Bleeding bum

[Calciumcarbonate82]

Hello all. This is my first post so please be kind!

I’ve had bleeding with bowel movements throughout my adult life, on and off, and have always assumed it was hemorrhoids as I have really bad ones (like falling out of my bum just walking around bad). Last summer I had some sort of fissure/hemorrhoid flare-up combination and was bleeding for about six weeks before I saw a GP - by then I was anemic so I asked her if it could be bowel cancer; she said I was too young (I’m 38) and had no other symptoms. She looked at my bum and said she could see where the bleeding had come from and not to worry; after a few weeks of iron tablets I was fine again.

I’ve just been to a different GP today as I’ve now been bleeding for about a week. Again she looked at my bum, said it looked very sore (it is!), said there was a huge hemorrhoid she could see was bleeding and a fissure that was bleeding too. She said given how raw the whole area was the amount of bleeding wasn’t surprising. She asked why I’d never done anything about my hemorrhoids (I’ve put it off as I didn’t want to have surgery) and said she could refer me to have them sorted at some point. I asked if she felt I needed a colonoscopy and she said that would almost certainly make them worse.

At what point do I stop stressing about it possibly being colorectal cancer? I keep hearing about people my age being fobbed off by their GPs and I can’t tell whether I too am being fobbed off here or it really is just my hemorrhoids. Should I have pushed harder for further investigation? She seemed very keen to sort out the piles rather than make sure they were really the problem - but if she saw them bleeding, is that reasonable?

Personally I think get the piles sorted out and then see how you are. you also need to sort out your diet to prevent the piles in the first place

Thank you LivingMyBestLife... I’m just struggling with the idea of living with this level of worry for that long - I’m assuming I won’t be seeing anyone about the piles for months!

Please don’t be fobbed off by your GP saying you’re too young at 38. Not saying it is anything sinister - I’m not a medic - but bowel cancer is absolutely not something that only affects older people.

Please insist on a referral. I'm not a doctor either but this needs to be checked out. In any case, it sounds like it's beyond your GP.

Also have you/ they considered Ulcerative Colitis or Crones disease? You should definitely be checked out properly. Swap docs if needed.

Thank you all.

To clarify a bit, I had a phone call with the second GP before seeing her and stressed very strongly that I was really concerned about bowel cancer because I’d heard about so many younger people having it and she never said I was too young. I got the feeling that I could have been significantly older and she’d still have said the hemorrhoids were the problem once she’d seen how bad they were. I did ask for a referral, but we may have got our wires crossed, as she was referring me to have the piles treated - she didn’t think any further investigation was necessary as the piles were so obviously problematic. I’m worried about how long this is likely to take in the current situation too.

It’s hard to overstate how bad the piles are - I’ve seen them bleed myself (I have mixed external
and internal ones), I’m just worried I may also be bleeding from higher up too. I should add, though, that I did make my GP really clear that I was seeing her not because I wanted to deal with the piles but because I was concerned it was something worse, and I made her well aware of how stressed I was, so I’d like to think she did take my concerns seriously.

Lockdowndramaqueen From what I’ve read I don’t think it’s either of those. How do I go about swapping GPS though? I am wondering about seeing a specialist privately but no idea how to go about that either.

OP, I'm sorry you're in this situation but also baffled.

This has been going on years? Why put up with that? (I I know you say you worry about surgery but it's clear these symptoms are causing you significant distress)

Firstly, you need to sort out the piles. They are almost certainly causing the bleeding you describe. I would trust your GP on this.

If there are other problems, not linked with the piles, you can address those separately.

The piles are a known issue though. Please take the advice you've been given. Why put yourself through this?

Thank you EarringsandLipstick. The main reason is that I can’t take the time off work to deal with them - I’m a teacher so can’t take any sort of leave, and my school are very strict about sick days (I had a miscarriage some years back and when I asked for a day off for the ERPC I was told to take as little time off as possible!). I also have two small children (6 and 3) who need taking to school and generally running around after - I’ve heard surgery would involve a very long recovery time and there’s just no way I can lie in bed for weeks for an elective process. I’d like to give that electrotherapy thing a go but can’t afford it. So I’m stuck with them!

You are entitled to sick leave by law.

As others have said you need to sort the piles as priority then if the bleeding continues further investigation is warranted

I also think you need to get the piles and fissure sorted first and then see. It is hugely likely if it’s as bad as the gp thinks then this is the cause of the issue.

You must be in a tremendous amount of pain. I can’t believe you’re just saying you’re stuck with them

Please please, get a referral for a endoscopy. I know 2 young people have bowel cancer. It’s a simple procedure, once done your mind will be at ease and you can sort out the piles. Take time off work, love to see them discipline you over a hospital appointment.

Honestly, the piles are nothing compared to the mental anguish I’m currently experiencing thinking I may not see my kids grow up and that it’ll be my fault for not pursuing this further, but I just can’t tell what is a reasonable concern and what is my health anxiety talking: I struggle with worrying about my and my family’s health at the best of times but the pandemic has really ramped it up.

How do I get a referral though, if my GP said she didn’t think I needed a colonoscopy? Absolutely no way I can have one done privately. Also surely no elective treatments are happening right now so I can’t get anything done about the piles any time soon anyway?

@Calciumcarbonate82

Honestly, the piles are nothing compared to the mental anguish I’m currently experiencing thinking I may not see my kids grow up and that it’ll be my fault for not pursuing this further, but I just can’t tell what is a reasonable concern and what is my health anxiety talking: I struggle with worrying about my and my family’s health at the best of times but the pandemic has really ramped it up.

Then the way forward is to get the piles sorted. It’s bonkers to be living like that but worried it’s something else.

My doctor said that if the blood is bright red it’s fresh and has come from a pile or fissure. Bleeding caused by cancer tends to be darker because it’s passed through the rectum etc and has had time to age. Sort of like the dark blood you get at the start of a period. It just sounds like piles etc to me. Get a good pile cream and use a bit of Vaseline before number two to prevent the fissure splitting any further.

As a teacher you should have very good sick leave/pay I think? Maybe check with your union. Try not to worry though as it does sound like piles.

Poor you, OP.

If I were you I would return to GP, maybe see another GP if it is a group practice.

Ask again for a referral to a specialist. Good luck.

Your reasons for not having surgery don't make sense.
You are entitled to sick leave and your school will have advance warning to cover you. You have time to find another parent or wraparound carer to bring your DC to and from school for a couple of weeks.

You seem to have a mix up in your head between 'I need to get checked out to make sure I don't have a deadly disease' and 'Having my piles sorted would be a special holiday and I don't have time for holidays'.

You need to decide how much priority you're going to give this. You either need to get it sorted as soon as possible because you're too worried to keep leaving it, or you need to learn to live with the fact that it'll be in your life for a while. Here's a hint: taking time off to have an operation to fix piles, so that you can get checked out for bowel cancer isn't a holiday.

There is a process. Having piles and bleeding are directly related, so get the piles sorted. Don't assume that bleeding means you have a death sentence, when there is a perfectly good reason for the bleeding that you can have removed. If the bleeding continues after that, that's the time to worry about cancer. One thing at a time.

I was in a slightly different situation to you as although I didn't have any visible piles I had had rectal bleeding on and off since my teens. Repeatedly diagnosed as piles.

2 years ago it got worse and was once again told it was piles. I ended up as an emergency admission and was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis (form of inflammatory bowel disease). My GPs had massively dropped the ball and totally failed to follow NICE guidelines on referrals for rectal bleeding. If they had followed them I probably would not have ended up in hospital as an inpatient and may well not be on a massive cocktail of drugs that are costing the NHS a fortune.

My advice is to read up on the referral pathway for rectal bleeding and ask your GP about it, because I wish I had known to do that.

Wow you are all amazing. Thank you!!

I can see the sense in getting the piles sorted and I’m prepared to do this at this stage to alleviate my worries BUT surely elective procedures just aren’t happening right now? (Now would be the perfect time; husband and I are both at home teaching online and the kids aren’t going anywhere...) Is my only option to get this done privately?

Having thought about it the problem with the “get the piles fixed then worry if you’re still bleeding” strategy is that once sorted I would then worry about every subsequent poo. But I don’t qualify for a colonoscopy under the 2ww so I would have to wait for a routine one in who knows how many months time...

Having thought about it the problem with the “get the piles fixed then worry if you’re still bleeding” strategy is that once sorted I would then worry about every subsequent poo.

But you're worrying now, in pain and dealing with the practical issues of having really bad piles. I know you don't want the op but can't you see putting it off is only making your anxiety worse? Turn it on it's head- what if the problem is "just" piles, and you're spending all this time and energy panicking about it being something sinister when you could be enjoying your life?

You can tell you're really anxious about work as well and the implications time off will have on that. I've seen first hand people prioritising work over their health and it never ends well. You're entitled to sick leave and presumably have a decent union behind you. Take it and look at it the same way you no doubt did with mat leave- something you have to do for yourself, your health and your family.

Bite the bullet. Go to doctors and ask for a referral for the piles removal. I could not carry on like this. I know it's not great having rear end seen to. I had a colonoscopy . As I am sure many have. How are they going to see the colon with the camera if they have to get past the piles which may bleed during it. Sorry to be brutal. But even childbirth can be so undignified. Go and ask and keep asking, if no joy, ask for second opinion. Do it for your kids.