Hyper wiper, IBS, or problem to ponder?

[zorpnic]

Let's start things off with the past 5 weeks. 5 weeks ago, I had a tarry stool. No bright red bloody stools, but chronic diarrhea, mild stomach pains, and a regular appetite.

Forward ahead 2 weeks to the time of 3 weeks ago - I went into the hospital because I was having issues with breathing problems. Also, there was hypertension. The hypertension went unaddressed for a month. I recently tried to quit smoking cigarettes (within a month), and on occasion, socially smoke very small amounts of marijuana for a sleeping sedative. I understand it's not good to smoke anything, so, it's understood.

Alright, well, last week (4/13), I went into the hospital because I was having rectal or GI bleeding. Also, same with hypertension. They did a triscopic test, (laying down, sitting up, feet hanging while sitting) and it was an average of 142/92 laying, 155/97 sitting up, 167/105 feet hanging while sitting. The ER doctors decided to observe the problem without testing, did a spot test with the blood that was coming from my anal area, and blood tests for good measure. Tests were inconclusive and I was forwarded to my primary care physician.

(4/19) Went to my doctor. HBP 140/95. Proposed to get a script for HBP, but it was never fulfilled. Forwarded to a Gastroenterologist. I see him tomorrow to discuss with him the issues I'm discussing here.

But there's a few factors I'd like to include:

I drink a lot of water. On a daily basis, I drink about half a gallon or more of water. No sugar or salt added. Sometimes, I drink city water along with spring water or bottled.

I did a poop report. For the past week, I've documented the styles, colors, and factors of each bowel movement. I have had several loose stools, discolored (yellow/orange) stools, diarrhea of different colors and variations, and have seen bloody stringy mucus in my stool in frequency in the past week. I don't usually try to make notice of my BM, but since I've got to get this taken care of, I figured it would help.

[Kamal S Saini, MD, MRCP (UK), DM]

Hi,
You have been having gastrointestinal symptoms for many weeks now, including malena, cramps, diarrhea, change in bowel habits, and greasy, bloody stools. You also have high BP.
These symptoms can be because of many causes. The important ones that your gastroenterologist will rule out are infection, irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, and malabsorption syndrome. Some tests that may be useful are stool examination including occult blood, pancreatic enzyme levels, liver function test, imaging (double contrast CT, and colonoscopy.
Only later will he or she consider a malignancy as the underlying cause.
As you are well aware, quitting smoking completely would be of great benefit to your health.
All the best, and God Bless!

[zorpnic]

Also, there were pencil thin stools and some of the gelatin capsules (fish oil) I ingest with my pills with have shown up in there. I don't think the gelatin capsules are that big a deal, but I put it there just in case.

I've had yellow, greasy stools. These are usually where I find the bloody mucus in my stool. The other time was in a solid stool, where it looked like stewed tomato chunks. I never ate any.

Also, I've been feeling a little detached. Sometimes I converse with people and find myself feeling "reset" or disoriented/lost/back to square one with people.

I've also had stinging on the right and left side of my upper abdomen, (like spleen and pancreas), chest pain that goes from right to left, and still have the breathing problems. Also, I've had numbness and tingling in my hands, feet, arms and legs, like they're dying or falling asleep. It really freaks me out.

I hope it's just a panic attack with a severe case of colitis or something. Though, I'll have a better answer in the next couple of weeks. Thanks for any input.