Embarassing Question

[pippip]

Okay so here's the deal I think I have hemmorhoids, but there's a little voice in the back of my head screaming colon cancer. My only symptom is bleeding on the toliet paper. Bright red blood, which is supposedly not a sign of cancer but who knows. Also which is really wierd I have had what feels like menstural cramps all day which in my crazy mind I deem to be the 3rd stage of cancer. I have a doctors appointment on tuesday, for a physical. I'm afraid to bring up though because i dont want a rectal exam.
Is bleeding common with hemmorhoids or does it only happen in severe cases? Is it possible to happen in teenagers?
Thanks for reading sorry for the gross topic and kindof graphic posts.

[AYKM]

No you don't have colon cancer. Trust I would know, my cousin just died from it. Most anxious/hypo people also have IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) which can cause a variety of symptoms: one of those being very hard or loose stools. Ok, let's get graphic...pushing out stool can cause minor tears around your anus. This will cause tiny amounts of bright red blood to show on toilet paper. When bleading from colon cancer or colon pollaps (sp?) you would have much more blood and it would normally be a darker color. Hemmoroids are very easy to diagnose (although slightly embarrasing) they are really no big deal. The blood on the toilet paper has happened to me several times in the past, and once I finally got it in my head that the area down there is very thin tissue and very sensitive, I realized then why it would bleed every once in awhile. I'm sure you will be just fine and you may want to try a diet with softer easier to digest foods for a little while to let yourself heal.

[pippip]

Okay thanks i'll try the diet tommorow. I did have alot of blood though. Not like ALOT ALOT but more then just a little. The last time this happened I had like a drop but this time its much more =/

[powderkeg241]

AYKM is correct I believe. I have had similar problems as you. It is just erie seeing blood during bowel movements. Colon cancer is often darker in color in the stools and change of bowel habits is often noticeable. Hemmorrhoids is often accompanied with blood red in color and painful or itching in the rectal area. I had a hemmorrhoid that completely covered the inside of the toilet I had so much blood. My doctor was "impressed" with the clotting and how painful it appeared.

I hate seeing blood during bowel movements and I used to jump to colon cancer right away as well. Colon cancer is very rare under the age of 40 (not sure of your age). I usually switch to a diet high in fiber and more plant based. It helps move things through with less pain. Whole wheat bagels and vegetables helped a lot.

Take care and good luck!!!

[pippip]

Okay thanks, I feel a little better now.I'm only 15, but of course I think i'm more likely to have cancer then a hemmorhoids even though they can both rarely happen to teens, i guess i'm just unlucky

[Ann Onimous]

Dont stress you def dont have cancer  Hemroids are really common among anyone. Children get them and something called fishers too (those are tears in the anus from large stool or from pushing it out). My son used to have them as a newborn. He would bleed out his anus and freaked me out I was so afraid someone had molested him (yeah he was a newborn so NO one had been around him but I still freaked out when I saw blood).  Anyway took him to dr and it was fishers it wasnt a big deal (thank God!)

I have had hemroids for a long time due to constipation when I was pregnant. They bleed and are uncomfortable but not life threatening so dont worry if you do have them. Mention it to the dr its not a biggie he probably wont even have to do a rectal. You can see hemroids just by looking down there because thats what they are basically your insides being pushed outside from pushing so hard (hard stool).  As someone else said try to get more fiber in your diet through pills, powers, or food. (a glass of apple juice a week keeps me regular for me apple juice makes me go bad BUT it cramps me and I hate that).

Anyway dont worry def NOT cancer!! I know I freak out when I see blood too but my dr said its no big deal. Also when you have blood in your stool it will actually make your stool like a black tar color not red like what you would think. As they said the blood would be dark too. When its bright red like fresh blood its more then likely bleeding from a tear. If you dont have hemroids you probably have a tear in the anus and its causing the bleeding dont stress from it. It is exactly what happen to my son and he was a newborn baby and he was fine 

Key word DONT STRESS NOT CANCER! If thats all you get from this post then your set!!

[lifeat24fps]

That sounds just like fissures. I'll be honest, I get them every now and again too. Started when I was 17. They kind of kickstarted my hypochondria. Your doctor can usually take a quick look and tell that it's a fissure. If that's what he says, seriously, go with it because the tests for colon cancer (sigmoidoscopy and a barium enema) are really, really, really unpleasant.

You really don't want to deal with them unless the doctor says you absolutely should.

[marney05]

I just had this exact thing a few days ago. It lasted for about five days.  I had bright red blodd, not only on the t.p. but in the bowl as well.  Of course I freaked, but I read a past post on here that made me feel better.  The person said bright red blood means it is coming from an external source, like the inside of your anus.  If it were colon cancer or something like that the blood would be much darker.  Well, anyway mine went away and yours will too!!! 

[madman]

I have IBS and everything you are describing is that of IBS.

I have constipation type. My doctor told me to take Benefiber (not Metamuicle) as it is guar gum and lines the instestines. After a few weeks I was back on tract and it only comes back under extreme stress or I eat too much sugar. The more stressed you get the worse it is. I have actual pain in my back and stomach when it flares up.

No doubts about it, at first IBS is VERY frightening and almost everyone I have talked to that has it thinks they have colon cancer or some other horrible condition. I struggled for years not knowing what it was and was quite certain the doctors where missing something.  However, I finally went to a GI speciallist and she put me at ease. The only test I had was blood work and an upper GI to rule out an ulcer, GERD, etc.

As everyone here has told you in better terms than I could..the red blood is a tear in the tissue. Very common and, again, can be scary.

Here is a forum group that I contribute to every so often. It helped me greatly.

www.ibsgroup.org

good luck!

[Folkwire]

Like others have said, bleeding from the colon is usually a darker red color. Like maroon. Bright red blood on the toilet paper is not a serious concern, especially at 15. I remember reading that 90% of all colon cancer cases occur after age 50, and something like 60% after age 60.

I've been dealing with some bad constipation lately and I'm 18. I worry about colon cancer too, so don't think you're being crazy. It's just a natural worst case scenario syndrome we all get here. I just gotta convince myself that my constipation is caused by stress/hypo thyroid...

[suki43]

Hi Pip!

Well I had my first hemm. recently and it's gone now. In brief, a few weeks ago I had a bad chocolate craving and stuffed myself full of choc. I spent the next day constipated and the day after that I went to the bathroom and my stools were hard and remember tearing slightly which caused a little blood. I put Vaseline on the wee hemm. to stop the itching etc, and decided not to mess with it. It was gone by a week later.

Make sure you drink plenty of water to keep your poop's water content high, and eat some high fibre foods and you'll be fine.

Remember also that the amount of blood will look more than it actually is. If you look at periods, you only lose about a teaspoon of blood throughout a normal flow period, but over several days it looks a lot more.

Alcohol can causes them as well as sitting on the toilet too long. Reading the paper on the loo is the worst thing people can do as it's putting unncessary pressure on your bowel and bum.

Hope this helps.

Suki
xxx