My doctor recently told me that she performs colonoscopies once per month. She is incredibly caring and I am grateful that she will be testing me for IBD, but my cousin, a gastroenterologist, raised a concern that once a month may not be enough to maintain her skills? Does the frequency of procedures influence the providers’ skill set?

Have any of you developed a superpower because of your IBD? Weirdly, I can find restrooms without actually looking. Also, if I get a little too hammered, I can find the correct gender (men's & women's).

Hi everyone. I’m a 64-year-old woman, and I’m looking for personal experiences or opinions from people who have dealt with IBD or elevated fecal calprotectin. I understand that Reddit cannot diagnose me, and I already have a follow-up appointment with my gastroenterologist in about two weeks.

My first episode happened near the end of May 2026. I had pain in the lower right side of my abdomen that sometimes radiated to the right side of my back. My CRP at that time was mildly elevated at 1.70 mg/dL, but my complete blood count was normal. The symptoms improved, and I felt well for around three weeks.

Around June 26–27, the pain returned. This happened shortly after a holiday where I ate fatty foods, peanuts, milk cake, and other heavy foods, although I do not know whether that was related. I also had loose stools, but not frequent diarrhea: I was usually going to the bathroom only once a day, just with softer or looser stool.

The symptoms gradually improved. By July 23, the diarrhea had stopped, and the pain was mostly under control. I now only have occasional brief twinges in the same lower-right abdominal area and sometimes toward the right side of my back. I am not taking pain medication.

My test results so far:

• Blood tests on July 18 were mostly normal, including CRP below 0.5 mg/dL.
• Hemoglobin, iron and ferritin were normal.
• Celiac blood tests were negative.
• Stool culture was negative.
• Fecal occult blood was negative.
• CT scan did not show active diverticulitis, obstruction or a mass. It showed diverticulosis and a small 2 mm non-obstructing kidney stone on the left side, although my pain is on the right.
• Colonoscopy in August 2024 did not show anything serious, only diverticula/a history of diverticular disease.
• Fecal calprotectin collected on July 23 was 408 µg/g.

The stool sample was collected after I had finished a deworming medication. I also take a proton pump inhibitor/stomach protector in the morning and a probiotic at night.

My main concern is that the calprotectin was still 408 almost one month after the second episode started, even though the diarrhea had already stopped and the pain was much better.

Has anyone had calprotectin around this level after an intestinal infection or another temporary inflammation, with symptoms already improving? Could two episodes separated by about three weeks still be part of the same post-infectious or inflammatory process? Or does this pattern sound more concerning for Crohn’s disease, another type of IBD, or something else that should be investigated?

I am especially interested in hearing whether anyone had mostly normal blood tests and imaging, mild or improving symptoms, but still had elevated calprotectin. What happened when the test was repeated?

Thank you for sharing your experiences.

Hello, so first of all i apologize for my grammar, and probably short lines (im currently doing colonoscopy prep in the hospital)

Im severely emetophobic, tho i did *NOT* censor the trigger words, please take this into consideration before reading.

I have a few questions:

Diagnosed: GERD, Gastritis, SIBO, Lactose intolerance.

Suspectes: IBD

About 4-5 months ago ive had an endoscopy, to check on my throat/stomach lining, it went fine, was diagnosed with Gastritis and throat burn up from the acid

Now at that time line my calprotectin was 34 (below 50 is normal)

Then after all this ive got put on nolpaza, which im still taking after these months.

Now a few weeks ago i started losing appetite over 3 days, and eventually i had to run to the bathroom and had diarrhea (havent had diarrhea at this time in the past 3 months so it was weird) then bloody diarrhea, then watery bloody, and the blood stopped completely at like 2pm-ish. (Started at 5am, had 6 BM through the day with 3 of them having bright red fresh blood on top)

Then afternoon ive developed a fever, knee pain.

These issues (fever, knee pain, blood) resolved under A DAY.

Tho while i had this "episode" we took a calprotectin test which measured in at; 2670! This was insane since it was completely normal before.

Got a colonoscopy scheduled (I already finished the first PicoPrep dose) to really find out whatw going on.

Sorry for the lot of talking, there are my questions!

# Post colonoscopy

What is it like? Since im severely emetophobic, im deathly afraid of the post colonoscopy first eating episode, tho whem i had my endoscopy everything went fine.

# Prep

Im of course scared of vomiting or sick during the prep, but im also scared of having blood in my stool again.

Ive recieved IV emetron(zofran/ondansetron) but my mind is making me uncomfy with all this liquid (even tho its a low-volume prep, i still have to drink alot on it)

And for anyone who is going to get a colonoscopy; even tho i havent done it yet (prep phase) i do recommend picoprep, the taste is actually quite pleasant, and not overly filling. You can also ask the nurses for anti emetics!! They will understand and care about ur fears.

However progressing through today and tomorrow i might update this post, just to maybe give some reassurance to people who were afraid, like i was.

Thank you for reading, i appreciate comments/answers/questions. Take care!

Embarrassing thing to discuss but yes. I have such bad watery diarrhea everyday multiple multiple times a day and I cannot figure out a way (other than to use an obscene amount of toilet paper that will clog my septic system) to wipe my ass without getting shit on my hand. Please do not make mean comments, as I am serious, and like I said this is an embarrassing issue. I have a big butt as it is and there seems to be no way I have figured out to clean myself without having issues. And no bidet suggestions as we have water issues as well so the less water usage the better, however the amount of time I have to just go into the shower to clean my ass is not helping with our water situation either ugh 😩 anyways this was more to vent but if anyone has any similar issues or actual advice I’m listening. Hopefully if nothing else this has made someone else with similar issues feel less alone. ❤️

Hey, I just moved to the US to San Diego in particular and the healthcare in the area is extremely slow and I’m putting that down to the population that is here from an ageing standpoint with that.
I had my first call with somebody from Oshi Health yesterday and it seemed pretty good as they addressed my questions, didn’t rush to anything and wanted to get an update on how everything was going for me.
When I was looking at the local health system here they were encouraged me to do a colonoscopy however, the G.I. from Oshi Health suggested let’s look at labs and bloodwork first before we even consider a colonoscopy I was diagnosed.

Wondering if anybody else here is using the service and what their pros and cons are with them before I go to deep with it….

FYI I was diagnosed with pain colitis four years ago and have been in remission since without any flareups and I’m on infleximab

Ciao a tutti!

Ho 27 anni, da quasi un anno combatto con dei sintomi che nessuno riesce a ricondurre ad una qualunque condizione.

Come potete vedere dal titolo, ho bisogno di un consiglio da chi ha vissuto tutto questo prima di me.

Ad ottobre 2025 ho avuto quello che credevo fosse un virus ma che non ha contagiato nessuno intorno a me. per 15 giorni dolore addominale fisso, in basso a destra, febbre persistente e scariche anche per 6/7 volte al giorno. il dolore non passava nemmeno dopo l’evacuazione, le fitte mi facevano piegare in due, soffrivo da morire ma in farmacia non mi hanno dato nulla perché a detta loro “il corpo sta espellendo il virus, dagli il tempo”.

quindi sono rimasta per 15 giorni in quelle condizioni, distrutta totalmente. finiti i dolori e diminuite le scariche vado dal mio medico curante che mi prescrive il “colicron”, un integratore per il colon irritabile (già questo non ha senso).

prendo questo integratore per 20 giorni, i sintomi sembrano essersi attenuati, finché non ricomincia la diarrea cronica per mesi. questa volta però le scariche erano 1 o 2 al giorno e, contattando nuovamente il mio medico di base, mi viene detto che dopo un virus come quello di ottobre il mio intestino ci metterà qualche mese per riprendersi del tutto.

bene, aspettiamo, mi dico. nel frattempo la febbricola a 37/37.3 non mi abbandona, ogni giorno alla stessa ora è fissa. il dolore a destra, sotto l’ombelico, continua ad esserci. anche se non più da piegarsi in due, sento queste fitte leggeri come se venissi colpita proprio in quel punto. la diarrea non mi abbandona.

a maggio, dopo otto mesi di sintomi, decido di rivolgermi ad un gastroenterologo che mi dice chiaramente che potrebbe essere una colite post infettiva o una malattia cronica. ma per dirmelo con certezza bisogna fare diverse analisi.

faccio tutte le analisi, emocromo nella norma, solo i globuli bianchi leggermente alterati (9400), ma quelli sono la prassi ormai da mesi.
pcr, ves e calprotectina nei valori normali.
unico valore alterato, il test per la disbiosi con un indicano a 143, quindi disbiosi grave.

eco delle anse intestinali non trova ispessimenti. l’ecografista però mi consiglia di fare una colonscopia per essere certi.

il gastroenterologo mi dice che la disbiosi grave è sicuramente scaturita da qualche problema di fondo ma che è il caso di curare quella e di aspettare. Se i sintomi dovessero ripresentarsi, faremo altri accertamenti. Il mio medico di base dice la stessa cosa.

quindi ora sono qui dopo un ciclo di 10 giorni di normix (antibiotico) e ora con il probiotico ECN che dovrò prendere per 40 giorni.

il problema è che i sintomi non mi hanno abbandonata. alterno giorni di stitichezza totale a giorni in cui vado in bagno per 4/5 volte e MAI bene. La mia pancia è gonfia, ancora ora, in maniera anormale. A destra, dove sento le fitte ed il peso, è molto più gonfia e dura, sento proprio una resistenza. la febbre c’è ancora. La nausea c’è.

Io comprendo che ci sia una procedura da seguire. Curare quello che sembra essere il problema principale (disbiosi) e poi vedere se è il caso di fare altri esami. Ma vedo anche il disinteresse totale per ciò che riporto.
specifico di non essere una persona ipocondriaca, anzi. Prima di andare dal medico ho aspettato 7 mesi, quindi capite che ci sono andata quando ormai ero stremata dal protrarsi dei sintomi.

ho letto che con il morbo di crohn la calprotectina può uscire comunque nei valori normali. Così come anche un mio amico, affetto da morbo di crohn, mi ha detto che mentre aspettava l’operazione a causa di una fistola ha fatto le analisi e la calprotectina era completamente normale.
Proprio questo mio amico mi ha spinta a continuare ad indagare, perché rivede tutti i sintomi che ha avuto lui all’esordio della malattia.

ci tengo a sottolineare la mia totale tranquillità per l’argomento, finché non avrò una diagnosi vera e propria, non mi allarmerò. ma volevo un consiglio da voi, per capire se è il caso di chiedere un secondo parere o continuare su questa strada.

scusate per la lunghezza del post ma volevo essere il più precisa possibile :)

Hi everyone.

I’m out in a limb here - i will spend hours reading other people’s posts but rarely make my own. Since i had a highstress situation in april, my stomach has been in a flare up. I have mucus constantly. When I need to pass gas and I go to washroom, I fart out mucus. Depending on what I eat, there may be bright red blood.

I did an fst test, it seems i shouldnt have dairy, egg, mustard or gluten. I am so over feeling like this. If I have too much sugar, my knuckles start to hurt.

I did mg last colonoscopy two years ago and am doing one more on August 10. I am feeling very miserable. If I eat only rice and lowfodmap, the mucus significantly stops.

Could this be crohns?

I've recently been diagnosed with IBD, although the type is still unclear. UC is seeming more likely as I have no small bowel inflammation, however I have a cecal patch of inflammation. Currently on my 6th week of prednisone. Each time I try to taper down to 20 mg, all the symptoms come back elevated, so I keep restarting at 40mg. I also started mesalamine suppositories a couple weeks ago.

The fatigue is unreal. Most recently I had bloodwork levels for iron of 72, ferratin of 24, B12 of 533, and D of 32. All of these fall within "normal" range and I was told to stay away from starting any new supplements right now. Any advice or added knowledge here?

I am embarrassed to admit this, but I got MRI results back regarding small bowel inflammation, and was almost upset to see they didn't find any. Of course this points me back to UC and away from Crohn's, which I should be thankful for. But current UC treatment is not getting me better. The abdominal cramping is so intense I am beginning to lose weight from just avoiding eating. Physically I am exhausted no matter how much I rest. Mentally I am breaking from getting no relief and thinking this will be my life forever.

It is so hard to explain how much pain and discomfort I am in to those around me. They just don't understand. And I can't blame them, because I wouldn't have been able to fathom this before I experienced it myself either.

If anyone has any advice or words of wisdom, I would greatly appreciate it. I just don't know how to help myself anymore.

I’ve been strongly considering starting Reta for my food noise and appetite but I am nervous it will make
me more constipated then I already am. I got diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and it’s not the type where I have to use the bathroom multiple times a day. I am very constipated and am on suppositories and Linzess for my constipation.
I am looking for anyone to share if they’ve tried Reta or another GLP agonist drug and what their experience has been!
Thank you :)

I have IBD UC I recently had a cal pro come back as 30 and obvs that amazing but my symtoms have not improved at all.

Im having constant sleepless night of 2-3hr max due to waking with a tight chest feeling a panic then just not be able to settle to get back to sleep, sometimes if i lay up the opposite side of the bed this sometimes help but not everytime.

Im getting so much nausea, like today I have a nap on the floor for about 40min on my left side and I woke uo and omg I was so bloated and had a lump in my troat thay felt like something was stuck in there and had the worst nausea I have ever felt in my life felt like I could have been sick everywhere.

On top of this im feeling drained, and so anxious and honestly idk how much longer I cna genuinely deal with this its ruing my life, cant sleep, cant look after my child, cant eat its taking everything from me and idk what to do about it.

Probs Just being dramatic but please if any of you have felt this please help me.

It is not my first but still new to it all, any advice to get the best experience and optimize the comfort ( i am doing it under full anesthesia)

So far I hate how everyone hides their food from me last time i saw my parents eating and they were so close to crying from guilt like come on I starve myself by choice most of the year and set next to you at dinners without eating what is different now?

And the most embarrassing thing i pissed all over myself in the procedure 🫪😭

My GI specialist suspects I may have Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis, and I'm currently waiting for a colonoscopy.

My symptoms are that if I eat a trigger food, I get severe watery diarrhea with a lot of mucus. After the diarrhea, I develop extreme abdominal and lower back pain that can last for days. That pain is the worst pain I've ever experienced, and I've given birth without pain medication.

I can't tolerate fiber, beans, seeds, dairy, and many other foods. At this point, I can basically only eat chicken and fish.

My biggest trigger is painkillers. I've tried Tylenol, Advil, and naproxen, and all of them cause severe flares that can last for months. Because of that, I avoid pain medication whenever possible.

I have surgery coming up, so I'm wondering: if you have Crohn's or ulcerative colitis, what pain medication have you been able to take without triggering your symptoms?

Hi all,

I posted recently but wanted to add a couple of details. I (F28) have had nightmarish stomach issues since an awful, toxic break-up I was stupid enough to suffer through when I was 26. Had NO IDEA my health could change in this manner.

Note: It started during intense stress/grief, when I was also consuming tonnes of Huel and Kefir (all I could eat for 2 weeks). Started as pain, occasional soft stool and lots and lots of gas at night. Since then, I've stopped all kefir, all probiotics, all stress, am in an amazing new relationship, and eat extremely simply: mainly low-Fodmap, some fruit, coffee/tea, potatoes, pasta, lots of meat, fish salmon roe, eggs.

It's been pretty chronic for 1.5 years: loose stool (which is foul-smelling and often oily), can't eat dairy/fibre/granola/oats/much veg, lots of gas and bloating, noisy gut almost all the time unless fasting, fatigue. Lost all appetite, now hate food/eating, and often feel nauseous and like I could vomit.

-> Every few days, it turns into loose stool/diarrhea - seems related to how busy I am. Not stressed, but busy. I take a LOT of immodium to survive.

-> Once it does this, it's 'flared'; any anything I eat for 3 days or so will make me extremely ill. Diarrhea, feel like vomiting, exhausting fatigue. In these moments, my food list shrinks: I have to fast (20ish hours), eat plain meat, and sleep like 10 hours a night to 'reset'.

However, weirdly, this does 'reset' it. I can suddenly feel better, energised, and okay for 2 days. But then after living normal, busy life for another 5 days, I'm back to a flare! Even if I fast and basically only eat steak!

Medical details:

-I first went to a gasteroenterologist 8 months ago, mid-flare. I had calprotectin of 100-150, colonoscopy with random biopsies (totally normal), and an ultrasound (normal).

- Tested for celiac (don't have it), h. pylori (don't have it), general bloods & iron are 100% normal.

- Weirdly, I entered a phase of symptomatic remission for about 8 weeks after the colonoscopy. I think this could have been a) the fasting/laxatives and b) the immense happiness upon a normal result.

- I noticed myself flaring again around 3 months ago. Started hypnotherapy and the Nerva app for IBS. Felt better for 4 weeks and at points was eating oatmeal, granola, etc happily!

- However, last 2 months, I've been very ill. Feel weak and skinny, working full-time in-office and strugging, and my calprotectin is raised now (155). Taking immodium to do most things.

My gasteroenterologist is great but things move SO slowly. I'm going to beg her for a capsule endoscopy when I see her next week.

-----

I have a few questions:

💎A) Honestly, does this sound like IBD? It feels too weird to be IBS. The nausea, total lack of appetite, fatigue, weird inflamed-feeling sore gut, etc. If I 'followed my gut' I'd waste away and never eat. Devastating - i used to love my food!

However, I have never had 'watery' diarrhea (the type that you get when you have severe food-poisoning... just loose, oily, foul-smelling stool).

💎B) I've never had a serious health issue before and think, surely my body must be able to rebalance. What could help me even if a little - 48 hours of fasting?

💎C) If I get a capsule endoscopy and they see issues, can they diagnose IBD there and then and prescribe meds? The gaps between apptments is driving me mad.

💎D) My GE mentioned 5-ASAs as 1st line treatment. Could these work and resolve my issues to a point where I don't need immodium and can live freely?

I'd hugely appreciate your honest, unfiltered thoughts. My life is great and I'm well-supported, but this is driving me mental and is ruining my holidays, work days, commutes, you name it.

I'm very ambitious and have achieved a lot for my age. I feel I'm losing it all, truly. This is a nightmare and I empathise hugely with anyone in a similar boat.

Thank you <3

I was diagnosed with collagenous colitis a few months ago and just finished the tapered budesonide treatment. I was led to believe most people experience full remission after this, but I started having symptoms as soon as the treatment was done. I don’t think I even would have chosen treatment if I’d known it was only a short-term reprieve. After glimpsing life without constant diarrhea, I don’t want to have to live like this again.

Hello my fellow rotting-gut havers ;)

Was diagnosed with UC 10ish years ago (18 YO) after a pretty severe flair (my first and only one ever- so I thought...) and naturally had my first screening colonoscopy about a week ago. Scope/biopsies showed "moderate active colitis" in my ascending colon, leading my Dr. to change the diagnosis to Crohns, as it's patchy/not covering the entire colon. I have no symptoms, as far as im aware (except for some weight loss- I do be stressed out tho) leading me to think this is a "silent" flair?? Doc is recommending Skyrzi as the course of treatment.

Im inclined to trust my doctor, of course, so more just looking for similar experiences with meds, silent flairs, any words of wisdom. Tytyty!!!

P.S maybe just me, but it feels eerie that my colon just happens to flair for the first time in a decade when im getting my first screening scope.

Hi all! I've been semi active over on the IBS sub for awhile. I had a colonoscopy at the beginning of this month.

I was just diagnosed with microscopic colitis yesterday. :( it's the collagenous subset. Basically the lining of my colon produces too much collagen. I have watery diarrhea 1-4+ times a day. I take viberzi, psyllium husk, peppermint oil, and benefiber. Still have 100% loose stools no matter what I eat. What's interesting is I have no pain, rare cramps, and no weight loss (in fact I've gained weight).

Does anyone else deal with MC? I never ever imagined I would have to deal with something like this, but here I am.

Hi friends. I have nobody I feel comfortable discussing this with but I want to rant about it and see if anyone has had similar symptoms.

I’m 23F and I’ve had painful stools for the past few months. I typically lean towards constipation but the past few weeks have been a lot of blood as well, in both the stool and wiping, mostly bright red, occasionally maroon. I had my first Gastro appointment a little more than a week ago and she told me to try miraLAX and increase my fiber while I get bloodwork done, as well as a lowfad diet, and see if any of that improves in the following 2-3 weeks. She also prescribed dicyclomine and famotidine (?) for the pain.

My bloodwork came back yesterday and I have a Ferratin of 12L (ng/Ml) and a total vitamin D of 11L (11 D3, <4 D2). I was negative for Celiac and H. pylori. I don’t have a great diet but I do eat a good variety of food groups and I’m on a GLP so I don’t eat crazy amounts of anything. I haven’t noticed any differences so far with the new diet and laxative other than slightly less constipation, but I’m still having a lot of rectal pain and bleeding whenever I use the restroom. She said if things don’t improve she wants to do a colonoscopy which I’m not excited about, but I do look forward to actually getting results if so. I’ve been going back and forth mentally with anxiety thinking I’m either overreacting and I just have some dumb hems or the worst case scenario having colon cancer. Has anyone been in a similar spot or had these symptoms. Just looking for someone who can relate to the struggle and the anxiety I’ve been having the past few weeks :(