Hi, all. Long time reader, first time posting. I'll try to be brief... forgive me if I don't achieve that. I started bleeding out of my stoma into the bag a few months ago. It wouldn't happen often, but when it did, it bled a lot. I mean, like pints at a time. I would think it would stop and then it would do it again. I was busy planning my wedding and I felt exhausted, dizzy, and achy all the time. I attributed it to stress. Anyway, I went to my endocrinologist (I am also diabetic, have Cushing's disease, on steroids, asthmatic, osteoporosis, and the hits keep on coming). When they did the blood workup, my hemoglobin (red blood cells) came back at under 5. The normal range is 12.3-18 for women. They told me to go to the hospital immediately; do not pass go, do not collect $200. They wound up admitting me last week. They ran a nuclear medical scan while I was actively bleeding. Found nothing. They did an upper endoscopy. Nothing. They did a colonoscopy through my stoma. It only showed a huge bleed site under my stoma. The doctor's conclusion is that all the medication and combination of strong meds over the past few years has caused my stoma to break down so badly that it is now bleeding. I received 4 transfusions and 2 iron infusions. The way to treat this, they say, is to change some meds and stop some. I (and much of my friends and family) are having a hard time believing that this is the cause of the massive bleeding. They discharged me today and I already got home and had another bleed. When I asked what I am supposed to do until the bleeding supposedly stops, they said I need to closely monitor my blood count and get outpatient transfusions. This seems crazy to me. Has ANYONE ever heard of anything like this or encountered this or have any advice at all? I am so not happy. BTW, they cannot revise my stoma and/or move it. I already had one failed surgery on the right side and had surgery to move it to the left. That's a doozy of a story in and of itself (the stoma was detached in three places and I had massive fistulas and sepsis with fecal matter going into all the open cavities in my stomach. I almost died and was in the hospital that round for 74 days). Thanks for any help and so lovely to meet you all and have a forum where people understand what the hell you are talking about!
