Diagnosed with IBS. Got black stool with abdominal pain. Is this serious?

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Dr. Ratnakar Kini
Gastroenterologist

Practicing since : 1996

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Hello, I was diagnosed with IBS several years ago. Not as bad as some people get. Pain and cramping sometime. Lately I have been passing much watery gas . This morning I noticed that my stool (which was a small amount)was black. Do you think this is just the IBS or something more serious going on?

Posted Wed, 23 Jan 2013 in IBS(Irritable Bowel Syndrome)

Answered by Dr. Ratnakar Kini 10 minutes later

Hi,
Thanks for posting your query.
I am Dr.Ratnakar Kini and I am pleased to answer your query.

Black stool can be both serious and harmless.
Serious because it can indicate upper gastrointestinal bleed and harmless because it can be due to certain medications like pepto bismol, iron supplements and certain food items like blue berries.

So if the stool continues to be black, consult your doctor. He may do a rectal examination and may even order for a stool test. If he confirms it as due to bleed he may perform an upper GI endoscopy to find the source of bleed.

I hope that answers your question.
If you have no more questions, kindly accept this answer and rate this service.

Regards,
Dr.Ratnakar Kini

Above answer was peer-reviewed by

Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar