Black and tarry stool -- is there a benign cause??

Let me explain something first--even though these are red flags, my GP is out for the rest of the day and will be in tomorrow morning. Of course I'll go see him. But right now I really want to hear a professional assessment of my condition:

So yesterday I had a relatively normal bowel movement. But then at the end I strained a bit to get a couple other pieces out. They looked black and tarry, and when I used a glove to pick them up, they "mashed up" into a red looking substance--possibly blood, I thought. Okay. Not a good sign. Let's see what else happens. This morning I had another bowel movement (felt constipated), and the whole stool was black and tarry. Bad sign. I called my doctor, he claimed that straining can cause blood in the stools.

Let me go over a few other circumstances:
-The day before yesterday, I had barely eaten anything. Whether this was laziness or loss of appetite, I can't say. All I can say is that I was very involved in watching Battlestar Galactica and being concerned about my health. The day prior, my appetite was completely normal.
-Yesterday all I had to eat was a bit of pulled pork in the afternoon and some chocolate-dough chocolate chip cookies. The rest of the day was a 14 hour drive from NY to MO.
-Last Thursday I got super wasted, threw up, and didn't form new memories after some point.
-Besides that, my stomach has felt relatively normal, except for a dull ache reminiscent of hunger.
-I JUST ate a bowl of honey nut cheerios without incident. No pain experienced while eating, or even after eating.

I'm really scared right now, because for 10 of the past 12 months I've had this anxiety disorder, I've become OCD about my poop, going through every false alarm about what could possibly be wrong with it, and yesterday the very red flag symptom I had been fearing came true. I'm not sure what to do but wait until tomorrow when my doctor is in

Hi there, yes its always best to talk to your doctor about these things, but to be honest, what you describe with your stools and constipation sounds like its down to your diet, as in the lack of what you eat...you don't seem to eat much, and having no fibre can make it hard to pass a motion. Also, what you drink can affect the colour and consistancy of your stools too, as in red wine or dark beer can make the stools much darker and harder to pass. But yes, wait and see what the doctor says.

Anna

Hello :)

Can I be blunt and ask if you are getting any kind of psychological help for your HA?

I have read through a couple of your posts, you have had lots of advice on this issue including advice from a retired MD who has told you there is no cause for concern..I assume you have spoken about this to your own GP before?

Why are you still checking your own stools by hand? It really isn't giving you any kind of reassurance is it?

I would suggest waiting to see your GP and discussing the whole matter with him/her tomorrow to see what is recommended but if you aren't seeing anyone already, perhaps discuss getting some CBT or something similar because it must be soul destroying going through this every day.

I must just add something, hope it doesn't offend..:blush:

RLR the retired doc gives advice here on a voluntary basis from time to time. There is nobody here who is qualified to give you professional advice about your condition, although the kind peeps of NMP can try and advise and reassure you, bottom line is you must go to your GP for a professional consultation.

I hope all goes well for you :flowers:

if this prblem is on going then you should see your doctor ,,