Bathroom

So I have IBS-C and acid reflux and take meds daily for the acid reflux.  About 1 month or so ago I've started seeing some blood on the toilet paper after either having a bowel movement or after having tried to do so.  It's not a lot but I'm assuming it's not a good sign either.

I'll make a doctor's appt but wanted to know if anyone had any idea what it may be from or has any experience.

Thanks!

I have IBS and i'm a Dr. of pharmacy. Go to your MD, but if your stool is very hard or you are straining, this may be the reson for the blood. Is it a lot and bright red or mild and trace?  In my experience it was the later and the MD said it was normal b/c of the IBS, but it can be a sign of anemia as well.

Thanks KAPP-

it's not a lot at all and its more of a light pinkish red, not blood red.  I do often have to strain and i suppose push as hard as I can to go and it is often a rather hard stool i suppose.

maybe its just normal IBS side effects? anything I can do?

I suffered from pretty bad constipation for a while, and when it was really bad and I was straining to go a lot, I would see pinkish blood on the toilet paper. I eventually went to the doctor, and they checked me over and said that I had anal fissures, which are basically small tears or cracks that can hurt and bleed. This may very well be what you have, or hemorrhoids or something like that. I think you are fairly young, yes? So the likelihood of it being something serious like colon cancer is low, although if you're worried about it, get checked out by a doctor. I turned out not to have IBS afterall, and my constipation is much better now, and the bleeding has stopped.

LENA-

hi! yea, im 25 and have had IBS and acid reflux for about 13yrs now.  What do you do for the anal fissures?

It doesnt neccesaraly hurt but there is the pinkish blood after actually going or sometimes after just straining.  I do still get constipated bow and then even after eating all the foods reccomended by the GI doctor.

Thanks so much!

I'd say any sort of blood, pinkish or dark, lost on the toilet, is worthy of bringing up to a doctor ASAP. My sister was losing blood on the toilet, didn't tell anyone, and ended up developing anemia as a result. She's suffering with ulcerative colitis, and while I doubt you may have something quite so serious going on, Agru, [the bleeding is] still an important issue to raise.

LALA-yea, thanks, im deff calling the doctor Mon, wanted to hear if anyone had any experience or clue to what it may be, altho who knows really other than a doctor.  ive had lesions in my esophogues from the acid reflux years ago but im thinking this is more due to the straining.

i suppose nothig i can do to help myself til i see the doctor? im not in pain but yea..

thanks

I have IBS-C also, and I also was not going often, and it got to the point that I was only able to go every week, then two weeks, and finally I was only passing blood. It was very scary, and I went to my doc. He suggested 50g of fiber a day (after having me eat only oatmeal for a few months, adding in other foods to make sure I didn't have allergies - I had to do fruits, then veggies, then dairy, then meat).

I never really listened to the advice until I started feeling sick again. I now have stopped eating meat and most dairy (as they caused bloating and pain for me), and have added a lot of foods to my diet that have extra fiber (Alternative Bagels and Pitas, Lightful Smoothies, Vitamuffins, celery, spinach, beans, etc.). I take flax seed oil and other vitamins, drink only water, and peppermint and other teas sometimes, and take peppermint oil as well since it helps aid digestion.

Good luck with this, and I hope you're able to get it all resolved.

I too have IBS-C and I get anal fissures when I strain a lot. I increased my fibre as well as my water intake and it did get better, but the problem will always be there. I guess it differs from person to person.

thanks!

CHARLES-hi, oatmeal actually has the opposite effect on me and causes me to be constipated.  i eat a veggie salad every night w/my dinner and have fruit twice a day as well as drink i think enough water and have a whole wheat bagel for bfast daily.  i do eat a lot of dairy but im not lactose intolerant so didnt think it a prob.  for the most part i go to the bathroom daily, its just a strain often.

is the flaxseed a caplet and can it be? will that help?

I have IBS with c and d and for many years it controlled my life. I never knew from day to day if I'd be on the toilet ever 20 minutes or if I wouldn't need one for bowel for two weeks.

I went to the doctor, I did tests, I ate diets I was told to..nothing helped.

I did some reading on my own and found the folic acid can help, I can't tell you why it can, but it can.  I take 4 grams of folic acid a day and I have very little problems.  Now, if I run out and don't make it to the store I do find that problems will present themselves after a few days again until I an get more folic acid.

Folic acid is cheap and if your a woman who wants to think about having a baby, you should be taking it anyway..also my pharmacist said that men who want to have babies should take it to ! So, my take is EVERYONE should take it.

hi!

thanks everyone!

FOLIC ACID-is that a pill that i get in the vitamin section?

PSYLLIUM HUSKS-is that a pill? how do i take it?  you said not powder and i know my father takes metamucil nightly but that doesnt seem to help me.

It is little microscopic shells.  The shells clean out your colon,  it pushes everything out like snow removal equipment.  lol  Powder doesn't work.  You will buy it in bag form.  3 tbls. in Luke warm water slam. no taste....  after the 3rd time you will be used to the feel.  After you see what it does for you ,  you wont care how to get it down.  I lost 8lbs,  the first time I took it  that is what was stuck in me from being constipated so long.  btw you can mix it in any drink

LUVN-hi, im not doing this for weightloss altho i can 100% see how that could happen, i basically dont go during the week and then sat morning, when i dont have work and can have a more leisurely bfast and 2 cups pf coffee instead of my normal 1, i then finally go, but i doubt its 1 week's worth, ya know?

so i can buy the husks at a health food store, what about a drugstore? expensive? what type of container is it in?

it seems like when i have the time in the morning-wknds, i can go, during the week i have to inhale bfast and have only 1 cup of coffee and then i just dont go rt away and it seems like i dont have the urge to either for the rest of the day, its a pain bc by wed im so bloated from not going, clothes dont fit!!

probiotics and lots of vitamin c

I use Nature's Biotics... It can be purchased on line through a website.  It has changed my life.

Good LucK

yah just like everyone else has said, try and get to your doctor right away. my aunt also had bleeding for a couple months and ddint say anything until recently and turns out she has colon cancer.

KAREN- colon cancer?? are there any other symptoms to that?  the bleeding isnt everytime i go or try to go and it is minimal, but i will be making a doctor's appt.

probiotics? i eat 3 cups pf yogurt daily, it doesnt seem to make a diff tho.

i eat veggies, drink water, have whole grains, i dunno...?  it is IBS i know, i just hope not cancer, gd forbid.

It might just be me, since IBS varies from person to person, but I found that yogurt makes me feel really bloated and all that dairy makes it harder to go. That's why I perfer to take probiotics, particularly those that open in the intestines, not the stomach.

Also, yes, bleeding can be an indicator of colon cancer as well as a number of other bowel conditions. Please do see your doctor ASAP.

Edited to add: Yes, probiotics come in pill form. You can get them in most any drugstore or grocery store near the pharmacy. I get mine online because I prefer these http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/store/en/browse/ sku_detail.jsp?id=ET-1810 and have not seen them in stores near me, but some might have them or something like them. I would also take flax seed oil if I were you - it has helped everyone I've ever known who had any sort of bowel problems.

ahh, ok, im not one to get overly worried until i know anything for sure, so the same w/ this, but, deff calling the doctor tomm.

im fine w/dairy, i mean maybe it contributes to the constipation i dont know, but i dont get bloated from that particularly, from not using the bathroom, yes.

so probiotics comes in pill form and i can get it over the counter? 

i did have a colonoscopy a few yrs ago and it was all ok, altho i didnt have the bleeding then.

yes,  you can get it at like supplement directs or health food stores.  usually comes in bags