I'd love to help with your medical questions. I'll never give you answers that I wouldn't give to my own patients or family.

Are you available to chat?

If not, I can post a reply based on the information you've provided already...

...but sometimes it's more helpful to "talk" in real time.

Hi there! It looks like you joined the chat... then left. Are you there?

Great.

I'm concerned about you.

How long has this been going on?

And are you having other symptoms aside from the blood?

That is, abdominal pain, diarrhea, etc?

That is not good.

Have you seen anyone for this?

Okay. Well, let me tell you what I think you need to do.

The symptoms you're describing suggest that you've got some bleeding somewhere in your lower gastrointestinal tract - that is, somewhere from your small intestine down to your rectum.

(If there is bleeding higher than that - such as in the stomach - the blood gets partially digested and looks black when it's in your stool. So the fact that you are having dark red blood tells us that the problem is down lower.)

The question that we have to figure out is, what is bleeding?

That's going to require some diagnostic tests. And I think what you're going to need is a colonoscopy.

As you know, a colonoscopy is a procedure in which a flexible scope is inserted in the rectum and advanced through the colon. If there is bleeding anywhere along the way, we can see it - and potentially do something about it.

You may be bleeding from an ulcer, or a colon polyp, or something completely different - but if it were going to stop on its own, it would have.

More importantly, the longer we let it go on, the more blood you're going to lose...

I'm concerned about the dizziness that you've been experiencing.

That suggests that you're losing blood faster than your body is able to make it.

And if we don't do something to address this bleeding, you're eventually going to get to the point where you're going to need transfusions, or you are going to pass out.

I understand... but I am still worried about you.

You don't strike me as a "complainer" - particularly if you've put up with this for 2 weeks.

But I worry that if we leave this unaddressed for much longer, it's going to be a bigger problem.

So what I think we need to do at this point is this:

1) Get yourself seen by your regular doctor, or go to the ER if you don't have one.

Have them check your blood counts to be sure they're not too low already.

If your blood counts are low, or if you don't look well - we need to figure out the source of the bleeding ASAP.

If not, we have a little more time...

...but we still need to make plans for getting you in for colonoscopy.

The test is called a CBC - complete blood count.

It measures your white blood cells (which fight infection), red blood cells (which carry oxygen), and platelets (which clot the blood).

I'd be interested to see all three..

...but it's mainly the red blood cells that I'm worried about with you.

That's what you're losing with all this bleeding - so I'm afraid that you'll be anemic.

The doctors that see you may want to do some x-rays or a CT scan as well.

Sometimes, we can see big problems on those tests (particularly the CT scan). But often, we won't see the problem on imaging - and it takes a colonoscopy to find where the bleeding is coming from.

But the botXXX XXne is this:

You need to be seen.

That's good... but that doesn't mean you won't be if we let this go on!

It just means that your body has so far been able to keep up with the blood loss.

The problem is that your body will eventually use up all its iron stores and not be able to make new blood.

What other questions do you have for me?

I am going to be completely honest with you - just like I would like someone to be with me.

The answer is yes - it could be. But there are a lot of possibilities here.

Basically, the only thing that we know is that something in your small intestine, colon, or rectum is bleeding.

Colon cancers often bleed like this...

But so do colon polyps, and colonic diverticuli, and a lot of other things.

The only way to find out what is bleeding is to take some pictures or look with a colonoscopy.

Then, we can figure out exactly what is bleeding, and determine what we need to do next.

I know that this will be hard... but I would try not to worry about cancer in particular until we get some more information.

Right now, we need to get some more answers for you.

What other questions do you have?

You are very welcome. If I have answered your question, please click accept and take a moment to rate my answer.

And please let me know how things turn out!

If other questions come up as you work through this - please do not hesitate to ask.

It was a pleasure speaking with you today... Get yourself seen, let me know how things turn out - and feel better soon!

Best wishes...