Fecal Calprotectin went from 150 to 750 in 2 months despute hydrocortisone enema course.

Hello friends.

I'm currently on Humira. My bloodwork is great -- no abnormalities and CRP is like 1.5. My fecal calprotectin was 150 back in January (normal range is below 50), so I was given a course of hydrocortisone enemas to hopefully bring it down.

I took another fecal calprotectin test a couple days. I just got my results back and the number is 750. I'm really nervous. My only symptom is blood in the stool and fatigue. No loose stool, no pain, no cramping, no urgency, no tenesmous. Just occasional blood.

I'm scared that a flare is coming. What should I do? I have a call with my doctor in a week. How bad is a 750? Does this mean the Humira is failing?

I realize this means I'll probably have to switch to a stronger medication. I'm just discouraged and anxious. I really can't afford to be debilitated by a flare right now.

Another thing to note: between January and now I quit vaping cannabis flower. I was vaping cannabis daily from August 2021 - December 31, 2021 and then quit on New Year's Day this year. Do you think this could have triggered a flare? I'm a little worried that my cannabis addiction might have been helpful for my UC...

I got my humira levels checked in January. I had strong levels of humira in my system and no antibodies. My doctor is older and but he's open-minded, listens to me, and is up to date on current research.

Post Edited (magicbeans) : 3/20/2022 12:22:56 PM (GMT-6)

Oh god, my addict brain will do anything to take up cannabis again. I did order some CBD. Maybe that will help. If my numbers go down then I'll be living proof that cannabis helps UC :D

Just an update here. I started taking CBD again around the time I posted this out of sheer desperation (and yea, I got addicted to cannabis again and had to quit again). But my fecal calprotectin as of August 2022 is < 50mcg, which is as low as the test will go!!!

So I went from 750mcg in March 2022 to <50mcg in August 2022, for the first time EVER since my diagnosis 3 years ago.

If anyone is interested, these are the supplements I took during this period:
- daily CBD tincture (as it turns out, cannabis is obviously great for me. I need to figure out how to use it responsibly.)
- daily naturwise curcumin supplement
- daily Boswelia capsule from local health food store
- a little extra vitamin D

Plus gentle exercise, intermittent fasting from 3pm to next morning, lots of sunlight when possible (I live in the northeast, lol)

@Ms2011. I'm black with dark skin, so I have a pretty solid natural sun resistance. But secondly, I truly believe that sunlight helps every aspect of my health (might be different for you, but for me sun exposure always helps!). I wear a sun hat. I have never had any sun burns or ill effect from sunlight while on Humira.

There's no way I will ever hide from the sun. I only developed UC once I left Southern California and moved to the northeast.

Post Edited (magicbeans) : 8/8/2022 5:55:12 AM (GMT-7)

Ms - I was told to wear factor 50 sunscreen when i want to go in the sun (at least, when i was on those kinds of medication).

Poopy: does xeljanz have that risk too? I never wear sunscreen, or very rarely.

My boyfriend thought it had that risk but I never knew if he was right. I already have wrinkles, lol.