For as far back as i can remember my stools have never been normal. Ill usually go 2-3 a day sometimes more and they are never usually solid, with occasional blood on the toilet paper. Is this IBS? I was also thinking of getting some kind of food allery test done to see if thats a cause. Anyone had this done?

Thanks

IBS is a very generic label for "there's something wrong with your guts, but we don't know what". Food allergy tests are a good idea. You also might want to see a nutritionist and try some illimination diets so you can identify which foods are the worst. Your symptoms are very common for people with IBS, but don't take that as a diagnosis. Make sure your doctor runs as many tests as possible to rule out anything more serious.

And about the blood in your stool. That's not ideal, but not always the worst thing either. It's only if the stool is black (because the bleeding is way up inside and has had time to oxydize) that you know there is a serious issue. If the blood you see is red, that means it's from an area close to the opening, which is generally not as serious.

Hi baldy,

It is true that black blood generally comes from higher up in the digestive tract. When bile from the gallbladder mixes with blood, the blood darkens. And it is true -- black blood in the stool should be checked out.

Most often, red blood comes from the lower part of the digestive tract. And, most often, the source of red blood in the stool is something fairly inocuous & easily treated -- hemorrhoids or a small rectal fissure, or mechanical irritation due to frequent diarrhea. Even aggressive use of rough toilet tissue can cause red-blood bleeding.

But I must beg to differ somewhat with the previous poster.

There ARE a number of diseases of consequence where the primary sign is red blood in the stool. A specialist like a gastroenterologist is best-equipped to evaluate the source of rectal bleeding.

At the age of 32, I suffered a couple of instances of red-blood rectal bleeding, several months apart. I was fortunate to find a doctor who didn't attribute the source merely to my hemorrhoids (which I did have). In the course of a colonoscopy, a fairly large adenomatous polyp was found & removed. That was the source of my red-blood bleeding. Fortunately, the labs came back with benign pathology; however, this is the type of polyp that often "turns" cancerous as it grows larger. I believe it is likely that the colonoscopy saved my life.

The most common location for cancerous colorectal polyps is in the lower gut. The first sign is usually red-blood in the stool or on the TP.

I'm not trying to scare you here baldy, and I truly hope your symptoms come from one of the more common sources. But I urge you to not ignore, not put off, getting it checked out.

Best wishes.