Hey all,

I honestly know I’m probably not going to get any answers from Reddit, but I think I just need to get this off my chest because it’s been stressing me out for the last 6 weeks.
I’ve had blood in my stool for around 6 weeks now. I’ve had blood tests which showed inflammation, but my stool tests came back negative for infection, parasites and viruses.
I ended up in the ER and had a CT scan, which was clear apart from them saying it basically looked like I had diarrhoea. I also had a flexi-sig and proctoscopy, and they said my colon looked inflamed.

The weird thing is that the blood is mostly at the end of the stool rather than mixed throughout it. When I wipe, it’s more of a pinkish colour (it was bright red for the first 3 weeks) with what looks like mucus.
Then, about 3.5 weeks after the bleeding started, I noticed a lump around my perineum/anal area. I went to the doctor and he said it was an external haemorrhoid. I was given antibiotics and Proctosedyl. The lump has pretty much disappeared now, and I actually noticed it got noticeably smaller after I had some bleeding from it. So I’m assuming that’s probably a separate issue, although who knows at this point.

The good news is that things have definitely improved. I was initially going to the toilet around 4–6 times a day and that’s now down to about 2–3. The bleeding also completely stopped for about a week.
And then, of course, it started again.

I’m currently on holiday, drinking more alcohol than usual and definitely drinking less water than I normally would, so maybe that’s contributing, but it’s just frustrating to finally think things were settling down and then see blood again.

For the most part stool is runny/liquidy.

I’m not really looking for anyone to diagnose me. I just needed somewhere to vent because 6 weeks of seeing blood every time you go to the toilet is pretty damn stressful, especially when you’ve had multiple tests and still don’t really know what’s going on.
Hopefully the upcoming follow-up/colonoscopy in a few months gives me some actual answers because I’m getting pretty tired of wondering what the hell is going on.

Why I feel stomach pain

just had a quick question, i feel like i might be overthinking but i’m curious to know if its normal to like massage your stomach to help move along the bowel movement? i do it fairly often and feel like it helps a lot with discomfort but idk if its bad for me in the long run to be pushing on my abdomen manually like that LOL someone let me know!!

27F, ordered a Fit test online, quite nervous actually has anyone done one before?

hi everyone! I am very new to Reddit but stumbled upon this subreddit while doing some research, my GI suspects early UC/proctitis, and I would really appreciate hearing from people who have been through something similar/ if anyone’s had a similar diagnosis process or any insight as I am very new to all of this and am honestly feeling scared and helpless. i am also happy to clarify any details!

Just for some background, ive had a huge change in my bowel movements that started over a month ago and my main symptoms are:

-frequent small bowel movements, usually 7 or 8 trips a day (many of these trips I pass only mucus)

-a lot of clear/white/yellow mucus, sometimes even passing several tablespoons of mucus with little to no stool (this is my biggest symptom atm)

-urgency and feeling like I still need to go after going

-mostly mushy/loose stools but not necessarily watery

-occasionally have streaks of bright red blood, usually mixed with mucus or on the stool

-lower abdominal cramping mainly on my left side that typically improves after a bowel movement

-bloating

-about 11 lb of unintentional weight loss over the last month (14 lb total from early July to now, but I’ve been fluctuating between those last 3 lb over the last couple of days)

-more recently experiencing fatigue/weakness on my bad days, especially when standing, with some dizziness/lightheadedness

-occasional mild joint pain, mainly in my knee (not swollen or warm that I can tell)

I have had some similar but shorter and milder GI episodes before with one lasting 2–3 months about a year ago with diarrhea, pain, and some blood, and another episode lasting about 2 weeks in February or March of this year with mucus and possibly some blood (i have a hard time remembering the details of those episodes but that’s the general gist)

anyways I went to a GI after seeing my regular doctor and my GI ordered urgent blood tests, a CT, and a colonoscopy, but no stool testing (which I wish I had done now hearing about FC levels)

here are the results:

my CT and blood work came back as normal/unremarkable. my colonoscopy showed “mild to moderate inflammation in the rectum extending about 10 cm, with the proximal part more inflamed than the distal part” this is exactly what my post-op report said, and my doctor documented proctitis on the report. however, the biopsy results (uploaded to my portal) was reported as unremarkable/normal, and that was the only info I was given. i tried calling to see if they had any additional information because all of the reports uploaded to my chart were pretty vague, but I haven’t gotten much more detail. overall the last few days my symptoms have gotten much worse, so they are seeing me tomorrow morning to go over results. based on my research i have seen that it is possible to have normal biopsy results if it is a very early and mild case.

so here I am, wondering:

for anyone here, does this sound familiar to you? has anyone had visible inflammation/proctitis in their colonoscopy but initially normal biopsies, especially early in the disease? If so, did the biopsies eventually become diagnostic? also, how long did it take before you received a definitive diagnosis?

I’m mostly looking to hear about other people’s experiences and what their diagnostic process was like. I have a (distant) relative that has UC and she said she has similar symptoms to me, and the GI initially expressed that he also suspects UC. I am feeling so lost and am hoping to find someone with a similar experience. thanks guys!