11:38am September 19, 2013

Important things to know that apparently doctors don’t all know.

This is specifically if you have a g tube that you drain sometimes.

Some doctors will tell you that all blood in the stomach looks like coffee grounds.

That’s not true. At all.

Blood in the stomach CAN look like coffee grounds if it has had time to sit.

But fresh stomach blood coming out of a g tube does not always look like coffee grounds.

It can also look like red stuff swirling through the bile. Or small clot like things. Or just plain blood.

One doctor actually told me that something about bile made blood “instantly” turn into something that looked like coffee grounds.

Having seen fresh blood going into bile, that’s not true.  First it looks like blood. Or like swirly red stuff in the bile. Then it sort of congeals together into a clump. I’ve never watched fresh blood sit around in bile long enough to turn into coffee grounds and I’ve seen it sit there for a couple hours. Nothing instant about it. 

So if you are getting red stuff coming out your g tube. Or little red clot-like things. Or pink stuff. That’s blood.

Unless you’re eating something red. 
Apparently none of these doctors have actually sat around watching what blood and bile look like on a regular basis.

(But then doctors are not usually involved in that level of medical care. That would be nurses, LNAs, patients, and caregivers.)

Signed, someone who’s had a very mild stomach bleed for months, and by this point knows a LOT about what stomach blood can look like

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