Calprotectin level

I’ve had a diagnosis of proctitis for the last 10 years. For some reason, I’ve never had a calprotectin level done. Two weeks ago I had an acute case of diarrhea that lasted 2-3 days. I only went once a day. No bleeding.No pain. No urgency. It presented different than the 2 flares of proctitis I’ve had. This was full water diarrhea. My GI doc had me submit stool samples. My symptoms completely resolved but I got a call today saying my calprotectin was over 4000. That’s alarming to me. My last colonoscopy was 5 years ago. I’m due in November but will be scheduling one as soon as I come back from vacation. I leave on Friday. I feel fine other than the anxiety I have knowing this result. The only issue I get is achy shins and feet. I’ve had that on and off for a few years. Last month my primary checked my bloodwork and all was normal. I asked her to check some inflammatory markers because I wanted her to rule out psoriatic arthritis since I have psoriasis. My CRP and sed rate were totally normal. I know those aren’t specific to IBD. Has anyone had levels this high and it not be cancer? Why aren’t I having any symptoms if my level is that high? Per the GI office, it’s negative for c.diff and bacterial infections. They recommended I take Canasa suppositories until my colonoscopy. I will start those tonight. They briefly mentioned an acute course of prednisone but I decided to wait to see my GI and get my colonoscopy. Any insight would be helpful.

This is just me, but you might consider getting the prednisone prescription filled so you’ll have it with you on vacation. I only say this because I know for myself I would fret and worry and possibly worry myself into symptoms and affect my vacation. Just knowing I had some prednisone that I could start to take if things headed south would relieve me of a lot of worry and allow myself to enjoy the vacation.

Thanks for the responses. My symptoms completely resolved after the initial few bouts of diarrhea and my vacation was perfect! I had no issues.

I had my colonoscopy on Monday. Rectum was not active and no inflammation there. Doctor said I had very mild inflammation in cecum, about the size of two thumbnails. The biopsy reported “active chronic colitis”. With this skipped pattern I’m not sure if he knows if I really have UC or its crohns. We all thought that with the level of calprotectin being over 4000 I’d have more extensive inflammation or that the inflammation would have gone up from the rectum. It didn’t. My calprotectin level does not seem to correlate with the findings. I’m not on any medication. I only take Canasa when in a flare. I take. Visbiome probiotics. My gastro considers that my maintenance meds. I see him for a follow up in 2 weeks. I had my primary do bloodwork to check for other autoimmune illnesses. I have been having a sort of restless leg thing on and off for the past few years. ANA, CRP, homocysteine, and markers for lupus, rheumatoid arthritis were negative. My sed rate was up at 21. Blood count was excellent. Iron and Vit D great! I’m almost 52 and missed 4 periods. Was in perimenopause so had her check hormone levels. It appears I’ve finally made it to menopause! That’s the only huge difference in my labs. I’ve had a sudden change in hormones from where I was last tested. I’ll see what my gastro says about meds and perhaps more testing when I see him in 2 weeks.

I think you should take some type of maintenance meds. Strange your cal protect is 4k and minimal inflamation
You ever thought to put Visbiome inside your rectal meds? I’m recomending that to all now 😆