I’ve decided to start a new series of frequently asked questions for 2010, looking at some of the things that newbies to the IBS world need to know. This post, and all subsequent posts, comes with my “I’m not a doctor” disclaimer which basically says that anyone who relies on internet information without seeking help from a doctor is a bit of a pillock.
So, our first topic of 2010 is an easy one – does IBS cause blood in the stool? Answer: nope. IBS is a functional disorder, which means that something has gone wrong with the actual function of the intestines, but not their physical structure (or, at least, nothing is wrong with the physical structure that is obvious to the eye or colonoscopies etc).
Some gastrointestinal disorders do cause bleeding, so it’s very important that any bleeding is checked out by a doctor. It’s also possible to have bleeding with hemorrhoids that may be the result of IBS, but you won’t know either way unless you get yourself to a doctor.
There’s no way that IBS alone can result in bleeding though, it’s just not that type of condition. Bloodless, if you like.
This is very interesting. My new doctor has just told me the same so I got my hopes up that maybe after 5 awful IBS years it wasn’t even IBS (as there’s often blood). But I’ve been disappointed again as all my bloods have just come back clear. I know that that’s good but I was hoping it was something other than IBS, something fixable. But I’ve no hemorrhoids either, and nothing showed up on a colonoscopy I had a few years ago .. so I’m feeling hopeless again, and don’t know what to do.
Hi – I posted on the site some time ago sharing my positive experience with fiber supplements to treat my IBS-D. For the past month I have moved off of the fiber and begun taking Align. It is AMAZING. I have not felt this good in years. After the first 10 days or so, I have not had a single episode of urgency. I can go to dinner and not worry about hitting the restroom before going out for after-dinner drinks. No worries going to work in the morning or coming home in the evening. I still have to be cautious about what I eat. Excessively spicy, fatty, rich foods will still occasionally bother my stomach but the urgency is gone, even in those cases. I’ll be a little uncomfortable but no need for panic. My stools are solid! It seems to be about $7 cheaper when bought online than at my local drug store but even at the store price of $35 for a 28 day supply it is worth every cent. If you haven’t given it a shot, please do. They even have a $ back guarantee. The online reviews are overwhelmingly position. I can attest to that personally as well.
Good luck!
Joe
It doesnt cause blood in the stool but the hemmorhoids I have from so many years of Diahrea definately bleed. I now have them internally & externally. The pain from them, coupled with the massive diahrea almost got the best of me. Im so glad that things have gotten better from the Questran and now things dont hurt anymore!!!!!! No more blood either. YAY! Life has definately imporved in many ways.
I have been diagnosed with IBS. I sometimes think have been mis diagnosed. I don’t really get diahrea even though alot of times my stools are soft. I have alot of pain and bloating and many other symptoms but it seems almost everyone I read about has diahrea. I’m confused!
Maria – I would strongly advise you get checked for endometriosis. Even though my doctor was positive I had IBS, I insisted I be checked to rule anything out. IBS and endometriosis can mimic each other perfectly in women.
I have only become satisfied with my diagnosis after learning what my trigger foods are and being able to end my IBS almost entirely if I avoid them. I went from having daily episodes to not having a single occurance in several months after cutting out all fast food/greasy food.
Thank you for this blog. It is 2am and I recently returned from Cuba which is causing one of the worst flareups I’ve ever experienced. I just took some Imodium for the first time, it’s frustrating and angering to me that nobody has ever bothered trying to help me find solutions. I have been suffering since I was 14 years old (I am now 24 years old) and I have never used any form of medication to help my extreme pain. I hope this works and I plan on having a lengthy chat with my so-called doctor.
Anyway, I’ll definately be following your blog, thanks again!
When my flare ups are really bad I have bleeding and a lot of mucus. I’ve had all the tests and theres is nothing wroung other than IBS. The test for celiac was negative, but after a terrible Christmas and new year with the most extreme bloating, pain, bleeding, mucus, diahorrea and constipation, I now follow a gluten free diet. Its hard and quite expensive, but it works. However, I’ve noticed my reactions to gluten/wheat are more pronounced than ever. So if I eat a small amount in error, I suffer quite badly, I’m still suffering the ‘oh sod it’ piece of naan bread I ate on Friday night. for me I believe the bleeding is due to very irritable and inflamed bowels. I found some suppositories from the Doctor helped. I still haven’t found an antispasmodic that really works though.
IBS can cause blood in stools as a secondary condition. 30%+ of IBS sufferers have blood in their stools at some point. People get freaked out when they see blood and have been diagnosed with IBS, but since everyone tells them blood isn’t normal in IBS they automatically freak out and think something serious is wrong when it will probably go away on its own. Flat out stating that IBS can never have blood when you have a BM is just not very good advice as it freaks people out, needlessly, most of the time.
Oh and here is the pubmed article to back up my previous statistic just if your curious. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11570936
Hi Brandon – IBS alone does not cause blood in the stools, and the expert advice from places such as as the IFFGD remains that blood in the stool is not a symptom of IBS. The IFFGD recommends that anyone with blood in the stool sees their doctor immediately.
That’s not the same as stating that people with IBS can never have blood in stools or in the toilet. I’ve had blood myself. It wasn’t caused by IBS though, because IBS is a functional disorder that causes no damage to the intestines or digestive tract. Where would the blood be coming from if it was caused by IBS?
The study you cite showed that 31% of a particular subgroup of IBS patients had experienced blood in the stool, but it also showed that 19% of the same group had experienced weight loss and 25% had experienced pain that wakes them from sleep – two more red flag factors that are not typical symptoms of IBS. In other words, some patients may experience symptoms outside the typical IBS range, for whatever reason, but that doesn’t mean that these symptoms become characteristic of IBS.
The Rome Criteria state that any bleeding, waking from sleep or weight loss should be investigated by a doctor.
Nobody should be waiting for these things to go away on their own, as bleeding in particular can indicate inflammatory bowel disease or cancer. Or simple hemorrhoids of course, but you won’t know that unless you check.
i have just started on colofac and i have and feel worse this mornin than anything i haveint been of the toilet with dierriere does it take time to get in your body
Sorry to hear you’re feeling bad Sue. I would ask your doctor about any concerns you have about medications etc. Hope things pick up for you soon.
Sophie,
I saw my extremely lovely and helpful doctor yesterday because of blood on the toilet paper soon after a really bad attack last week. My diagnoises was an anal fissure (a small tear in the wall). Although not a major problem and it will repair, it is very uncomfortable and can cause a viscious cycle to start with IBS symptoms.
It is so important to speak with your doctor(s) and if you are lucky enough to have one as good as mine, you can help them help other IBS sufferers by discussing what is and isn’t working for you and telling them about this site.
Rebecca
Hi everyone, I am really glad to have found this site, although it hasn’t stopped me worrying! I have only recently been ‘diagnosed’ with IBS. By his I mean my doctor believes it to be IBS, I have had basic blood tests etc and I am being referred to the hospital for further tests, endoscopy etc. They said that it is not likely to be bowel cancer (I am 25yrs old) but they wish to test me for Crohnes and Colitis. The only family history I know of is that my dad was diagnosed with Diverticulitis about 5 years ago. I have been diagnosed with mild depression too which relates to my parents recent breakup, which I know may have brought on the IBS symptoms. I get really bad pains in my stomach area quite often but especially at night. I have not yet discovered what are my ‘trigger foods.’ I see bloody mucus in my stools almost daily and it ranges from constipation and diarrohea. I often have to go to the toilet early morning or during the night and have a lot of wind to pass, usually in an ‘explosive’ manner whereby blood spots are seen around the toilet. I am only concerned as my hospital referral is taking about 8 weeks and I am due to get married in August. I do not want to have these symptoms (mainly the bloody symptoms) however I do not want to find out that it’s something different that will take a long time to treat. Does anyone know what the blood could be from? I have been checked three times for haemorroids at my local GP and each time they have said that they couldn’t locate any.
Hi Rebecca – I hope the fissure heals soon for you, I should have mentioned those in my original post.
Kim – if you are given an end diagnosis of IBS I would ask the consultant to explain where the blood is coming from and what you can do to stop it. Blood can be a sign of colitis or Crohn’s so it’s good you’re going to get checked for them.
Hi, just to keep you updated I have been booked in for a colonscopy at the hospital and the doctor has confirmed that I have inflamation in the colon. So fingers crossed I will get my answer soon!
Best of luck Kim.
I am about to be 23 years old and have had IBS since I was in high school. I also have regular bleeding in my stool. I have seen the doctor for it 1 time a couple of years ago and she just looked at it and basically said it was just hemorrhoids. I also have regular stomach pain, heartburn, back pain, etc… The doctors said it is probably just acid reflux. I am about 100 pounds overweight with a history of drug and alcohol abuse in high school and shortly after. I also am a moderate smoker. My eating habits are less than desirable. Should I ask the doctor about possible cancer? They say cancer is hard to find and/or diagnose early on…I am a little worried.
Hi Kristina – my advice would be to always, always go to the doctor if there is a symptom you are worried about. There’s no way that we can know what’s going on over the internet, and different symptoms in different patients will require different tests and treatments depending on your medical history. Don’t sit around worrying – just go to the doc and get some advice.
I have IBS-D for years. Then one day I was seeing a lot of bright red blood in the toliet water. I could feel it leaking out of me. I was understandabley very concerned and went to a new gastro ASAP. Of course I was diagnosed with IBS-D once again. The bleeding was caused from years of diarrhea my colon became very small, so when I have the rare occasion to have a “normal” movement it scrapped the wall and caused the bleeding. So that might be an issue if you have bleeding with IBS-D. I had an in-office scope done to detrimine that.
I had a reoccuring c.diff infection-which DOES cause blood and mucus in the stool. If you do have mucus and blood, get a stool test for toxin A&B! Anybody with IBS-D with blood an mucus could be overlooking c. diff infection. As for me, I have post-infectious IBS-D. I’m hoping mine will eventually go away, however, as my colon continues to heal.
im not sure whats going on with me either, ive had hard rocks or watery mucis for stools for a couple years and the past few months or so ive noticed bleeding in or on my stool. I did have a colonoscopy, endoscopy, mri and bloodwork and i was diagnosed with celiac disease and ibs about ten months ago but since im on the normal celiacs diet im still having these troubles like bleeding and the hard or watery stools. ive been told it might be hemmoroids that just wont heal very good with all the ibs problems. what should i do?
I also have IBS and I have just experienced blood in my stool like 4 times within a month. Some people have told me to go to the doctors and others not to worry about it. I don’t know if I have hemroids or not but I do have diahrea (do to IBS), stomache cramps, bloating.. sometimes the stomache cramps are insanely bad. I’m not on an IBS medication I can’t afford it
Hi. I’ve been dignosed with IBS-D for the past 4 years. I have gone thrugh all sorts of tests, including female cancer profile, endoscopy 2x, colonscopy, Ct scan, ultra sound and blood test and also barium swallow test . All tests came normal, except for gastritis. I have lost too much of weight in this 4 years and none of the specialists can answers me why. I have seen 3 different specialists. I wonder why no one can answers that?
I was recently diagnosed with IBS. Just last night i went to the hospital with blood in my stool. I have been constipated now for 2 weeks with NO bm. When i went to the hospital they did a few tests and said yes i have blood in my gi tract and sent me home. When i asked them why do i have blood in my gi tract is this from the IBS the doc told me i should talk to my doc she does not know why. She told me to go get some medicine to help me go. I have tried numerous different meds even magnesium citrate drink none of them helped or did anything. So she gave me another med which have now given me diarrhea and lots of cramping and pain. And still blood in my bm. I have a appointment with my gi doc tomorrow but im nervous. Any suggesstions on what i should ask? Has this or anything similiar ever happened to anyone else? The one thing the doc told me was she was going to send a report to my doc to suggest they do further test for colon cancer. I am 27 yrs old. I highly doubt this is it but that is what is making me so nervous to go to doc. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly apperciated.
Thanks
Has anyone here experienced slight pain in their abdomen while running?? Is there any other diagnostic imaging techniques besides sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy?
i had an extreme attack last night, sweating, cramping, feeling light headed, many bowel movements, including mucus & now i’m having some bleeding.. i’ve had IBS forever. the bleeding issue has happened to me only a couple of times, but always makes me anxious/nervous. i’m sure its a combination of irritation & hemrhoids, but wish it would go away. Still feeling a little crampy today & passing mucus. i HATE having to deal with this.. Its always on my mind…
I AGREE WITH BRANDON’S COMMENT SYING ABSLOUTELY NI BLOOD IN IBS DOES FREAK PEOPLE OUT AND THEY THINK SOMETHING IS SERIOUSLY WRONG. MY DOCTOR SAID YOUR ACID MY CAUSE SOME BEEDING WHEN DIAHERA OCCURS
I’ve read a few stories and didn’t find an answer to my concern. I read “online” Ibs can cause pelvic pain, is this common? And does anyone have this problem? I was “diagnosed” after a endoscopy.
Hi iam 14 and i think i have IBS …i have all the syptoms except for bleeding , but ive already seen mi doctor? Last term i had 15 days of due to these awful crampsin my abdomen…. i want toknow do the doctors get blood tests from you to find out? i had one twomonnths ago but wil he do it again? I had really bad cramps today so ive been looking it up n i found this blog. PLZ HELP!!!!
Hi Rikki – I’m sorry to hear about your symptoms. My advice would be to first, tell your parents about everything you’re suffering from if you haven’t already, and then go back to the doctor.
If things are really bad then you can talk with your parents about asking for a referral to a gastroenterologist (a doctor who just deals with gut problems). He might want to run blood tests or various other tests depending on your symptoms and medical history etc. There’s no blood test that can check whether or not you have IBS, but they can use tests like that to rule out other gut conditions.
Best of luck, and I really hope things improve for you soon.
I have IBS and I have recently started getting blood in my stool. I’m a bit of a hypochondriac so it freaked me out but reading the comments herd have pit my mind at ease. I get diorrehea quite frequently so I’m wondering if that’s whats brought it on.
I hate going to the doctors and I really don’t want to go if I don’t have to. I’m a bit embarrassed about it (I know I shouldn’t be!)…it took me ages to go the doctors when I had a urine infection and this is far worse! I’ve heard what they do (finger up the backside) to confirm annanal fishes or haemorrhoids or to rule it out and I DO NOT want to have to get that done unless it’s ansolutely necessary!!! Having blood in the stool doesn’t bother me in the slightest (pain wise) but I am worried about it.
I don’t have any pain when having a BM or after (apart from the stomach cramps I get anyway from my IBS) and I never get constipation….what to do??!
Hi Samantha – thanks for your comment. Please do go the doctor! Blood can be a sign of hemorrhoids, but it can also indicate a number of other problems. Please don’t sit around worrying about the symptoms, just go to the doc who has, I promise you, heard it all before a hundred times.
I’ve had the “finger up the backside” routine done, and I can assure you that it is actually nothing to worry about – took about 10 seconds, completely painless, done. And much better than worrying!
I really would hate for anyone to read this page and assume they didn’t need medical advice – you should ALWAYS get proper medical advice.
Thanks Sophie. I will
I was officially diagnosed with IBS in Dec 2010. I started a new job about 7-months ago. I had a lot of loose stools, bloating, mucus and stomach pains. I figured it was just IBS. Well, I find out I have C-diff! Please get a stool sample done because my symptoms with c-diff and IBS are almost identical!
I recently found out that my IBS is triggered by vitamin supplements. I previously was taking one of those once-daily multivitamins, and it would trigger my symptons. I’ve since switched to a supplement that is food-based (rather than synthetic-based vitamins), and that requires 4 pills for one full dose, but I take only 1-2 pills a day. The megadoses of vitamins in the once-a-day pill was just too much for me, and the food-based vitamins seem to be easier on my body. I wouldn’t say it’s cured me, but the switch has made a world of difference! I was surprised how my Dr never mentioned the possibility of vitamins causing symptoms.
Im 21 years old I first started experiencing pain and orange/redish onion like pieces on toilet tissue I was worried so I went to the doctor he felt my stomach and did blood tests and everything was ok. I went back a couple of weeks ago because the problem was Continuing and he diagnosed me with ibs he said it was almost impossible to be anything serios because of my age. He booked me to see a specialist because of the reddish stuff when going to the toilet, he also felt my stomach gave me an ultrasound and gave me medicine he said blood is a sypmtom of ibs even though alot of people say its not. I have the camera test next week but this week the orangey stuff has stopped appearing on tissue and im having small lines of blood on feces together with small white patches, so confused…..
I sympathise with all of you people. I suffer from the beast as well. I hope they find a cure one day. Until then keep your head up.
I am 34 years old, i believe i had a symptom of IBS since about 3 years, but my doctor never diagnosed this , but recently. I started MultiVitamins about 4-5 weeks back, 3 weeks back I had a bad stomach ace, cramp and gas that pains even if i do 20% pressure with hand on stomach. I had a repeat episode of this 2 week back and than a week back. so 3 times in a month. I showed to some doctors in India, on my visit, he did sonography and found some minimal inflamation on left colon. He gave me some 3 medicines sporlac(lactic acid bacillus), ornidazole(some antacids), pantosec. with in 2 hrs of first dose, i started bleeding in stool. This has been continued since last 2 days morning evening in almost every stool. after 3 days today I stopped having this medicines, hoping this improves. my Dr, now once he knows i have blood in stool, is advising for colonoscopy, i am due to go through this in 2 days. Meanwhile i am hoping that this is fixable. Please advise, thanks in advance.
After having my appendix removed i got put on antibiotics for what they thought was c dif. i was on antibiotics for 9 months before the doctors finally sent me to a GI doctor. Im not diginosed with IBS and i have severe pain, mucus and blood in my stood. I’m 18 and i have no idea what i can eat or what i should do to to calm the pain and bleeding down. can anyone help?
Hi,
Just reading the different posts and sad to see it doesn’t sound good. My doctor believes I have IBS, so this is all new to me and not being sure if this is what I have is frustrating to say the least..! …I have had an ultra sound, catscan, xray, blood test for H pylori, barium enema, UGI barium and everything has come clear. My doctor did put me on Dicetel which seems to help somewhat. I get pains on my side, just about where the rib cage ends – usually on the left side but the right side also gets afected. I was wondering if anyone else had those pains – sometimes I am bent over and stand up and get the this stabbing pain in the middle of my stomach – just below the breast bone. anyway, thought I would just put it out there…..thank you..!