I've posted on here before about what's been going on with me. It seems to be one thing after another and everything is just getting worse.

I have a severe iron deficiency. My hemoglobin is below 10 and my ferritin is 5. Slightly low hemoglobin is normal for me, but it's due to thalassemia. My ferritin has never (to my knowledge) been that low. I also have a history of gallstones and GERD. Been on Nexium for the last year.

I went to the GI doctor today. She is definitely worried about the iron. I'm scheduled for a colonoscopy on 4/18 and a endoscopy on 4/25. I'm terrified. I'm scared to be sedated, I'm scared of the results. I'm so sure I have some sort of cancer that's causing all of this. I'm 27 with two young children and I just want to cry every time I look at them.


This might be TMI, but:
In the last few weeks (seems to have started after starting iron supplements) I've had loose stools, dark stools, food goes right through me, mucus that seems to have a little bit of a reddish tint, tiny black specs, and a couple of times there was a red color coming off the stool in the toilet water. This kind of stuff hasn't happened before, and now I'm freaking out because all of these things point to cancer. After I told the GI doctor all of this, she agreed she thinks I am seeing blood and that the source of my iron deficiency is most likely a problem in my GI tract. I really feel totally doomed right now. Anyone have any success stories with this kind of thing?