Don't know what to do

[CristianD]

Hello all. My name is Cristian, and i'm a 30 year old male from Europe. During the Christmas/New Year holidays i had some really bad painful cramps for 2 days ( after a late meal ) followed by stool covered with some blood. It happened 2 times. I've never had any problems with the colon or any gastro-intestinal issues my entire life. My mother has proctitis with occasional flare-ups, but other than that i don't have any diseases in my family either.
Obviously i panicked and i began doing tests. I had an abdominal ultrasound, blood tests and calprotectin.
The ultrasound was ok, nothing showed up as unusual.
The blood tests and calprotectin were done about 2 weeks after i had a really bad cold, when i had to take Augmentin ( with probiotics ).
Everything was ok with the blood tests, except for neutrophils which were lower - 1.82 *10^3/μl ( total number ) and the percentage showed 34.9%. Also eusinophils were high ( 17% ) but i assume it's because i have asthma and rhinitis. I assume Augmentin affected the neutrophil level, even after about 2 weeks after i've stopped taking it.
Calprotectin was below 50.
My question is, given the lower neutrophils, the antibiotic and probiotic intake, 2 weeks prior to the calprotectin test, do you think the <50 result was accurate? Could the antibiotics and probiotics affect calprotectin levels?
Thank you so much for reading and i would REALLY appreciate any advice on this. I'm really freaking out about the possibility of dangerous stuff.

 

[ronroush7]

I am not sure of the answer but you might ask them if they would repeat the tests.

 

[Honey]

Hi there, and welcome. Your Calprotectin test results are normal : 200. + for anyone with Crohns disease. Test resuts are only affected if antibiotics are taken with less than two week interval. I hope all goes well for you and you feel better soon. Do not worry. Speak to your Doctor about your concerns.
:rosette1::welcome::rosette1:

 

[Lady Organic]

if the episode happened 2 months ago, lasted only 2 days, and since then you have no more symptoms, no blood, no mucus (whitish substance on stools)no cramps no diarrhea, I would not worry. If you ever have symptoms again, you could ask to repeat calprotectine test. I think you are in good position, but of course, I am no doctor, good luck!

 

[cmack]

I am not sure of the answer but you might ask them if they would repeat the tests.

Same here.

 

[CristianD]

Guys, the reason i went paranoid about this whole antiobitics-probiotics-calprotectin connection is because i read on solvediagnostics website ( a lab):
that "It is recommended that patients refrain from taking probiotic supplements for 14 days and antibiotics for 28 days prior to sample collection or as directed by the healthcare provider "
And i think Augmentin clearly affected me since neutrophils were lower. If neutrophils were lower than calprotectin probably was lower too because it's a neutrophil protein.
What do you think about this?

 

[eleanor_rigby]

I think you can forget about this incident and chalk it off as a one-off. However if it anything happens again like blood or severe cramps then I would request a colonoscopy. 200+ for a calproctectin positive for Crohn's is not correct. Mine was 65 at diagnosis where ulcers were found on a colonoscopy in my ileum. Some labs use different reference points but from what you said the labs that examined your stool used the reference of 50 and above to indicate a problem.

 

[CristianD]

@eleanor_rigby, the calprotectin level was <50. I'm really worried it wasn't correct though, because of the previous antibiotics and probiotics i took. I'm waiting 2 weeks and then i'm gonna do the calprotectin again

 

[eleanor_rigby]

Yeah so your lab was using the reference point of 50 and therefore your result was normal. The calproctectin is a useful test and I think you can probably relax that this is a one off. You can be rest assured if you have Crohn's disease it will present itself. Your best bet is a wait and see approach and if you get severe cramps again then you really need to get a colonoscopy, which is the gold standard in diagnosing Crohn's. A calproctectin test can only tell you so much, or in my case told me very little at all.

 

[cmack]

A colonoscopy isn't really all that accurate of a predictor for IBD/Crohn's as it can hide anywhere between the mouth and anus. It is very useful, but I had negative results during my worst flare ever. I don't know about the calproctectin test though.

Just my thoughts

 

[eleanor_rigby]

A colonoscopy isn't really all that accurate of a predictor for IBD/Crohn's as it can hide anywhere between the mouth and anus. It is very useful, but I had negative results during my worst flare ever. I don't know about the calproctectin test though.

Just my thoughts

A colonoscopy is very useful if someone has Crohn's in their colon or distal terminal ileum - the most common locations for Crohn's to be. This is why it is considered the "gold standard" diagnostic test for diagnosing Crohn's. But yes, less commonly Crohn's can manifest in other areas of the digestive system not accessed by a colonoscopy or upper endoscopy such as the jejunum and other tests would be needed.

 

[CristianD]

Today i ate a pizza and 30 minutes after i had cramps again.... last week i ate some chicken from KFC and again i had cramps..

 

[my little penguin]

Higher fat foods encourage the intestine to move (cramp) for some folks
Have you tried eating lower fat foods
Well Cooked veggies lean meats /fish

 

[eleanor_rigby]

Today i ate a pizza and 30 minutes after i had cramps again.... last week i ate some chicken from KFC and again i had cramps..

Can you describe the cramps in detail?

 

[CristianD]

@Eleanor_rigby, they're like a pressure bellow the belly button, a gas accumulation. I took an activated charcoal and Trimebutine, and now ( after about 4 hours ) they're gone. BUT, after that episode from the holidays i'm more "sensitive", it's like i get cramps much more easy. Not like those cramps that lead to blood over the stool, but still, they're annoying. I know KFC and pizza is bad but you know.. from time to time i do like to eat some of that. I would've taken some probiotics too ( because they do help, A LOT ), but i didn't since i want to test the calprotectin 2 weeks from now on and i want to respect that term of 14 days with no probiotics prior to the test.

 

[eleanor_rigby]

OK, I would probably go down the colonoscopy route given you have had a few episodes, your mum has proctitis and you seem very worried.