Need help, what to think with these results??

[cg1326]

Hey everyone,

I have not been diagnosed and I'm currently trying to get to the bottom of all my symptoms. Starting about 2-3 months ago, I was suffering a lot of stress due to family issues and subsequently started to get bouts of diarrhea and severe abdominal bloating particularly after meals. I'm on Align probiotic for the past month with some improvement, I've tried peppermint tea and eating smaller meals, and I'm currently trying a form of traditional chinese medicine.

I had bloodwork done which showed some low mch and mchc-though I've had these consistently low for many years now, and normal iron/ferritin levels. My CRP was 0.4 last time (rr 0-4.9) I tested two weeks ago while still having symptoms, though I tested with a slightly elevated gasca level. My WBC, RBC are normal and I had a small bowel MRE done that came out clear. I'm not experiencing any weight loss, but feeling full more easily now for some reason even if I hadn't eaten a lot. I occasionally get mild pain in the upper/stomach area after eating and it feels like there's a lot of gas/gurgling or something moving around all the way from my stomach to intestines. This is one of my main symptoms-the incredible bloating/trapped gas in lower abdomen.

I'm not seeing any blood in the stool but sometimes with a solid BM there's some white stringy mucous on the end. Not sure what to make of all of this...

My GI wants me to do a gastric emptying scan to test for gastroparesis, I'm not sure I want to do more invasive testing like colonoscopy until I am more certain about what's going on. Should I ask for a fecal calprotein test? What other noninvasive testing methods do you recommend? Sorry for so many questions but does the clear MRE and CRP level indicate less of crohn's and more towards ibs? :sign0085:

 

[ronroush7]

Yes, I would ask about a fecal calprotectin. If it shows inflammation, I would move towards a colonoscopy.

 

[lgpcarter]

I agree with ronroush7. Not everyone gets elevated CRP with Crohn's, though I think it is a pretty reliable indicator. With that and the clear MRE, I would lean toward IBS rather than IBD, but worth trying to definitely rule out IBD, I think.

 

[my little penguin]

Ds has gastroparesis and has had the gastric emptying test
I would follow your doctors recommendations and get that test first
Gp can cause a host of problems and once you get those results and treat it if necessary see where your at and what further testing you want to do at that point

Tagging maya142

 

[Maya142]

A gastric emptying test is pretty easy. You eat a meal (usually eggs) that has a radioactive tracer in it and then they take pictures for 4 hours or so. If more than 10% of the meal is left in your stomach at 4 hours, then you have Gastroparesis.

Bloating after meals is common in Gastroparesis. So is nausea and fullness after meals. My daughter would only take a couple of bites of her food and then would be very full and nauseous. Abdominal pain is also common.

It does sound like you have many of the symptoms of GP so it's worth trying the test.