Blood in poo?

I've noticed that over the last 2 or 3 weeks my stools have been looser. Not diarrhea, but definitely looser and easier to pass than normal. I'm not going any more often, it's just the consistency change I noticed. Although it's been on my mind a lot for the last few weeks, I had put it down to stress and wasn't going to call the doctors unless it went on a lot longer. 

 

However, this morning my stool appeared to have some red in it. It was fairly bright and perhaps only on the surface but I can't be sure of that. I phoned the doctors and they saw me about 20 minutes later. GP didn't seem too bothered as she said at my age (35 male) she would expect abdominal pains too if it was cancer. She felt my tummy and was happy with that. She suggested it is probably a result of food (I mentioned that there was an undigested kidney bean in my stool today) and sent me on my way. 

 

Does that sound right? Or should I still be concerned? I can't help but link the change in habit to the red/blood today. 

Parents
  • Sorry to hear you are going through this. I will say that a year ago, I had weeks of rectal bleeding, admittedly on the paper rather than on the stool. I also had some weight loss, on and off loose stools (maybe once a week) and a few weeks of trapped wind. The specialist said that as I was "only" 40, the odds of bowel cancer were less than 1% and I would be "the unluckiest person in the world" if it turned out to be that.

    Given your symptoms, I would say your odds are probably even lower than mine. Obviously, I'm no expert and your doctor knows way better than me, but that is the impression I have, amatuer as it is.

Reply
  • Sorry to hear you are going through this. I will say that a year ago, I had weeks of rectal bleeding, admittedly on the paper rather than on the stool. I also had some weight loss, on and off loose stools (maybe once a week) and a few weeks of trapped wind. The specialist said that as I was "only" 40, the odds of bowel cancer were less than 1% and I would be "the unluckiest person in the world" if it turned out to be that.

    Given your symptoms, I would say your odds are probably even lower than mine. Obviously, I'm no expert and your doctor knows way better than me, but that is the impression I have, amatuer as it is.

Children
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