First off, I'm a 22 year old male of
average health. About a month ago I
started having pains in the upper right
quadrant of my stomach. I figured it was
gall bladder related, but went to the ER
when I couldn't stand the pain any longer.
After forming their own opinions, they
told me they thought it was an inflamed
gall bladder and that I need to keep away
from the greasy fatty foods.
Did that, and the pain left. I'm not sure
how relevant that is to my new problem,
but it can't hurt to expand on it. On to
the current problem.
Last night I had a bowel movement that
contained what appeared to be blood, and
quite a bit of mucus. Half of the stool
was fine with no blood or other defects,
but the later half looked to be soaked red
all the way through. It was also
considerably softer, but didn't appear to
be a separate bowel movement.
The redness was extremely bright like
fresh blood, but it was mixed into the
softer stool. Almost like if it were
blood, it was absorbed by the stool for
the most part. After looking closer
(blech!), there were little circular
shaped specs of red that could probably
pass for human tissue. This was also when
I noticed stringy mucus that could almost
be mistaken for hair.
Today my stomach has felt a little odd
with light pains occurring randomly
through out my entire lower abdomen, but I
had a bowel movement that seemed perfectly
fine with no hint of blood at all. I have
eaten a lot of red foods, and drank a lot
of red liquids. However, doing so is
common for me, and I've never had such
problems.
I know the short answer is go see a doc,
but I've already got enough debt to
bankrupt a small country. I literally can
not afford another visit unless it's
immediate life or death, and I'm looking
for specific possibilities.
Any help is very much appreciated.
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sillyakchick
Supporter
Joined: 12 Apr 2007 Posts: 2701
Thanks: 6
Thanked:1
Posted: 07-16-07 12:58pm
In light of the fact that you wish to
refrain from incurring additional medical
bills, give yourself a week on a bland
food diet free from funky coroed food
(bread, rivce, etc) and see if the problem
recurs. If not, then i would not think
you would require any additional
treatment. If it does recur, then I guess
you should really probably seek a medical
opinion. The test for occult blood in
stool is pretty inexpensive, and you can
do it at home yourself if your physician
allows you to do so. At least that would
answer the question of whether or not it
is really blood or something you ate. You
probably already know that a bleeding
ulcer could do this, but it would seldom
happen in the absence of abdominal pain.
If the problem recurs then you really
should seek medical advice right away, as
a bleeeding internally can be a very
serious problem.
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rdbrd
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 15 Jun 2007 Posts: 6
Posted: 07-16-07 14:28pm
Thanks for the reply.
I've been avoiding red foods at least, and
the two bowel movements I've had since
have been redness free. There still
appears to be mucus, but from what I've
read that's not really anything to get
worried about.
The only thing remaining that worries me
is that my bowel movements have been
rather weak compared to normal, as in
smaller. I don't feel constipated what so
ever though.
In the near future I will probably go see
a doctor anyways.
