To be panicking about blood in my stool (TMI warning)

[nononononooooooo]

I've had bloody diarrhoea for 2 days now, it seems to be slowing down but I'm still having bouts of it. I have a constant gnawing stomach ache too so hoping it's food poisoning or a bug. I went to the GP yesterday who said that it's not piles, and I have to do a stool sample and have bloods taken. The results will take 2-3 weeks to come back. My GP thinks it's inflammatory bowel disease as I've had this happen once before.

I'm worried about the fact the bleeding hasn't stopped and it's been 2 days. WIBU to ring 111? I only saw my GP yesterday so it hasn't been long

Red blood or black blood

Is it mucousy as well?

Did they do bloods and check your CRP levels?

What colour is the blood?

Is it fresh bright red?

Bright red blood

I have a full blood count later this week, but results will take 1-2 weeks

Yeah it's kind of mucusy too

I wouldn’t jump straight at a bowel disease for fresh blood personally (as some one who has IBD)

Could be a fistula, wait and see what the blood tests come back with.

I would do your best to rest up, eat the best you can and keep having lots of fluids, and see how you feel in a week. Honestly, even if it's IBD (speaking as someone who has been investigated for it, I ended up being diagnosed with something similar but not technically IBD), there isn't much they will do in the short term.

They should test your calprotectin, but that's best not done while you are at the peak of symptoms as can skew the results towards the negative. It's better to do it when your stools are more normal. The results also don't take 2-3 weeks to come back. Mine have always usually been back in a week. But if you need a referral to a gastro, even an urgent one (assuming not 2 week pathway) takes about 6 months.

So I would try not to panic and I would just focus on feeling better for now. It sounds like the wheels are in motion and they are doing what they should be doing in the immediate term.

I'm worrying it's cancer, can barely concentrate trying to work from home. I'm hoping because it has come on suddenly alongside stomach cramps it is something temporary like a stomach bug or food poisoning.

Would there be any advantage to contacting 111, would they be able to process blood tests and stool samples faster? Or is this ok to wait 2-3 weeks for? Surely constant bleeding is not good and puts me at risk of infection?

I'm due to go abroad in a few days and don't know if I should cancel

NHS 111 won’t be able to do any more than your GP to be honest, they won’t get you any answers any quicker.

What other symptoms do you have?

The bleeding is a symptom and won't cause or worsen any infection. There are lots of reasons for passing blood and it sounds like your GP has started investigating. Is the stool sample to check for an infective cause or a FIT test? I would recommend both tests (both available from GP). Blood tests should take less than a week to come back.

YANBU because it’s perfectly natural to worry about bleeding. Don’t cancel your holiday, a week or two won’t make any difference to the diagnosis, it might take your mind off it, and who knows, it may well have cleared up of its own accord anyway by then.

stick with the gp. Depending on blood test results you can be put on the 2 week pathway for further tests.
I had a year of bleeding on and off it was diagnosed as a pile but turned out to be ulcerative colitis. If I had my time again I would have pushed for more blood tests especially the one that shows inflammation. I had bright red blood

It started with just diarrhoea with intense stomach cramps that made me almost faint they were so intense, then it turned into bloody diarrhoea. At the moment the diarrhoea has stopped but I'm still passing some blood and have stomach cramps all the time. The stomach cramps are across the centre of my abdomen

I'm having both tests done on my stool

You’ve done the right thing going to the Dr and please follow up with all the tests they request.

I am not a dr however my family has a strong history of bowel cancer and my brother had it in his 30s. My specialist told me that it’s very rare to have diarrhoea as a sign, it’s much more likely to cause constipation. All the best.

Stool samples do take about a week for calprotectin as the test itself does take time and is specialist, but that will give a strong indication of what is going on even if the blood tests don’t. Blood tests are usually back in a few days but they often say a week just to manage expectations. These kind of symptoms can be transient too so the fact it’s improved already is a good sign. I had these symptoms for several months before I was taken seriously so honestly it sounds as if your GPs are doing everything they can and have acted very quickly, try not to worry. Unless the bleeding is severe or uncontrollable I wouldn’t cancel my holiday to be honest. Depends if you’ll feel well enough to enjoy it of course. I really hope you’re ok. It’s a scary thing but there can be lots of reasons for these symptoms that are not serious too.

Likely to be a bug. I’ve had it, lasted a week. Culprit was a gone off tuna fish sandwich. Not likely to be sinister if it’s come on really suddenly, good to get tested though. Try not to worry about it.

Easier said than done, but don't jump to conclusions. Such a small percentage of bleeding in poo is cancer. I've got a thread on hear from just over a year ago where everything pointed to it being bowel cancer (blood, rapid weight loss, tired , strange pain). It turns out it wasn't at all but I had written myself off as a goner.
Naturally we jump to worse case but you will probably be ok and if your not you've been proactive and got it checked early doors.
Make sure you come back and update us. I would say it's ok to wait a couple of weeks to be seen, I was but if things take a turn you can always go 111.

I have had this happen once before, around 6 months ago, but the bleeding only lasted for a few hours. My GP kept mentioning the possibility of IBD, but I feel like that wouldn't present to suddenly with no other symptoms?