when i was in the military i experienced some blood in my stool one time. so i told the doc and he said it's prolly i'm just not getting enough fiber. he gave me some generic 'metemusal' and told me to drink some everyday. it solved the problem. well that was about 1-2 years ago, i still drink the fiber stuff every now and then and everyonce in a while i might have a drop or two(blood) in my stool. well i havent drank any of it in a while(maybe a couple months) and last night i used the restroom and when i got up there was ALOT of blood. enough to make all the water/stool a strawberry/cherry color red, and there was a something that looked like a big piece of flem in the toilet too, and it was a very dark red almost black color. i havent experienced any pain at all and i dont reliaze that there is blood until i look. if i just start taking the fiber drink regulary will that solve the problem? or should i go to the doctor?

Sailor,

If I were you, I would ask for a referral to a gastroenterologist for some tests. Sometimes blood & mucous in the stool are from things that are not too serious, but sometimes more sinister stuff is up. I was only 32 yo when I had a fairly large pre-cancerous colon polyp removed, w/symptoms similar to yours. My doc said it could have "turned" any time. So I am a big fan of colonoscopies & other testing. They save lives.

Best wishes.