Anyone?

[Helpingdaddy!]

Can anyone shed some light on my husbands symptoms? It all stared about 4 yrs ago bright red blood in his stool for about a year it would come and go he would bleed for about 2 days and then a month would pass with no blood this went on for a good two years but this past year has been bad. He bleeds everyday passes big blood clots and his blood seems to be getting darker and heavier sometimes its only blood, sometimes its after a bowel movement. The kicker is he has had a colonoscopy and mri without contrast dye a sigmoidoscopy, meckels scan and a camera capsule and they can find NOTHING but some internal hemorrhoids can a hemorrhoid really be causing all that blood? After the colonoscopy the doctor said he didn't feel like it was. He also has lower back pain and sharp pain around his belly button his doctor has told me several times that my husband does not have colon cancer but I cant see how there isn't something wrong? They have done labs and tested for celiacs and some inflamortory diseases but nothing also his hemoglobin is always normal but some days he just looks so run down and has no energy We have also went to duke medicine who basically did nothing but look at all his testing and say there is nothing they can do? He hasn't had any sudden weight lose and wouldn't he show more symptoms then just continuous bleeding from cancer by now? I am at my wits end because it has really affected our life. At one point my husband was severally depressed and had to be put on meds because he thought something was wrong, well something is but we don't know what? Anyone have any advice?

[Cherie]

Hi, None of us are doctors here but my advice is get a third opinion and start from scratch with new tests. I was in a similar situation my first two doctors decided I had Crohns disease when I really had cancer growing. Four tumors later and a new doctor and hey, guess what, you have cancer. I was like of course I do I can't get out of bed. Now I'm not suggesting your husband has cancer but you NEED to know and if it is something benign then at least you know and can get on with your life. The good news is that no cancer to date has been found but if your husband is in pain then he needs to know why and what can be done. Ask around here for a GOOD gastro doctor in your area.

Good luck.

[NWgirl]

Ditto what Cherie said. If this doctor can't find out what's wrong it sounds like it's time to seek out a 2nd opinion. Start with a GI doc and go from there. Clearly there is SOMETHING wrong, they just haven't figured out what yet.

[Patience]

We have also went to duke medicine who basically did nothing but look at all his testing and say there is nothing they can do? .... Anyone have any advice?

I'd advise to gather up all of your husband's medical records for the past 4 years (the onset of his symptoms). That would include all physicians' reports, lab results, pathology reports (if any), xray/ct/mri/scan/PET reports, and copies (disks) of all xray/ct/mri/scan/PET, and colonoscopy/sigmoidoscopy reports.

Then make an appointment for a third opinion with a Gastroenterologist that is not connected to any of the facilities that you've seen before, for a fresh start. Have them review his records, and then ask if a new colonoscopy or other diagnostic test is warranted.

Bleeding for 4 years is not the sign of healthy colon.

Good luck.

[mstults]

As heas already been said get a gi Dr. A good one. I refuse to let surgeons do colonoscopies and its scary to me how many do them. To me it's like letting a heart surgeon operate on the lungs unless they are cardio thoracic.