you don't feel that senstion then chances are it's not a bleeding fissure and for it to be bleeding that badly you'd likely need surgery to fix it because it would be an awfully deep fissure to cause that much bleeding...

The sooner you get scoped, the better.

:)