High Calprotectin, colonoscopy found polyps?

Tests and investigations
1

I am new here, and need advice . 

After years of constipation, pain in lower right side , and blood in stools,

i became bed bound after a rapid decline in health. I am extremely active and found my ferritin level was at 6.

i had iron infusions and saw a naturopath who gave me a calprotectin test it came  back at 500.

my Doctor did not know what this was, and was having trouble diagnosing me 

I also have slightly high white count, ALT, and chloride , but nothing too far out of range . 

Very confused , tired, dizzy. And my eyesight is very poor. 

I had my Colonoscopy yesterday and whil emy naturopath has told me I had Crohns, Ulcerative Bowel , or Bowel Cancer, they found and removed two polyps, and I still have the pain. 

They have sent them for biopsy.

Where do I go from here?

Are Calprotectin tests positive for other reasons ?

 

2

Hospital will call you and will read you the results.

It may take a week or so.

3

Hi Ruby

I've had much the same problems as you for the last 3 years. I was very active and able to live a normal life, then one day at work I got a pain in the centre of my back, which progressively got worse. Went to the doctors and was initially diagnosed with a popped disc, for which I was told to rest. After a week there was no improvement with the back pain, so was referred to see a physiotherapist, however each appointment was hopeless as the pain in my back was stopping me from being able to do exercises the physio asked me to do. One appointment, the physio told me to get my doctor to prescribe Naproxen to alleviate the pain and allow me to start being able to do the physio exercises. My doctor prescribed me some Naproxen and within 2 days of taking them I had intense upper abdominal pain, the feeling like something was tearing the top of my stomach apart, it was horrendous, and along with other symptoms I was getting at the same time, rapid heart rate, sweating, shaking, I really thought I was dying! I went back to see a different doctor who told me to stop taking Naproxen and put me on Omeprazole, and within a day the severe upper abdominal pains stopped. Unfortunately, I have developed a whole host of symptoms, including the ones you have mentioned and experience, and been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, CFS/ME, Gastritis, IBS, Anxiety and Stress Related Disorder.

Referring to your questions, I too have had 2 faecal calprotectin tests done in recent months, both were >300, with the first being >1400. It took me to request these tests to my doctor, if I hadn't we would still be in the dark and suffering unnecessarily, and I am now being investigated for Crohns / Ulcerative Colitis. I recently had a colonoscopy, and the procedure and biopsies came back normal, which has in turn ruled out Ulcerative Colitis. The next step for me is a small bowel MRI on the 16th January to investigate for Crohns. Calprotectin tests can give false positive results, and this usually happens when you take Ibuprofen or NSAIDs, or you have a stomach bug or food poisoning. I don't recollect having any of these so I'm guessing my calprotectin results are positive because there is a problem going on inside me, so yes calprotectin tests give positive results for other reasons.

As for where you go from here, that's a question I'd like answered for me too, I've had every test under the sun done on me, and they have all come back normal, apart from slight raised white blood cells a couple of times, high faecal calprotectin results and low vitamin D levels. Obviously the next step for me is the MRI, but after this, I really don't know. I hoping the MRI comes back fine, but there's a part of me hoping that something shows up, it would be nice to have some answers after 3+ years.

BTW, my rectal bleeding and blood in stools was caused by rectal polyps and internal hemorrhoids.

I do wish you all the best and I'm sorry I can't give you any definite answers, the only advice I can give is be prepared for a long haul for diagnosis, as digestive issues are some of the hardest to diagnose.

Take care and keep in touch with any developments.

4

Thank you Paul

I find it interesting that you have a low vitamin D also. 

I was sure ( and also relieved when it was negative) that a positive calprotectin was either Bowel disease or Cancer. 

I was told told it showed inflammation. 

Shoukd I get my upper GI checked ?

i am fighting the medical field , as my naturopathic doector ordered the test, and medical doctors in Canada do not recognize it. 

5

I would be tempted to get as much of your GI tract checked as possible. I've had upper abdominal ultrasound and endoscopy done, both of which were normal. The last bit for me is the small bowel, and my upcoming MRI will deal with that. I've also done the 5-HIAA urine test, which looks for signs of an enzyme produced by tumors mainly in the small bowel, which also came back normal.

The reason for low vitamin D levels are due to the fact I am mostly housebound due to the Fibromyalgia and CFS/ME, and the fact I have a very poor diet due to a lot of food intolerances.

The hardest part of all this is before the back pain started I had a normal life, I was able to work, do anything, eat anything, now I have no quality of life at all. If I'd grown up with these problems I wouldn't have known any better, it's definitely harder to deal with when I had a normal life prior to my problems, I miss my old life!