Sometimes blood in the sputum after getting up
Hello,
I am really at my wit's end. I have the problem that sometimes in the morning, when I get up, I have blood in my sputum. This also happens very rarely during the day, when I suddenly have a taste of blood in my mouth and then there is blood. I have been to the general practitioner and he has sent me for lung X-rays twice since I have had this problem for a while. Both times, the lungs were X-rayed on both sides and there are no abnormalities. The first time was in January 2015 and the next time was in early 2016, both times without any findings. The doctor also said that it is unlikely to come from the lungs because the blood is suddenly there without coughing or anything. He said it would be atypical for the lungs to have blood without coughing, especially since other symptoms should have appeared after over a year between the X-rays. I have also been to the ENT doctor three times and he cannot find anything either. I then went to the dentist and had him take a look, but he also cannot find where the bleeding is coming from. When I had the problem again today, I tried to find it with a cotton swab in my mouth, but unfortunately I found nothing.
I asked my general practitioner if it could come from the stomach, but he said I would have to vomit it up, which I don't do. Also, the blood would have to be more tar-like/coffee-like and my stool would have to be changed, which is not the case. I also have no complaints when swallowing or anything else.
I have now considered whether it could possibly come from the esophagus? I do occasionally have problems with heartburn, but shouldn't the blood end up in the stomach if it comes from there? As I said, I don't vomit anything up or cough, it is suddenly there and independent of the heartburn. Also, it is not clear to me how the blood from the esophagus could simply get into the mouth without gagging, vomiting, or anything else. Also, my general practitioner thinks that after over two years I should have had some complaints with the stomach/intestines if it should be exclusively the esophagus, because then blood should also reach the stomach/intestines.
The ENT doctor also said that it could well be that blood flows from the nose into the mouth/throat while lying down, which he may not necessarily see after a few days. The same goes for the dentist. He also said that it is quite possible that the gums bleed for some reason at night and the blood ends up in the mouth. Ultimately, this is all very unsatisfactory. Therefore, I am asking if you have any ideas where it could be coming from?
Here is the checklist again:
Age: 33
Symptoms since: April 2014
Frequency: Sometimes four weeks without anything at all and then three days in a row.
Weight: Normal as always
Blood count: Normal
EKG: Normal
Condition: Fit and no complaints (except for the described one)
X-rayed: Yes, twice and luckily nothing found
ENT: Cannot find anything
Dentist: Cannot find anything
Medications: I do not take blood thinners
So could it possibly be the esophagus or do I not need to worry about it? When you enter this into Google, it always comes up with vomiting or esophageal cancer. I don't vomit, as I said, and the latter naturally scares me thanks to Google, but at 33 years old and after 2 years of "symptoms," I think esophageal cancer would look different, right? Otherwise, I would be grateful for any advice on where it could still be coming from.
