Inflammation question??

[Ihurt]

I have been lurking around on this message forum for a few years now. I started having issues probably about 4 years ago or so. My symptoms were odd when they first started ( just awful intestinal pain) yet still had normal BM's. I had tests done( MRE, CT scan, colonoscopy, blood work, stool samples) all normal at the time. Now for the last moth I have had other symptoms ( pain and stool changes). I have always been a once a day pooper and still am so far. My stool though has not been normal( it is always very soft in pieces or pudding like and icky, like it takes a lot of wiping to get clean). I also have IC of the bladder and am Very prone to getting UTI's. I have to literally bottle wash AND shower after every BM, so thank God I am only pooping once a day so far. My GI doc keeps saying IBS. Well a couple weeks ago I asked my primary care doctor to do some stool testing for me. I asked her to check my calprotectin level and it was elevated( normal is anything under 162, mine level was 348.5). I am seeing my GI doc this week and plan on discussing it with him. I am so worried over this. I mean my stool cultures did not show any infection or parasites. Does this mean I Have IBD of some sort??? Can anything else cause inflammation in my intestines besides IBD? I did take a medication that contained Phenyl Salicylate which is an NSAID type med, however I was not even taking the recommended dose of 4 caps a day. I was taking literally 1 cap to only 1/2 cap a day. I thought maybe this is what was causing the inflammation, but I stopped taking this medication almost a month before having the calprotectin test. Wouldn't the inflammation of gone away in that months time if it were actually caused by this medication??

I am not sure what to think. I mean I Had a colonoscopy less than 2 years ago that was completely normal as were the biopsies. I had an MRE of small bowel like three years ago and it was normal. I by the way will never have this test again. I had such an awful experience with it. I had a nasty reaction to the drink they give you ( it is full of artificial sugars which I cannot tolerate at all, I am allergic to them and they really inflamed my IC bladder). I also will Never get another Glucagon shot. That messed up my kidneys and caused me kidney pain for days afterwards. I know they have the pill cam but I hear this is not very reliable either.

In any event, I guess my main question is; what else can cause calprotectin levels in the stool to be elevated? They pretty much ruled out infections and parasites. I am already Gluten free for last 8 years though I do not have celiac, I am just gluten sensitive. I wonder if food allergies can cause intestinal inflammation? Also I have taken Gabapentin for my IC bladder pain and wonder if that could be causing it? I just don't know what to think.

 

[fuzzy butterfly]

Hi I would say ask your doc to run tests for crohns disease, as it sounds like it may possible thats what you have, bear in mind that some tests can show up negative even when you have the disease :yrolleyes:, hope you get sorted real soon, best wishes..

 

[Clash]

A stool test wouldn't necessarily rule out a bacterial infection nor can it rule out the fact that the July 6th diarrhea episode was caused by a passing viral infection. Since it can take some time for the calprotectin levels to return to normal it is possible you had some type of infection viral or bacterial that caused inflammation. Of course, the GI will be able to address these issues as well as any tests that may be warranted due to the result.

 

[Ihurt]

Thanks for the replies.

Clash: I thought about that July 6th episode of Watery diarrhea being a virus, but it did not act like a virus. I mean I only went once that day. Then for the next few days my poops were just gross soft and in pieces. Then I ate a little oatmeal and got a bout of the water diarrhea again the next morning. So it has been ongoing since, meaning my poops are always soft now and do not look like normal. They are always very light in color( like coffee with cream in it color) and always on the soft side. I have altered my diet extremely( and believe me, my diet was already very limited due to my IC). I am a bit upset because I have had to add white rice back to my diet( I was avoiding grains as much as possible before because they are inflammatory). Well now I have like 9 things I can eat and that is it ( gluten free pancakes, a banana, Organic unsweetened applesauce, Organic Plain white rice, plain tuna, chicken breast roasted, and very soft cooked greenbeans. Oh and an occasional Gluten free vanilla cookie. That is my diet. I have taken out most all fats and dairy. The only oil I use is olive oil and I only use that on my roasted chicken breast. I know this is not an ideal diet to stay on( I am definitely under 1000 calories a day) but I just am afraid to eat other stuff. I even gave up white potatoes as I thought they may have been bothering me. I just added sweet potatoes and organic butternut squash cooked very soft to my diet and seem ok so far with them. I drink only water or marshmallow root tea which is good for inflammation.

Here is the thing, I am SUPER sensitive to medications of any kind and have multiple chemical sensitivities. I really pray I do not get a diagnosis of Crohns as there is no way I would ever tolerate Any of the medications the use to treat it. My GI doc knows this as well. I would not even feel good about taking some of the meds( my immune system is already compromised) I do not want to cause any worse immune deficiency than I already have. I would probably have to try and treat it naturally if that is possible. I mean you are talking to a person that cannot tolerate even simple Tylenol. I get adverse reactions and allergic reactions to everything I take. This worries me too.