Too Much Blood??

Hi again. More questions for all you wise UCers.

I've been flaring since the first week of July. I started on hydrocort enemas a little over 3 weeks ago and they've done nothing (this week I started alternating nights with Rowasa to see if that helps). Taking max does of Lialda also. Because of insurance issues, waiting for appointments and test results (calproctectin 600) I have not attacked as quickly as I would have liked. My doc has now prescribed Uceris in a last attempt to avoid prednisone. But I'm waiting to see if insurance will approve it.

In the meantime, the bleeding seems a bit much. I'm wondering when I should start worrying about losing all this blood. I had a full panel done about 3 weeks ago and all was fine, but that was before the heavier bleeding started. I'm going 4-6 times a day, no d. Morning BMs are ok, soft but formed, some blood. But the late afternoon/evening, it's mostly gas, blood and mucous. Sometimes it's dripping in the toilet, sometimes not. It's not a crazy amount of blood but it seems like multiple bathroom trips a day would add up.

I'm seeing my doc on Tuesday so hopefully will get some answers but in the mean time, is this too much bleeding??

Thanks!

No, try not to worry about the blood you see. Here's why. With UC, we're talking about microscopic bleeding from very small ulcers. Per day, we only loose daily totals of blood at 1-2 teaspoons or at most 1-2 tablespoons amounts daily during a UC flare. Often those small amounts mix with unextracted water and enema fluid and look a whole lot worse than it actually is. As even a couple drops of blood can turn the whole toilet bowl red, it definitely looks very scary though!

Hi Amyi had the same question when I first started flaring. , I've flared at times going 20+ times a day all blood. As mentioned by ipoop above it's usually not as bad as we think. It took my a couple years and a few bad flares to finally realize not to panic. My doctor usually is more concerned about number of times I go per day and my CRP levels than amount of blood Hope you find relief!

"and your body will set off all sorts of alarms to let you know"

yup - try not to focus on what appears to be the aftermath of an MMA fight in your toilet and more on how you are feeling -

My son had blood dripping like you said you experienced. Canasa stopped it literally over night. It only works for the very end of the bowel and rectum, but if blood is dripping, that's where it's coming from (not to say that other blood you see could be coming from higher up but the dripping is from very low part). Might be worth looking into.