I’ve been unwell for several months with a growing range of symptoms, and I’m starting to feel increasingly anxious because investigations so far haven’t identified a clear cause.

Initially, my symptoms were mainly gastrointestinal. These included loose stools, excess mucus, urgency/frequency, and right-sided abdominal pain. I was also having occasional visible blood in my stool. Given my long history of bowel problems, this didn’t initially alarm me. However, things have gradually worsened.

I now have daily rectal bleeding. The blood is thick and sticky, mostly maroon to almost black in colour. It only occurs with bowel movements, but the volume is significant and it is mixed throughout the stool (sometimes the entire stool appears dark red/black). I have no upper GI symptoms apart from occasional mild nausea.

I’m currently under the Inflammatory Bowel Disease team, but they’ve been unable to identify a bleeding source so far. I’ve had:

• Normal colonoscopy
• Normal MRE and MRI pelvis
• Normal inflammatory markers (last checked November)
• Normal FBC and liver function
• Coeliac disease excluded
• Stool infections ruled out

In April 2025 I was found to be anaemic and took iron and folic acid for most of the year. My ferritin was 47 when I stopped supplements in September, and I’ve recently discovered it has dropped again to 17. My periods are not heavy and there’s no other obvious explanation, so this feels consistent with ongoing GI blood loss. While the normal investigations should be reassuring, I’m actually feeling progressively worse.

Alongside this, I’ve developed other concerning symptoms:

• Episodic chills, sweating, dizziness and shivering (no fever and no drenching night sweats)
• A swollen left supraclavicular lymph node, which I know can sometimes be significant
• Subsequent widespread lymphadenopathy (neck, axillae, groin) — non-tender, no clear infective trigger
• Marked fatigue/exhaustion
• Rapid onset peripheral neuropathy affecting hands and feet
• Episodes where my hands turn bright red, swollen and painful, often heat-triggered, followed by tingling
  
  • Diabetes negative
  • No alcohol excess
  • Not B12 deficient (on regular injections)
• Pleuritic chest pain, especially on deep inspiration (non-smoker)
• New dry skin and unexplained rashes

At this point I’m genuinely stumped. No single diagnosis seems to explain everything. I’m aware this could be autoimmune, but the overall picture feels unsettling. I’m particularly worried about lymphoma or another haematological malignancy - blood cancers run in my family, and my mother died from Multiple Myeloma. She also had Sjögren’s syndrome, which I know increases malignancy risk.

I have a GP follow-up in February to review the lymphadenopathy and neurological symptoms, and further GI investigations are planned (PillCam and SeHCAT).

I’m not entirely sure why I’m posting, other than that I feel more anxious as time goes on without answers, not less.

If anyone has had similar symptoms, or any thoughts or experiences they’re willing to share, I’d really appreciate it.