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How do you know if bleeding hemorroids or rectal bleeding?

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Posted 7/20/2009 4:35 PM (GMT 0)

Hi,

Is there a way to know if your bleeding is from hemorroids or something else?  I had some bleeding a year ago and was diagnosed with colitis from an infection.  They found inflammation in my sigmoid colon but the biopsies looked good.  They then said I had post-infectious ibs when my other symptoms didn't go away.  The last month or two my symptoms have gradually been getting worse.  I was in the bathroom many, many times yesterday and there was some blood - nothing like before - just a little.

I am wondering whether I should ride this out and see what happens or go to my PCP again.  The last GI doc made me feel bad for taking up her time and said I just have IBS.  I have been hesitant to see anyone, because I feel like they thought I was just complaining last year.  Is there a way I can figure out on my own whether this is just hemorroids or should I get this checked out?

Thanks!

Pam

Posted 7/20/2009 4:42 PM (GMT 0)
If they are internal hemmies, you probably wouldn't be able to diagnose them yourself. Your PCP could, though, quite easily (finger up the butt!). If it is hemmies, you should be able to treat them with a suppository to heal them.
Posted 7/20/2009 7:43 PM (GMT 0)
If your GI doctor made you feel bad for seeing him switch. It's your body - take care of it.
Posted 7/20/2009 8:54 PM (GMT 0)
Hi..welcome to the forum!

How many times in the bathroom were you? What kind of stool....diarrhea, loose soft, hard? Did you have urgency? lots of gas? granular poo with blood?

I would suggest you go back to the PCP and request a referral to another GI. Your PCP may do the finger up the butt and even if you do have a hemmie, it won't answer the reason why you're having multiple bms.

What you should also request is to have stool samples done to make sure the infection isn't back. Was it e.coli or c.diff that caused the initial infection?

I personally don't see the bleeding as the main problem as much as it is the change in your bowel habits. I don't know if IBS in itself causes extreme multiple bms....but that's not something I've experienced unless it's food-related or flare related.

Please keep us posted as to how you're doing.

quincy
Posted 7/20/2009 10:07 PM (GMT 0)
I was in the bathroom over 10 times.  It was diarrhea, mucous, sometimes brown mucous.  Lots of gas, nausea. 

Today I have only had 2 bms, mucous a couple of times in addition to this.  I'm tired, woke up at 9am, napped for 2 and a half hours and I just woke up again. 

They have no idea what kind of infection.  They gave that diagnosis because the biopsies looked good.  Prior to the biopsy results, they put me on Colazal because they weren't sure of the diagnosis.

Thanks!

 

Posted 7/20/2009 10:47 PM (GMT 0)
I don't know either. For a year the docs told me my blood was from internal hemmies, until I got a sig scope and they discovered otherwise. Even now when I have blood my doctor says it could be from internal hemmies. Good question.
Posted 7/21/2009 12:17 PM (GMT 0)
With IBS, a person can produce large amounts of mucous. And if you have IBS-D then yes it can produce a lot of changes in your bowel habits ranging from D to C. When the docs took a looksie up there, did they mention seeing hemmeroids? Did they do a stool culture to rule out Cdiff?
Posted 7/21/2009 1:35 PM (GMT 0)
They said it was not from hemorrhoids - that was ruled out.  They did check my stool, but not until 3 months after the symptoms started and two months after I was bleeding.  They said it was too much blood for hemorroids.  There was inflammation and ulcers when they did the first colonoscopy and nothing on the second.  When I say the biopsies looked good, I mean they didn't show positive for UC or Chron's.

Posted 7/21/2009 2:10 PM (GMT 0)
My most recent biopsies looked free of UC and Chrons but my first biopsies showed UP/UC. If you had the biopsies when your UC is inactive, they can come back normal.

Did you try looking in the mirror? I thought I was flaring the other day because of a little blood and when I looked in the mirror, I was surprised to see a hemmroid.

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