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So many tests but bleeding continues

Hi all, fair warning that this might be a bit long (and TMI!) so bear with me

Just a bit of background: I had suffered from stomach issues in the past and have been scoped twice (one in 2016 due to occult blood in stool and a second one in 2017 because of stomach pain and to make sure nothing was missed) both were clear and biopsies showed no signs of inflammation. The only thing that came up with an internal hemorrhoid.

Lately, I have been having an increase of blood with bowel movements. I am currently a freshman at a university and don’t have access to a regular doctor (we do have a student health center on campus but they are very limited in terms of tests they can order and for issues that are more than just a common cough or cold). I went to see my PCP during break and she did an anoscopy which showed that the hemorrhoid was there but it wasn’t bleeding though it looked a bit raw. I was referred to a new GI who put me on rectal suppositories. However, I have been using them since around the end of December and they haven’t been helping. It seems that every time I pass a slightly larger stool I get a lot of blood in the toilet bowl and on the toilet paper (I do also get blood with smaller bms but it’s not as much). Sometimes even hours after I pass the bm blood will still come up on the toilet paper if I happen to wipe there after urinating. I want to believe it’s just the hemorrhoid but I’ve had it for a long time and it’s never bled this much and it’s not getting better even with the suppositories. I also have pain on the left side of my abdomen.

So far the tests I’ve had done are: 2 colonoscopies, an MRI, an MRE, an abdominal ultrasound, meckel scan, stool calprotectin, and more blood tests than I can count. I’m just not sure what to do at this point because I’ve had so much testing done but I still continue to bleed.
 
Last edited:

Scipio

Well-known member
Location
San Diego
The fact that the blood tends to appear after larger than usual bowel movements suggests that we are talking about mechanical damage instead of, or perhaps in addition to, the hemorrhoid or an undetected area of inflammation.

It sounds like you have had pretty extensive testing and no inflammation has been found, which is good news. This leaves the hemorrhoid as perhaps the main suspect.

How are your blood hemoglobin tests? Are you losing enough blood to result in anemia?
 
The fact that the blood tends to appear after larger than usual bowel movements suggests that we are talking about mechanical damage instead of, or perhaps in addition to, the hemorrhoid or an undetected area of inflammation.

It sounds like you have had pretty extensive testing and no inflammation has been found, which is good news. This leaves the hemorrhoid as perhaps the main suspect.

How are your blood hemoglobin tests? Are you losing enough blood to result in anemia?
I have been slightly anemic since August 2016 (before my first colonoscopy) and my hemoglobin goes up and down but has never dipped below 11
 
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