# rectal bleeding - need reassurance



## natv98 (Jun 16, 2014)

hi all! so first off sorry about all of the tmi in this post but i'm really freaking out and it's not something i'm really comfortable talking to my parents about right now. i want to start by saying i'm a fifteen year old female (if that makes much of a difference) and i'm a huge hypochondriac. i've gotten to the point where i stress myself out and over analyze ever bm that i have, and recently it's been getting worse. i'm so stuck on the fear of cancer (however unlikely it is) that i can't seem to move past it and it leads to panic attacks a lot.

recently i've been having lower back pain and abdominal pain as well as pressure around my rectum. i've also had gas, and i've been going regularly but my stools have been hard/dry, and in the past two months i've had two fecal impactions. just tonight when i had a bm, there was a small portion of bright red blood inside one of the stools and it's starting to worry me. this is the first time something like that has happened and it seems like the more i analyze, the more symptoms of cancer and things like that pop up. anyway, what i was wondering is if a.) this has happened to anyone else b.) could it just be an anal fissure or something similar? i'm pretty sure it isn't hemorrhoids but it could be and c.) is colon/rectal cancer very likely for a fifteen year old? i know this has been answered a lot, but i'm worrying a lot over this which probably isn't helping, thanks for any answers or discussion you can give!

to answer any questions:

1.) i have tried eating high fiber diets and taking metamucil as well as milk of magnesia but all of these things give me diarrhea/loose stools rather than keeping me regular.

2.) i began getting ibs like symptoms five months ago after never having anything like it and went to the hospital; the doctor pressed around my stomach for a while but didn't feel anything, then told me it was most likely just ibs. they took blood tests and they came back normal.

3.) i have also been having stools that range from pellet like to normal and once i had a pencil thin stool (but that hasn't happened since then, about two-three weeks ago) so they're pretty irregular.

(i just realized that this was posted in the wrong place before. sorry im new.)


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Hemorrhoids are extremely common and cause that exact kind of bleeding.

The blood in colon cancer (which I would worry about if you were 65, not 15) is typically hidden in the stool and needs a medical test of the stool to be detected.

a) Yes a lot of us have that, and it almost always is hemorrhoids,

b. I don't know why you are convinced you cannot possibly have an internal hemorrhoid that could bleed. Usually you don't know you have one until it gets irritated enough to bleed (usually from hard dry stools and the straining from that). While it could be an anal fissure I think they tend to bleed more consistently than a hemorrhoid as they can take a while to heal up enough not to bleed more than an irritated hemorrhoid.

c) Colon cancer is EXTREMELY unlikely for a 15 year old. They begin screening people at FIFTY years old not 15 years old. Around 50 is the age where people start developing the polyps that lead to colon cancer. Only a few polyps ever become cancerous so removing them as they start to form in your 50's and 60's will prevent colon cancer in your 60's, 70's and 80's.

It may be worth talking to someone about the anxiety and panic. That doesn't help the IBS (will make symptoms of IBS worse) and long term that much worry isn't good for your general health, either. If you cannot talk to your parents about the panic and worry, can you talk to your doctor or school counselor or someone?


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## IndianRopeTrick (Jul 25, 2013)

I prefer not to use fiber supplements. Instead, I prefer getting fiber from my diet itself.

Some quick suggestions which you can try. It helped me a lot, but YMMV -

Diet -

[Breakfast] oats, whole wheat pancakes, some banana,

[Other meals] leafy, boiled veggies, no/little meat (fish, chicken, shrimp), no red meats like pork, beef, lamb.

Exercise - At least a long walk everyday, preferably 2 times a day. No sedentary lifestyle because it promotes constipation and hemorrhoids.

Anxiety - Do some activities, meet new people, hangout with friends. Basically keep yourself busy and distracted.

Elimination - If any foods always produce symptoms like cramps, excessive gas etc, then eliminate them from your

diet.

Do this for at least 2 months and tell us if you noticed any improvement. If not, tell us what happened. Also talk to

a doctor about your symptoms.

Good luck and don't worry. We (and your doctors) are here for you.


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## natv98 (Jun 16, 2014)

thank you both for your replies and helpful comments! i'm setting up an appointment with my doctor so hopefully i can get this resolved soon.


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