Blood in Stool but no Diarrhea

[RobjustRob]

Long story short, I'm 15 and was diagnosed with Crohns in August. I was put on asacol and after a particularly bloody stool, entocort. Then, since they weren't working, I decided to try a liquid diet which only made my crohns worse. So, a week and a half ago I was put on pred and 6MP.

Now to get to the reason why I made this thread, once I had been put on pred and 6MP I started feeling much better. Occasional abdominal pain and some gas but that was it, and I'd only go once or twice everyday. However, the past 3 days have been somewhat scary for me. I've had bright red blood in my stools, the bowl, and the paper every morning(I only seem to go to the Bathroom in the morning).

I'm wondering if anyone can at least give me a clue of to what is going on, since I'm not having any diarrhea, or pain while going.

 

[Jennifer]

Hi RobjustRob. Sorry to hear you're dealing with this right now.

Have you told your GI or your parents about the current blood yet? If not that's the first thing you need to do. Help your GI help you by letting them know when your symptoms change.

You do not need to have diarrhea to have blood in your stool. You have an open wound somewhere, could be internal hemorrhoids, a fissure, ulcers etc. You'll need to see your GI to figure out what's actually causing the bleeding so it can be treated properly. If the bleeding gets worse or if you have new symptoms along with it like extreme pain, fever and/or vomiting then please go to the ER.

What dose of Prednisone and 6MP are you taking (might not be a high enough dose and be sure to have at least monthly blood work done while on 6MP as it can affect your liver)? Do you know where your Crohn's is affecting you (terminal ileum is a common area, I had bright red blood from ulcers bleeding there)?

 

[RobjustRob]

I'm taking 40mg of pred and 50mg of 6mp. I've been talking to my parents about it and they're going to email/call the GI and Nurse practitioner tomorrow. Also, I'm having bloodwork done every 2 weeks,. I'm pretty sure my Crohns is in the terminal ileum and in my colon.

Thanks for the quick response

 

[David]

Hi Rob,

Are you still taking the Asacol in addition to the Prednisone and 6MP?

Did you have bloody stools prior to your diagnosis?

All my best to you.

 

[Jennifer]

Also forgot to mention. Whenever I had large amounts of blood (toilet was full of it and was on the paper when I wiped) my parents took me to the ER right away so I could have IV fluids and so tests could be done for my GI to look at when I finally got to see them (usually had a small bowel follow through yet sometimes a CT scan was done along with blood work to also check if I needed a transfusion).

 

[ctrl z]

Bright red blood is a good sign that your bleeding isn't coming from further in your digestive tract. You may have a perianal fistula or hemorrhoids like Crabby mentioned. Good thing your parents will be calling to have this checked out. Best to find out what is causing it ASAP and figure out the next course of action.

I had a perianal fistula once. I had surgery to fix it and I have never had any problems like that since. Hemorrhoid are also easily fixed.

I hope you can get answers soon.

 

[Jennifer]

Bright red blood can come all the way from the small intestines (I had bleeding from my TI and I know bright red bleeding can come from much further up).

 

[ctrl z]

I guess I've been misinformed. Thanks for clearing that up

 

[RobjustRob]

Hi Rob,

Are you still taking the Asacol in addition to the Prednisone and 6MP?

Did you have bloody stools prior to your diagnosis?

All my best to you.

I went off of asacol a week after I started my liquid diet, so no. Also, I did see a little blood in my stools, but not as much as I see now.

One thing I probably should have mentioned is that after being on asacol for a month or 2, I had one bowel movement which filled the toilet with dark red blood, and caused my doctor to start me on entocort. Also, I've been taking 2000mg fish oil pills along with the pred and 6mp.

 

[David]

Hmmm, I'm afraid I don't have any ideas then, sorry I think it's worth, at the very least, a call to your GI in an effort to put your mind at ease. It must be pretty scary

 

[jjgswift]

I have just been diagnosed with crohns and have been bleeding for a month, started off just wiping on the t.p. But for the past 3 weeks 70 percent of the time the toilet is red.. Not dark red but not light in between.. I have been prescribed oral salofalk 500 mg, aminosalicylic acid 500 mg, suppository salofalk and antibiotic metronidazole 500mg and nothing is helping the bleeding??? I havent even seen a G.I. yet my appt. isnt til dec 31st but am on cancellation list .. Sucks.. They found 3 imflamations 1 in the rectum and two further up.

 

[RobjustRob]

Well, my mom called my GI while I was at school, and the GI said that it might just be some leftover inflammation.

I can see this as a pretty reasonable theory, since during the last few weeks of my liquid diet I wasn't on any medication and my inflammation just got worse. The weirdest thing about this is how I've been able to do a lot despite the blood in stool, like go to school, exercise, and even play my french horn. The only other annoying symptons of Crohns I've been having is some random pains in a lot of different places, but those aren't even that bad.

Also to the person above me, you might want to try and schedule an appointment with a nurse practitioner. I wasn't scheduled to have an appointment with my GI until Octoboer (it was August when we scheduled), but thanks to some troubling symptons, I was able to get a colonoscopy and medication a few days after the appointment with the nurse practitioner.

 

[RobjustRob]

Another update for this thread:

Yesterday morning I had another blood stool/paper/bowl BM but it seemed like there was less blood than before. Also, today morning I had a BM but no blood in the bowl! It was just some blood in the stool and on the paper. Really hoping this keeps up and the blood decreases.

 

[David]

That's great that there appears to be improvement. Here's to it continuing!