What Causes Blood In Stool And Black Tarry Stools?

Posted on Tue, 1 Mar 2016

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

Wed, 2 Mar 2016 Answered on

Thu, 12 May 2016 Last reviewed on

Question : I was in the hospital 2 weeks ago with anemia and black tarry stools my hemoglobin was 7 they did a upper endoscope and a colonoscopy and did not find the source of my bleeding I have had gastric bypass surgery so they were not able to see the part of my stomach that was bypassed my stools are normal again I went to my regular dr today and she said my hemoglobin is 10 she dosent want to send me to a specialist until it happens again i am afraid to let it happen again is it a good idea to wait?

Answered by Dr. Chobufo Ditah (5 hours later)

Brief Answer:
It isa good idea to wait!

Detailed Answer:
Hi and thank you so much for this query.

I am so sorry to hear about this supposed bleeding with no identified source. For sure, it is better to wait than accept continued blind investigations. No one is certain where the problem is at this time and therefore further explorations especially with no symptoms will not help. I totally agree with your doctor and do advise that you stay calm and positive. Should anything happen, the doctors would be able to overcome this.

I hope this helps. I wish you well. Feel free to ask for more information and clarifications if need be. Above all, thanks for using our services.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar