Help Please!

jmayk8 · Post by **jmayk8** » Thu May 19, 2011 7:47 pm

So today I took a chance (not a bright idea) and ate at a mexican restaurant. It's not a huge chain place but a smaller one with a gluten free menu. I ordered the most bland thing on it and also made sure there was no dairy with it. About 3 hours later I had the worst pain in my chest and ribs-I am assuming it was heartburn but, i never experienced anything like it before. I took some Pepto when I got home and the pain isnt that bad but still there. I have gone D twice and when i just went right now there was blood in the stool when i wiped (sorry)..And that has gotten me really freaked out. Is blood in the stool normal with LC?? I was really starting to do better, i am so mad at myself

natythingycolbery · Post by **natythingycolbery** » Thu May 19, 2011 7:59 pm

If it is bright red blood then as far as I am aware yes that is normal for LC.

But i'm sure someone else will know more than me.

Sorry I can't be much more help.

Post by **tex** » Thu May 19, 2011 10:19 pm

Hi Jenny,

Well, it's not normal, but it's somewhat common. IOW, LC does not cause bleeding the way that Crohn's and UC do, (because of lesions in the epithelia of the colon), but the diarrhea that goes with it often inflames and/or aggravates hemorrhoids, and they bleed. As Katy mentioned, if the blood is bright red, (IOW, fresh, and not black and partially digested), then it is probably due to hemorrhoids.

Of course, it's not impossible to pick up salmonella or even botulism, but botulism would be pretty unlikely with Mexican food, and the pain and cramps would be very severe with it.

Many/most of us have had problems with 'roids at one time or another during an MC flare. Some food additives also tend to inflame 'roids. Years ago, I once tried a leading brand of microwave popcorn that had a special butter sauce, (this was before my MC issues), and every time I ate some of it, I had a bleeding problem. I'm talking a significant amount of bleeding - enough to get anyone's attention. I was just about to break down and get a doctor's appointment, to try to locate the cancer, when it dawned on me that the bleeding coincided with eating that brand of popcorn the day before.

I stopped eating that popcorn, and the bleeding stopped.

Tex

ant · Post by **ant** » Thu May 19, 2011 11:41 pm

Dear Jenny

I agree it is probably hemorrhoids. Well before my MC dx and the chronic D I used to get that sort of bleeding occasionally (started in my 20s). As Tex says it's sorta common with MC.

Hope you recover from this upset quickly,

best, ant

jmayk8 · Post by **jmayk8** » Fri May 20, 2011 5:17 am

thanks guys, everyone here is always so helpful and makes me feel a lot better :)

Post by **tex** » Fri May 20, 2011 8:39 am

Jenny,

In case you're concerned about the long-term consequences, I'll relate this story:

Remember Black Monday, October 19, 1987, when stock markets around the world crashed? On that day, I started bleeding, and it was a daily problem. After about 10 days to 2 weeks went by, I decided that I might as well face the music, and try to locate the cancer, and get an estimate on how long I had to live, so I went to see my doctor, and scheduled a sigmoidoscopy.

This was at least 5 or 6 years before the popcorn incident that I mentioned in my previous post, and roughly 10 or 11 years before my MC symptoms surfaced.

The exam revealed a hemorrhoid problem, of course, and so the doctor gave me a script for some suppositories, which cleared it up in a few days. I had no idea at the time what might have triggered that episode, but looking back now, I would guess that it was almost certainly caused by some food that I was eating, and/or the resulting constipation. Anyway, to get to the point, the GI doc insisted that I should set up an appointment with a surgeon, to "fix" the problem right. As he put it, "you might as well go ahead and do it now, because, sooner or later you're going to come back here begging for that surgery".

Well, you know me - I just happened to be aware, (from a friend who shared his experience), that 'roid surgery and recovery is one of the most painful events that one can experience, so I told the doctor, "Thanks, but I'll just wait until I have a good reason to beg for that surgery".

When the popcorn incident came along, my initial thoughts were that the GI doc was right, after all, and his prediction was finally going to catch up with me. What a relief, when in the nick of time, I discovered that it was only due to the popcorn sauce. So, if it were not for my natural suspicion of doctors who seem unnecessarily eager to sign someone up for surgery, and my good fortune in figuring out that the popcorn sauce was the culprit, I would have undergone a very painful and unnecessary surgery, long before my MC symptoms even began. Being a professional procrastinator was probably a benefit, also, because it prompted me to allow sufficient time to sort things out, rather than acting hastily.

Later, when occasional bleeding showed up during my worst MC reactions, it didn't even phase me, because by then, I was confident that I knew what was causing it.

Tex

jmayk8 · Post by **jmayk8** » Fri May 20, 2011 9:53 am

wow...
And that's the exact reason why I'd rather turn to this site than call my heartless GI..
Thanks for sharing your story Tex
Jenny

MBombardier · Post by **MBombardier** » Fri May 20, 2011 10:12 am

Most of us women who have had children have hemorrhoids. But I imagine we would all say that they are worth it.

Tex, my father had that surgery. For him, it was complicated by the fact that many long hours sitting in the pilot's seat as a young man in the Air Force had caused a hole on one side, so his was also a repair job.