Ulcerative Colitis and Bloody Stool-Please help

I am in a flare right now with Ulcerative Colitis and I have been having streaks of blood in each bowel movement.  From my blood lab work, I am anemic and currently taking Hemevite, Bio-B complex, and Zypan to try build my iron back up.  I am getting scared with losing all the blood, is anyone in this same situation? If so, any advice on how to stop the bleeding?

I was having the same thing going on for quite some time in the early and mid parts of last year. What I was told from my GI doctor is that the blood is making its way into the stool somewhere up in the GI system to the point where it can seem into the actual stool and become hard/dark. For me the blood was a darker color than fresh looking blood. Is that the case for you too?
My advice is to speak to your doctor to make sure this is on their radar. That is what I was always doing. Then, my advice would be to think if your current medications if any are actually working for you. If the answer is yes, and this is some out of normal thing going on, maybe that is fine. If the answer is no, then maybe you should consider some alternatives. For me, I left all the drugs in August, and changed my diet completely, and now have a normal life once again. No flares or signs of UC since August. I was doing the prednisone, asacol, humira, and remicade dance before getting to this point.

My mistake, yes, seep was what I was thinking(not typing though)

I think the idea my GI was expressing was if the blood is dark an mixed in with the stool, that dark blood is not from the rectum(i.e. it happened farther up the chain)

For oh so long(2-3 years) before being diagnosed I just thought it was an ulcer and no big deal.....wrong...basically extreme denial and lack of education on my part, but guessing I am not the only one on that boat.

Anyways, I guess I go back to my original question to anyone with the bloody stools, are you trying to find out if its diet related? As for me, it was just that. I had a flex sigmoid up about 30cm one month and a half ago, and as expected, my GI doc who has done that procedure to me 4 times now was shocked and right away said a big "Congrats".

I hear you on the staying away from the immune suppresants. I know they do work for some, but the gastro doc I went to for a second opinion at Mayo Clinic said point blank that they are only 50% effective, and of course there is about 4 pages that Humira sends with the meds in the mail about the side effects(2 of which I am now dealing with after only about 10 pens(40mg) subcutaneous injections of that stuff.

I will check back with you all later, I got to run to work. Wish you well until then!

Yes...bright red blood can mean that it's fresher, and so from lower down in the colon/rectum.

Don't be hesitant about using rectal meds just because it seems awkward to put something in that area. They can be extremely effective as you are directly targeting the inflammation...and is one of the best ways to get things under control without getting on stronger meds. After you've done it a few times you get the hang of it and it's not a big deal at all.

Different techniques work for different folks. I do it right before falling asleep - and have for more than 29 years on and off.

USIS - Yes! They really work!
Who was it, Dr A.? who once said something like, "if my foot is on fire I can pour water on my head and wait for it to cool my foot, or I can pour water on my foot and put the fire out..." - And so it is with inflammation, especially near the bottom (bright red blood.)

My advice would be: go for it! How wonderful if this could help you, and the medicine goes right onto the sore colon, not into your bloodstream first!

I have been thrilled with the results.

i always bleed with a flare.
no matter what.
from beginning to end whether its a month or over a year. every single day.

i mean bleed too. like the toilet bowl looks like strong fruit punch. super bloody!

i always become anaemic too and have to have iron infusions. much better than the supplements or pills as those exacerbate my symptoms and add to the inflammation of my colon.

some people are bleeders more than others.