Blood in stool

[kernelmom3]

Hi all, I think I just need some words of wisdom and encouragement to calm me down. DD had blood in her stool a month ago for a few days and it went away. Her labs have been looking great and she has no pain, fever, weight loss, etc. The blood started a few days ago (it has already stopped agan) so we took her to see her GI and doc didn’t see any external hemorrhoids or fissures and ordered labs again (including a Monitr test and Remicade level). The basic labs came back fine so now we wait for the specialty labs to come back. She is also having a scope done next week.

Anyone have experience with blood in stool that turned out ok? I know we’re doing all the right things but in the meantime I can’t eat or sleep worrying about what this could be!

 

[Jo-mom]

First of all, you are doing everything right - you already are checking into it. My son has had the occasionally blip and but everything was okay. I understand your worry though. My son is an adult and I still worry if something goes awry. She doesn't appear to be in a flare and is feeling well enough and everything is being checked so be kind to yourself. If there is something, then it will be rectified (pardon the pun) somehow. Hugs.

 

[Scipio]

Was it bright red blood or dark brown blood?

 

[kernelmom3]

First of all, you are doing everything right - you already are checking into it. My son has had the occasionally blip and but everything was okay. I understand your worry though. My son is an adult and I still worry if something goes awry. She doesn't appear to be in a flare and is feeling well enough and everything is being checked so be kind to yourself. If there is something, then it will be rectified (pardon the pun) somehow. Hugs.

Thanks so much for the reassurance! You’d think after all we’ve been through since she was dx’d 7 years ago I would be used to the ups and downs but DD is 21 now and this never gets easier! DS (23 years old dx’d a year before DD) just had his scope a few weeks ago and it looked great so I was walking on cloud nine and now this. My husband also has CD (dx’d in 2019) and now I’m hounding HIM to have another scope just so we can get everyone squared away. It’s very tough having a front row seat watching people you love go through this and feel so helpless.

 

[kernelmom3]

Was it bright red blood or dark brown blood?

It was bright red

 

[Scipio]

Bright red indicates bleeding in or near the rectum as opposed to farther upstream.

In my experience, a little bit of bright red blood for a day or two does not necessarily signal a concerning flare. If the bleeding is modest and clears up quickly, and patient feels okay, it may amount to nothing very much. Just another little bump along the Crohn's road. But if the bleeding is copious or prolonged it's best to contact the GI and get it evaluated.

 

[kernelmom3]

I hope so too but wanted to get it checked since it’s happened more than once in the last few months. I was hoping when the doc looked yesterday she’d see a small hemorrhoid or fissure but nothing on the outside at least. Her albumin dropped a bit from last month but she’s not anemic and her CRP went up but it’s still in normal range. I’m hopeful she’s still in remission and this is just something small.

 

[my little penguin]

Ds has had blips of blood for a day or two then
Nothing
As soon as I call the Gi -it’s gone
Good to get a scope but given numbers are normal
That’s a good sign
Even if they find something on the scope
You have been treating the disease so your in a better position than newly dx scopes where who knows what they find

hugs
Scopes are hard
But you will have results soon enough

 

[kernelmom3]

Ds has had blips of blood for a day or two then
Nothing
As soon as I call the Gi -it’s gone
Good to get a scope but given numbers are normal
That’s a good sign
Even if they find something on the scope
You have been treating the disease so your in a better position than newly dx scopes where who knows what they find

hugs
Scopes are hard
But you will have results soon enough

I guess I just wish I knew how concerned the doc is, she has a great bedside manner and whenever we had scary news she told us so calmly so it’s hard to read! She also ordered a fecal calprotectin test and we dropped that at the lab today so hopefully we’ll get those results in a few days. It’ll be interesting to see how the scope looks in relation to the level.

 

[kernelmom3]

We just got her calprotectin level back and it’s at 80. We had it checked twice last year and it was around 50 each time so it has gone up a bit. I’m pretty sure I’ve heard that people with IBD sometimes have slightly higher levels that are still considered “normal”. I think I’m just grasping at straws at this point hoping it’s not a flare because she’s been in remission for 7 years. Hoping and praying this is just a blip and maybe she just needs her Remicade dose adjusted!

 

[my little penguin]

80 is not high at all
Flares are in the thousands
Small bowel disease over 150 -200
Over 120 is borderline
Depends on the lab
Would need repeated

most Gi don’t even blink at 80
My kiddo was 168 when they spaced out his Stelara to six weeks
After his fecal cal had been less than 15 for years
It went down after they move Stelara back to every 4 weeks

good luck on the scopes

 

[kernelmom3]

80 is not high at all
Flares are in the thousands
Small bowel disease over 150 -200
Over 120 is borderline
Depends on the lab
Would need repeated

most Gi don’t even blink at 80
My kiddo was 168 when they spaced out his Stelara to six weeks
After his fecal cal had been less than 15 for years
It went down after they move Stelara back to every 4 weeks

good luck on the scopes

Thank you SO much, this really made me breathe a bit easier! Hopefully the Remicade levels and Monitr test will come back before the scopes and then we’ll have the full picture. GI did mention possibly going up to 10mg on her Remicade and/or doing it earlier than every 8 weeks.

 

[crohnsinct]

Just another voice in the things seem ok chorus. Honestly if she was bleeding from her rectum or lower sigmoid she would be inflammed and that area returns much more dramatic calpro numbers. I would give my right arm to have either of my girls get an 80 on their calpro.

You mention she is 21 so I wanted to ask if this spotty bleeding could possibly be menstrual breakthrough spotting or bleeding. My daughter is a bleeder with her Crohn’s but there was a time where she was bleeding and it stopped and it was her period going weird things. In our experience if she is in a flare it doesn’t usually stop she just gets progressively worse.

 

[kernelmom3]

Thanks for that! I actually asked DD if it could be her period and she’s not due for it until late next week and the blood definitely came from the back when she wiped. When DD saw the GI she did a minimally invasive check and had her push like she was going to the bathroom and didn’t see anything unusual or any blood.

I think the reason doc ordered the scope in addition to everything else is because it’s been about 3 years and last time DD had to have a balloon dilation done because the area where she had her resection was narrowing and doc couldn’t get the scope through. DD had NO symptoms then so we had no idea. It’s a blessing and a curse that she is SO in tune with her body that she notices EVERY little thing. I’m fact, she’ll probably have her period during the scope so we’ll have to make sure they take THAT into consideration! Thanks again!

 

[Maya142]

Her Fecal Calprotectin looks good. My daughter tends to have a low FCP - the highest it’s ever been is close to 500, but generally it’s around 200-300 when she flares. So her GI watches her FCP closely but an 80 would not be something she would worry about.
It’s definitely possible she needs her Remicade dose adjusted or more frequent infusions. Hang in there!! Hope the scope goes well!