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What Causes Diarrhea Along With Loss Of Appetite?
I have been expiercing diarrhea positive hemocult loss of appetite and weight loss I take a vitamin with iron daily. Just had blood work and hemoglobin dropped from 12.2 to 11.5 do I have major concern for colon cancer. I am a 59 white female my sister had colon cance in her 40 s
Wed, 2 Nov 2016
Hi there,
I do agree that your risk for colon cancer is higher due to your sister having had it at such a young age. How long has the diarrhoea been, is it longer than your typical infection - over a week or so? Was the stool occult blood test done during the diarrhoea itself or even when you were passing stools normally? If it has just started for a few days, it could still be an infection, and there can be some amount of bleeding with some types of diarrhoea.
I am not too concerned with the haemoglobin drop on its own (it can sometimes fluctuate especially if it has been a while since the last test), but it does add to the whole picture. If indeed the diarrhoea has been present a few weeks, and taking into consideration your complete history with loss of appetite and weight, I highly suggest that you get yourself to a surgeon's office for a colonoscopy to have a look.
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Dr. Teh
I do agree that your risk for colon cancer is higher due to your sister having had it at such a young age. How long has the diarrhoea been, is it longer than your typical infection - over a week or so? Was the stool occult blood test done during the diarrhoea itself or even when you were passing stools normally? If it has just started for a few days, it could still be an infection, and there can be some amount of bleeding with some types of diarrhoea.
I am not too concerned with the haemoglobin drop on its own (it can sometimes fluctuate especially if it has been a while since the last test), but it does add to the whole picture. If indeed the diarrhoea has been present a few weeks, and taking into consideration your complete history with loss of appetite and weight, I highly suggest that you get yourself to a surgeon's office for a colonoscopy to have a look.
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Dr. Teh
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