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[Camjo06]

 Hi everyone,
I hope you all had a lovely Christmas.
The Wednesday before Christmas I had a call from my GP to say my FIT test had come back with traces of blood in my stool - to say I’m spiralling is an understatement. I suffer with constipation but I’ve never had any noticeable traces of blood that I could see. My main symptom is an ache up in my bottom and I do suffer with lower back ache and pelvic cramps. I had an ultrasound and bloods which were all fine but I am worried sick.
To top it off I have missed my first ever period this month (non pregnancy related). Without the FIT test result I would have just shrugged this off as menopause related but now I’m so worried it’s because I have something sinister going on.
Anyone had an abnormal FIT test and the follow on tests been reassuring?

[Taz2]

Hi Camjo. Sorry to hear that you have had a positive result but apparently 10 to 15% of tests return a positive result and out of these 96% are found to be negative on investigation. Was this the standard test or because you have symptoms your doctor was worried about?

Taz x

[Penguin]

I have been through this. If you are constipated this could have caused the trace blood if you have piles inside.
Low estrogen can cause constipation, it was one of the things that stood out for me.
I had the 2WW colonoscopy and it came back with polyps. I didnt have visible blood either. Polyps are very common, 1 in 4 people in middle age onwards have them. Some have potential to develop into something (over a long period of time), others are just overgrowth of normap bowel tissue. Both types are very easy to remove. I had mine removed during the colonoscopy and a follow up colonoscopy the next year and all was fine.
There are so many things it can be other than something sinister, please be assured of that.
Are you drinking enough water and eating enough fibre?
Ask as many questions as you want, there are loads of women on here who have been through this and come out the other side! Very very few (I think only 2 from all my searching on here) had anything really wrong. Most were polyps, diverticulitis, inflammatory bowel etc. Believe me, I searched and searched when my test came back elevated!!
Also with the scan and bloods, pretty sure they'd have done CA125 test and therefore ruled out anything ovarian, so don't let your mind go down that route.

[Camjo06]

Thank you so much for your replies!
The doctor examined me and couldn’t see any piles or tears so referred me for a FIT test as a precaution. I was shocked when the results came back positive. My GP was very reassuring and said the traces are low and they would be checking for piles or fissures further up but obviously any blood in the results is worrying and my brain went into overdrive. The waiting is just awful, I don’t know if a two week referral is standard for this type of test or if the GP decides if it’s urgent or not based on the result - I should have asked really but couldn’t wait to get off the phone. I haven’t heard anything yet but with Christmas I’m assuming there will be a slight delay. X

[Penguin]

Thank you so much for your replies!
The doctor examined me and couldn’t see any piles or tears so referred me for a FIT test as a precaution. I was shocked when the results came back positive. My GP was very reassuring and said the traces are low and they would be checking for piles or fissures further up but obviously any blood in the results is worrying and my brain went into overdrive. The waiting is just awful, I don’t know if a two week referral is standard for this type of test or if the GP decides if it’s urgent or not based on the result - I should have asked really but couldn’t wait to get off the phone. I haven’t heard anything yet but with Christmas I’m assuming there will be a slight delay. X

A 2 week referral is definitely standard for a positive FIT test. Also the threshold for a positive is much lower when requested by GP than during routine bowel screening. If the GP asks for the FIT test (because of symptoms) then anything over 20 is a referral on 2WW. Whereas on the routine bowel screening programme, it has to be over 120 for a 2 week referral. That's because they know the likelihood of it being something sinister with a result below 120 is very very small. Mine was 23.5 and I still freaked out though,  i think it is natural to be worried. The lower it is however, the more likely it is to be something innocent. But on the converse, inflammatory bowel conditions (like colitis etc) also often have really high results too, so it isn't just sinister things that are high. Either way, be glad yours is low!
GP can only check rectum but you could have piles beyond where their finger can reach. My husband has some that go up and down and can't always be felt.