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[BeckyA]

Hi.
Last year I had diahrea, blood in stool and stomach cramps. I had blood tests which came back clear and a stool sample test which showed I had bleeding and said there was a high enzyme count or something which showed inflammatory bowel disease. I've since had a flexible sigmoidoscopy of the lower colon and biopsy which came back clear.
I'm just a bit confused why the sigmoidoscopy came back clear but the stool test said I had inflammatory bowel disease. could I still have Crohn's in small intestine or higher part of colon even though biopsy came back clear?
I've been reading online and says b12 deficiency is extremely common with Crohn's in small intestine and I have b12 injections.

I'm not seeing specialist again for another couple of months, but I want answers. Can you help?

Thanks, Becky

 

[Clash]

A sigmoidoscopy isn't very helpful when determining Crohn's disease because it only sees the last portion of the colon. Since CD can occur anywhere from mouth to anus then the majority of missed with a sigmoidoscopy. The biopsy would only determine if there was active disease in the spot it was taken from.

A colonoscopy upper endoscopy and imaging of some type would be ideal as that would allow investigation of the GI tract.

A non invasive test that can be helpful in determining if there is inflammation in your bowels is a fecal calprotectin stool test. It can't determine the cause of inflammation since more things than IBD can cause inflammation of the bowels but can help the GI to see that further testing is warranted.

 

[BeckyA]

Yeah I had a stool test results showed I had IBD but needed further tests to determine if it was Crohn's or ulcerated colitis but the specialist only sent me for the flexi for some reason.
So the biopsy from the lower part of the colon only rules out IBD in that area then? So I could still have Crohn's else where?

Thanks for your post.

 

[DEmberton]

Seems you were a bit short changed and should have had the full colonoscopy to see all the large bowel. But that can only peek into the end of the small bowel, the Terminal Ileum which happens to be the most common place for Crohns and also where B12 is absorbed. So the fact you've had low B12 suggests your problem may be there.

They may want to do an MRI or CT Scan to have a better look.

 

[fuzzy butterfly]

Hi ye i agree with DE. Mine was in the ileum . Colonoscopy clear clean as a whistle. Scan found my crohns after doc sent me to hospital after a home visit (to sick to move off the sofa). So see if you can have a scan or a pill cam . Best wishes hugs

 

[Jennifer]

Hi BeckyA and welcome to the forum!

Definitely need a colonoscopy. I imagine the reason why they only did the sigmoid was because of the bright red blood which tends to come from the lower portion of the bowel but you can have bright red blood loss from much higher up. I had bright red and not dark black (common from higher up) blood loss from my terminal ileum and also get B12 injections. If you're still having blood loss then call your doctor and request a sooner appointment so you can get appropriate testing done to get a diagnosis and get treatment sooner. The Low Residue diet may help to with some of your systems until then. If you're already on a low residue diet then you may want to consider a liquid diet.

Good luck and keep us posted.