Feacal calprotectin test

[hainman]

so for the last month or more ive been having major D at night time,more than day time anyway to the degree that i have hardly slept at night,we have a downstair loo and i would wake up and have to run down stairs nearly falling over shoe's and what not to get there before the dreaded follow through,i went to the GI and he done the FC test and said to me the results were showing no inlamation but nowing that i was sh***** every hour when i went to bed to the degree it was just liquid and blood i knew something was wrong,they ordered another test and when i went for results he looks at me and says" to be honest i am totaly baffled by your results,the 1st was at 42 and the 2nd was at 8500,he says i've never seen anything like this in all my days,so i had to do ANOTHER test to determine to what result was wrong,so im waiting on the results and MRI scan,
Has anyone else had strange test results like these happen and what was the final answer????one minute he says they want to operate and remove my bowel as its on its last legs and now saying its fine and we wont remove if no infection,but the way im requenting the loo i know something is a bit "pete tong" but just dont know what yet,just hoping its not bowel cancer...
thanks for any help you can give

CRAIG

 

[Johnnysmom]

My son just had the fecal cal test for the first time. His was 586, with 50 and below being normal. The dr. doesn't like seeing anything above 300. I read that NSAID's and stomach viruses can effect the results. Have you taken a lot of advil lately or any other pain meds? Been ill with a stomach bug? I am also not sure if C diff would make it go off the charts like that either. I do know that 8500 is extremely high. I have heard of it fluctuating from one month to another so they do like to get more than one off test before they make any major changes. I would think they would order a scope before doing surgery. My son's dr. said if they found one way off they would probably order a scope for him.

Good luck, sorry I can't be more help. I will let you know when the nurse calls me back tomorrow if I have learned anything new. Please keep us posted.

 

[hainman]

hi johnnysmom,
thanks for replying,im not really 100% up with what these test results imply as the GI is a bit puzzled,he said a few things could be going on like a gastro bug or something but if that was the case the D would have been all day and not just at bed time,the other theory is maybe a fisutla thats causing the D,to be honest im kinda puzzled to,just got to wait for the result of the next test and then see what happens and im still waiting for my MRI scan to see if they spot anything that way,sorry not to sure what advil is,im in the uk so might be something they give out over the pond lol.
i hope the wee mans tests go well,take care craig

 

[Ckt]

Hi Craig!advil in the states is ibuprofen or buphen across the pond any of the
NSAIDs (non steroidal anti inflammatory drugs) are bad bad for IBD..this includes aspirin. I have been known to sneak a dose or two to get me through a bad night but otherwise I stay clear! I have crohns but I believe it would be the same for uc..

 

[jussip]

I managed to drop f-calpro value to 97 from ~300 with quitting wheat & alcohol & tobacco and moving to paleo diet.

 

[723crossroads]

so for the last month or more ive been having major D at night time,more than day time anyway to the degree that i have hardly slept at night,we have a downstair loo and i would wake up and have to run down stairs nearly falling over shoe's and what not to get there before the dreaded follow through,i went to the GI and he done the FC test and said to me the results were showing no inlamation but nowing that i was sh***** every hour when i went to bed to the degree it was just liquid and blood i knew something was wrong,they ordered another test and when i went for results he looks at me and says" to be honest i am totaly baffled by your results,the 1st was at 42 and the 2nd was at 8500,he says i've never seen anything like this in all my days,so i had to do ANOTHER test to determine to what result was wrong,so im waiting on the results and MRI scan,
Has anyone else had strange test results like these happen and what was the final answer????one minute he says they want to operate and remove my bowel as its on its last legs and now saying its fine and we wont remove if no infection,but the way im requenting the loo i know something is a bit "pete tong" but just dont know what yet,just hoping its not bowel cancer...
thanks for any help you can give

CRAIG

Sounds to me like somebody mixed up the tests!! I would go get a 2nd Dr. opinion before I would let them remove anything. Of course see what the MRI shows. Keep us posted as to what happens! Hoping the best results happen!

 

[hainman]

hi CKT,i got you now,no i dont use ibrufen as i was told to stear well clear but take paracetamol when i have headaches but thats about it,still waiting for the latest test results to comfirm whether the 1st or 2nd test was false or if i was just in a bad gastro flu type thing but the way my symptoms were i doubt it was gastro as i was fine during the day,maybe every 3-4 hours or less but when i went to sleep i was every hour or less so it was bizzare.its kindas passed now as im only up twice a night now

 

[hainman]

hi 723 crossroads,that is what the GI and nurse think,the look of bewilderment when they looked at the results was quite amazing

 

[723crossroads]

hi 723 crossroads,that is what the GI and nurse think,the look of bewilderment when they looked at the results was quite amazing

Yes I do believe they mixed up the tests. Also you mentioned headaches. Do you get them alot because I sure do. Wondered if it's crohn's. Dr. says no but I had a catscan and it was fine for headaches.:shifty:

 

[hainman]

hey 723 i get them most days but think its mostly down to de-hydration or just the strain it put on my body going to the loo so often,i had CT scan a while back to and was clear,it never rains but it pours with this feckin illness.

 

[Ckt]

LOL!this fecking disease is right!! I'm glad you're getting attended to..frustrating when those tests show everything is either crazy or 'normal'..I deal with that a lot!

 

[Aussie]

Hi Hainman, that second calprotectin is quite concerning, would expect quite a severe colitis to get to that level. The MRI would likely be an MR enterography (test to look at the small bowel). Very surprised you haven't had a colonoscopy with 4 or more weeks of bloody diarrhoea.

Also, this isn't the way a bowel cancer would present, and the calprotectin wouldn't usually get above 300 or so in that case.

 

[hainman]

hi aussie,
im totaly lost,the specialist not having answers,having been told a month ago i was waiting for mri only to phone them this week and be told "oh i only received the request for appointment last week"
they were thinking,gastro like flu,bug or false test but done another test but havnt been told the results to that yet either,also want to check for a fistula incase that causing the aggressive D.so many questions,very little answers.
thanks for your response,

 

[Aussie]

Hi Hainman, does sound a little strange. There are a few causes of bloody diarrhoea, all of them will elevate your calprotectin. Tell me, have you had a colonoscopy yet? If not, I'd be surprised because that's where the money is so to speak, rather than worrying about an MRI yet.

 

[hainman]

hey aussie,not had a colonoscopy since last year.i would have thought one would have been ordered but they choose to request an MRI instead,
got to see a gp yesterday and he gave me the 3rd test results which were 3500 there abouts,so something is def wrong but its getting lower from the 8000 test so feck knows where i go from here as ive had no contact for nearly 3 weeks,
useless f***ers......

 

[highlandsrock]

I had a calprotectin test back in April that showed everything ok but I had had some episodes of passing a horrible black liquid which I assumed was dried blood. That started in October last year and happened a couple of times. At the end of May this year I was rushed into hospital vomitting blood. The subsequent investigations showed Portal Vein Thrombosis and aesophageal varices. I did some research into PVT and Crohn's and it appears to be a rare side effect of the disease. Unfortunately it doesn't appear to have a very good outcome. Another reason to hate Crohn's! I'm seeing a liver specialist next Monday so will have a lot of questions to ask.

 

[Swampy]

I had a re-section a number of years ago and all was well for a few weeks, without any meds, until the big D started again. My specialist asked me to trial Cholestagel (Colesevelam) of which I was to take between 1 and 6 tablets a day directly after a meal (spread out or in one go). Although they are normally taken to lower cholesterol he said it was to try and stabilise my liver bile post-op. It had a fantastic effect on my stomach for a number of years until very recently when the D started extremely bad again. I had the usual MRI/CT/Faecal Count/Endoscopy which all thankfully just showed I had active CD again - due to stress unfortunately which had caused my CD to escalate again, so put back on Entocort. The 2 combined have had a great effect on me - I still get the urgent calls but no-where near as often and most of the time things are 'firm' and I am only up once in the night. Personally I would try tablets before an op unless it is extremely severe (I had 1 severe stricture, which was removed, and have 2 slight strictures left). With regards the headaches, try getting into the habit of having a glass of water after each toilet visit (just enought to replenish your body) - If i've had a particularly bad day I drink flat, very cheap, lemonade (put a tiddly bit of sugar into the lemonade to get rid of the bubbles quicker) - It works an absolute treat for me.

 

[723crossroads]

I had a re-section a number of years ago and all was well for a few weeks, without any meds, until the big D started again. My specialist asked me to trial Cholestagel (Colesevelam) of which I was to take between 1 and 6 tablets a day directly after a meal (spread out or in one go). Although they are normally taken to lower cholesterol he said it was to try and stabilise my liver bile post-op. It had a fantastic effect on my stomach for a number of years until very recently when the D started extremely bad again. I had the usual MRI/CT/Faecal Count/Endoscopy which all thankfully just showed I had active CD again - due to stress unfortunately which had caused my CD to escalate again, so put back on Entocort. The 2 combined have had a great effect on me - I still get the urgent calls but no-where near as often and most of the time things are 'firm' and I am only up once in the night. Personally I would try tablets before an op unless it is extremely severe (I had 1 severe stricture, which was removed, and have 2 slight strictures left). With regards the headaches, try getting into the habit of having a glass of water after each toilet visit (just enought to replenish your body) - If i've had a particularly bad day I drink flat, very cheap, lemonade (put a tiddly bit of sugar into the lemonade to get rid of the bubbles quicker) - It works an absolute treat for me.

It's called cholestyramine here and I take it in the powder form. You mix it with water or juice. Works fantastic to get rid of D. I even wrote about it on a special thread here on the forum. So far,this year, it's all I'm using besides the D3, B12, Fish oil etc...Hope others will try it too:rosette1: