Brief Answer:
Yes the earlier the better.

Detailed Answer:
Hello Dear,
Thanks for choosing HealthcareMagic for your query.

I've gone through your details and I appreciate your concerns.
I am sorry for the situation you are in.
Problem 1 - Blood in stools.
There are a few things to consider when a person says he has blood in the stool.

The first thing is if it is really blood. There are some food and industrial chemicals that might be in stool and give the impression it is blood and in fact, it is not. Unless it bright red blood (which is clear that it is blood). Other times the way to know if you are bleeding or not is having a stool occult blood test or a stool microscopy that will confirm the presence of blood with the stools.

Generally, blood coming from higher levels (stomach and small bowel) converts into a dark coal black color due to the changes the blood has in the bowel. It is the bleeding from lower parts (colon) that will show as bright red blood.

Have you ever had a colonoscopy done? After the age above 50, it is recommended that all people should have a colonoscopy every 5-10 years. Even if you have had this test in the last 5 years it might be recommended to repeat it as you are having this bleeding if the stool tests confirm you are really bleeding.

A CBC would be a good test to be done if you suspect bleeding to see if you are developing anemia as a complication of bleeding and need treatment for it or not.

So to conclude:
1. we need to be sure you are bleeding or not- a stool test like fecal occult blood test and or stool microscopy for blood will help in this.

2. if it is confirmed that you are bleeding then you will need a colonoscopy to find the cause of it.

3. if you have bright red blood while defecating (passing stools) this might also be due to hemorrhoids which are mostly due to constipation so in meantime please make sure you take extra fibre with diet and drink plenty of water.

4. if you had any massive rectal bleeding than an urgent visit to a doctor is needed.



Take home message-

- avoid constipation
- if hemorrhoids are present (you can touch with your fingers), then, should apply local hemorrhoids ointment
- if no hemorrhoids, further consultation with proctologist is needed to exclude anal and colon damages
- colonoscopy/anoscopy is also recommended

Answer 2 about gas and bloating-
Bloating and acid can be caused by any kind of food. In most of the cases, it's fatty foods which cause these symptoms. Any food whether it's fat or protein or complex carbohydrate when can not be properly digested, releases large amount of gases like hydrogen, methane, carbon dioxide which causes burping. I would suggest you not to worry too much.
Take a proton pump inhibitor like Esomeprazole 40 mg twice daily along with a prokinetic drug (eg.Domperidone) for 10 days. Antacid like Pepto bismol can be taken for few days along with it.
Any over counter probiotic should be taken for few days to provide relief in symptoms of indigestion.

Apart from this, some dietary restrictions are to be followed-

- Avoid alcohol or smoking.
- No aerated beverages.
- Take light non spicy easily digestible food for few days.
- No Fast food like pizza or burger should be taken.
- Drink a cup of cold milk daily.
- Avoid fatty foods.

I hope this is helpful and answers your questions but please feel free to reply in case any more clarification is needed on this.

I wish you a great day ahead.

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Brief Answer:
follow up.

Detailed Answer:
Hello again dear,
Hypothyroidism is one of the major cause of weight gain in patients.
It should be corrected immediately by using external thyroxine tablets.

Thanks!

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