Had Major Stomach Pain And Had Diarrhea. Noticed Blood In Stools. What Can This Be?

Posted on Tue, 30 Jul 2013

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Tue, 30 Jul 2013 Answered on

Wed, 28 Aug 2013 Last reviewed on

Question : Late last night I had major stomach pain and shortly after had diarrhea. The stomach pain has been consistent for the last 20 hours, but the diarrhea stopped within 5 hours or so. Throughout this time I have felt that I could collapse any time that I get out of bed. About 30 minutes ago I had diarrhea again, but this time noticed that there was at least as much blood as other fluid. There have been other times that I have had blood in my stool, but this was by far the most. It was orange in color and I could easily see it in the toilet and when wiping. The pain does not go away after deficating, which is also different from past experience. I am wondering what your thoughts are and how I should proceed.

Answered by Dr. Dr.Alekhya (1 hour later)

Hello,
Thank you for the query.
I have read your medical history and from that I noticed about the past history of ulcerative colitis. Long term effect of that disease without treatment will lead to the symptoms that you are facing right now.

I advice you consult your gastroenterologist for this. I think you need a colonoscopy to check for progression of the disease.

Early detection may help you to prevent other serious problems like colon cancer. Treatment can be based on the evaluation finding. If symptomatic treatment doesn't show more effect; drugs like corticosteroids, sulfasalazine and iron supplementation may be needed. Surgery is the treatment of choice in some cases.

Hope I have answered your query. You are welcome for follow-up questions.

WISH YOU A GOOD HEALTH.

Regards,
DR.ALEKHYA.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad