Since April end of this year,I've been having abdominal pain in my lower right abdomen and I usually have stomach problems like constipation or diarrhea at times so I thought it would go away with it but it didn’t . In fact in some weeks,it got worse and when I went to the doc,they told me it was colitis.They ruled out appendicitis cus the pain would come and go but I was in much pain when I walked(not everytine i walked tho) or when I lied on my side to sleep,I had to sleep straight on my back without moving or else the pain wouldn't let me sleep. I would also get aches when I eat or when I feel like I need to use the toilet. I also got a lot of flatulence.

After a week of meds ,I didn’t get better. So I went to another doc who told me to get ultrasound (cus I had kidney stone and uti before) . Ultrasound showed nothing and so they described me some meds. However ,the pain didn’t stop and I only got bad constipation cus of the meds. I was afraid of getting bad hemorrhoids so I went back to the doc and then told me to just get duphalac and that the constipation was causing the pain or probably some intestinal issue. They didn’t understand that the pain had been there before the constipation phase. I got tired of doctors,so I just try to deal with it. Nowadays ,the pain is subtle ,a bit here and there however it can be a real ache, out of nowhere. Sometimes ,it seems to move towards the left abdomen and cause some pain there too.

I don't know what to do anymore. I am already suffering with my bladder and recurring uti. And I've not been a healthy person as a kid so it's all making me depressed.

I have had IBD-U (leaning to UC) for a couple months and am currently in a pretty bad flare up (calprotectin >800) and have been advised to eat a bland, low FODMAP diet.

I have been eating plain foods for the past couple of days but i think another chicken and white rice will end me.

I'm mainly looking for meal ideals, condiments and actual flavours. I am UK based so if you have any particular products I could get at any supermarkets that's welcome too!

Additionally, how do you guys recommend reintroducing foods into my diet after my symptoms are cleared up, and which foods/ food groups should I start with?

I did my colonoscopy and gastroscopy in April this year and I was dismissed by doctor to go home and try VSL Balance for 3 months. Im not getting better also my calprotectin is rising so I need some advice, what did my results mean.
From gastroscopy I have final sentence saying "
Dg.: Gastritis chronica atrophica abacterialis inactiva regionis antralis ventriculi"
And from colonoscopy
1."The morphological finding corresponds to a mild form of chronic ileitis with nodular hyperplasia of lymphoid tissue."
2. "The morphological findings for the biopsied regions correspond to chronic non-specific colitis."
My first calprotectin was 99, after 3 months of low FODMAP diet and probiotic its 311.
Am I being gaslighted by my doctor? Im waiting on second opinion in two weeks and my mind is spiraling.

Ps. I got in the whole endoscopy situation because I was having diarrhea for 6-8 weeks non stop and i lost 17kg and also have mucus like thing in stool.

Pss. I forgot to add no helico bacter or parasites.

So about three months ago I had a sudden onset of multiple symptoms spanning across different systems of my body. Before this happened, I would have told you there is literally nothing wrong with me other than some issues with weight gain and fatigue.

I suddenly started having tachycardia episodes, joint swelling and pain, and diarrhea with a million other digestive symptoms and sudden severe food intolerances that I never had before. I was not really concerned about the diarrhea at first when this was all happening and focused on my heart issue, which turned out to be hyper pots, everything else was ruled out. But my digestive symptoms have not resolved and got worse over time. My electrophysiologist thinks this sudden onset of hyper pots is related to my gut symptoms.

I basically started out having diarrhea for 4 weeks straight, and I was having painful spasms, gas, and cramping within 45 minutes-1 hour of eating food. I tried low fodmap and I was still having reactions to everything. I react to red meat, eggs, dairy, gluten, vegetables don't digest and come straight out of me. Basically everything except chicken and rice has caused a reaction. Once I was eating the chicken and rice for a couple weeks my stool solidified a bit but I was having blood and orange/pink mucus mixed into my stool which still has not resolved. I tried to see after a few weeks if I could reintroduce small amounts of foods since I was struggling to maintain enough calories. I drank 2 oz of ensure and waited. Went back to immediately having uncontrollable diarrhea within 45 minutes of drinking it and was in pain/discomfort for hours after. I had a CT enterography scan where I had to drink 3 bottles of breeza and that just about killed me. Within 20 minutes of drinking it I was having immediate uncontrollable diarrhea, pain and cramping, severe gas, and it did not resolve for over 12 hours. I was basically curled up in a ball with a heating pad for 12 hours because it was so bad. I've done a bunch of testing and procedures already.

This is what has happened so far:

My symptoms: diarrhea on/off, food intolerances to basically everything except chicken/rice, blood mixed into stool (it's a darker burgundy color), globs of orange mucus in stool, stomach cramping, gas, severe fatigue, joint pain, knee swelling up with fluid that happened about a couple weeks before this all happened, I've lost 18 lbs suddenly within a 2 month period without trying, no appetite, tachycardia (adrenaline dumps from pots), stye/chalazion that also suddenly appeared 3 months ago and has not resolved

My fecal calprotectin was 191 in late May, it has not been retested. My C-Reactive protein is 11.8.

Negative for C. Diff, H Pylori, pathogens, and ova/parasites.

My CBC I've done a few times and it fluctuates from looking normal to looking like I am fighting something off. High WBC count, high granulocytes, high neutrophils, low lymphocytes. I have low vitamin D at 13.1. Low ferritin at 22, but not anemic.

I had a colonoscopy/endoscopy done with multiple biopsies. No visible inflammation in my colon. A biopsy revealed acute inflammation in my terminal ileum but was deemed insignificant by my doctor.

Biopsy results otherwise did not find H pylori or anything wrong at all.

CT enterography was clear, no strictures, fistulas, or anything anatomically wrong.

I have a family history of Crohn's disease. My grandfather has it and presented similarly to me with sudden severe food intolerance, he also got joint swelling with flares, back when he had a colon. I have several other family members who have Crohn's and one with Colitis.

What is happening now:

My GI doctor is an IBD specialist at a major university health System in North Florida. She is struggling to connect the dots here, my symptoms are screaming Crohn's but they could not find it or anything else to explain what is happening to me. The next step is getting a pill camera done, but they are not offering that procedure right now due to "insufficient nurse staffing" is what they told me so they are "working on how I can get this done." There is currently no timeline. She gave me a prescription for budesonide but told me I shouldn't take it until after the pill camera is done. I'm suffering so bad, I literally can't function anymore. I'm so fatigued I can't even shower standing up or do basic tasks. I can't eat anything, I'm struggling to get enough calories in me daily. She told me I could take the budesonide if I really wanted to now, but that it could make getting a diagnosis delayed, if the pill camera is in fact able to see it and it's hiding in my small bowel. She also told me if the pill camera doesn't find anything, then she doesn't know what is wrong with me.

Does this sound like Crohn's? Does anyone have experience getting diagnosed where only a pill camera could see it? Should I postpone taking budesonide in favor of getting a diagnosis rather than sooner relief?

This has been the roughest time of my life and I'm hoping someone out there relates and has a good outcome story. It feels like I'm stuck like this forever and I've been so depressed and anxious beyond anything I've ever felt before. Thank you for taking the time to read and answer!

Hi all,

I’ll be honest - this whole saga started during a highly emotionally stressful breakup 1.5 years ago. I developed stomach issues that mimicked IBS.

Pain, loose stool, lots of gas and a gurgling, churning stomach… the usual. I am a scientist and knew to eat low-Fodmap, cut out grains etc, but could never resolve it.

I had periods of calm, but it got baaad about 6 months ago when I started a new job and became very busy. Not stressed, but busy. It seemed that any exertion worsened it.. even travelling to a friend’s house - my stomach would start to churn.

I found a great gastroenterologist and had 2 raised calprotectin tests (120 and 151).

I had an ultrasound and a colonoscopy w random biopsies and both came back normal.

Weirdly, the laxative and fasting for the colonoscopy prep gave me about 2 weeks of total symptom relief. I also realised dairy was a big trigger and cut it out. Felt ok for 2 months.

But, it’s come back. Not as bad but persistent. Gasteroenterologist is considering a capsule endoscopy but I’ve just had a calprotectin result of 14.

It may just be IBS, but I’ve lost a lot of weight from hardly being able to eat normally for 3 months. Once it flares I’m taking Imodium for days. And take it like 4 x weekly. My sleep and stress levels are good. I’m happy but thjs continues to be an issue.

I now get nausea and low appetite too, and frequent fatigue.

What helps: fasting, eating just meat for a day or two, hypnotherapy (the Nerva app does help, just not enough).

I have 2 questions:

- does this sound like it could be upper IBD that a colonoscopy could miss? Should I really push for the capsule endoscopy?

- could my calprotectin result be a false negative from contamination with toilet water? I didn’t ‘catch’ the stool and it did touch the water.

Thank so much.

Join Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist Dr. Jami Kinnucan for an Ask Me Anything focused on Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis.

💬 Don't wait until tomorrow to participate! If you have questions about symptoms, treatments, disease management, nutrition, research, or living with IBD, go ahead and post them in the comments now. Dr. Kinnucan will be answering questions during the live AMA.

👉 Submit your questions and join the discussion

We look forward to seeing you there!

Currently taking the 90 day taper, and was wondering if anyone else has experienced chest pain? Level of discomfort always fluctuates, usually rough in the mornings and subsides throughout the day. There are days (like today) where its hard to take a deep breath, let along bend over.

Leg/foot cramps, sore/achey muscles, and fatigue to just name a few.

Any help would be great!

I have had an elevated calprotectin of 440 so I suggested getting these done, the reports say this.

My symptoms are burning, urge for bowel movement and inability to push stool down. I havent lost any weight or any white blood cell meaning crp was normal as well as cbc was normal. I am confused atp, gastro gave me antibiotics and all.

I am diagnosed with perianal Crohns with fistula’s and fissures. I was diagnosed about 6 months ago but lived undiagnosed for about 18 years. I got what seems to be a skin infection on my left buttocks. It put me in the hospital last New Year’s Eve. That wasn’t the first time I had the infection in the exact same spot. Now I have it starting again and am on the way to the ER.

My question is, has anyone had any Skins issues around that area that is Crohns related? I was told my diagnosis is pretty advanced and more complicated than usual.

If you see my previous posts I have been dealing with some upper GI issues for awhile. My doctor seems to think it’s all upper GI and I don’t need a colonoscopy. All other tests I’ve had were normal - ruled out gallbladder, gastritis, celiacs, etc.

Since I’m getting nowhere with my doctor I had a GI map done by a functional medicine doctor that showed a very high calprotectin level of 596. I want to ask my doctor about more testing for crohns but I feel like they will dismiss me. I did ask for a colonoscopy last visit (before i had the GI map results) and I felt pretty dismissed as they said it would be useless to get one with my symptoms. Is there something else I could be requesting? Should I just get a second opinion?

Also i apologize for posting it here, I failed to find other GI active communities.

I have SIBO, GERD, Gastritis, Lactose intolerancy, And god knows what (Ill have a colonoscopy soon)

My problem is that i havent had a stool in 3 days, Ive recently quit nicotine (Im like 11-12 days off Nic) If that matters.

Heres what i ate:

Canned Tuna in its brine
White bread
90%+ chicken/turkey slices
chicken breast in air fryer/olive oil with green herbs
Bananas
Hake filet in air fryer
Home made Jam linzers (Both the Linzer and the jam were homemade)
Natural household plain biscuits
White bread roll
Chicken breast soup: Potatoes, Carrots, White carrots, Chicken breast, Broth, Noodles

Liquids: Only water (2-3L daily)

I can pass gas, but its starting to be worrying that i cant have a stool.

Meds im on: Atarax, Nolpaza.

I have a few questions about IBD/Ulcerative Colitis (UC) since it's currently the most likely diagnosis.

I've had GERD for as long as I can remember. It's annoying but manageable. I also have SIBO and gastritis, so I've dealt with quite a few GI issues over the years.

Some background:

• I've always had extreme fatigue. I used to fall asleep during class and had a really hard time waking up.
• I have daily abdominal cramps/discomfort, but they're usually mild rather than severe.
• When I was younger, I intentionally bulked from 58 kg to 78 kg over about a year. After an unrelated surgery, my appetite dropped significantly, and I lost weight.
• I'm now back to around 57 kg, mostly because of anxiety around eating, my severe emetophobia (fear of vomiting), and fear of GI symptoms.

My bowel symptoms

When I was still going to school, I had very unpredictable urgency, especially while riding the bus or just after getting off. It was almost always diarrhea, often with some mucus.

At that time, I was basically living on:

• Lopedium (loperamide) to control diarrhea
• Normaflore

With those, my symptoms became fairly manageable. More annoying than debilitating.

Endoscopy

My gastroenterologist recommended an upper endoscopy.

The results:

• Diagnosed with gastritis
• Evidence of esophageal damage from acid reflux
• Biopsies came back normal

I was prescribed Nolpaza for 3 months, which definitely helped my GERD.

Around this time, my fecal calprotectin was below 50, so there wasn't much concern about IBD then.

What happened recently

A few weeks ago, things suddenly changed.

I had about 5–10 minutes of pretty intense cramps, followed by an urgent episode of diarrhea.

This surprised me because I hadn't had diarrhea for around 2–3 months.

Then I had to go again.

This time there was fresh bright red blood.

The third trip was mostly water mixed with blood, and the fourth time it was just a small drop of blood.

We went to the ER.

While I was there, I went to the bathroom twice more. The first time, something that looked like a small fibrous piece with dried blood came out. After that, I didn't see any more blood.

I was discharged from the ER.

Fever & dehydration

After getting home, I developed a fever that peaked at 38.4°C.

Thankfully, it resolved overnight, and by the next afternoon I no longer had a fever.

A day later, while lying in bed, I developed chest pain. I'm a very anxious person, and my emetophobia was making me extremely nauseous as well, so we called an ambulance.

It turned out I was dehydrated.

They gave me IV fluids, monitored me, and I was discharged after a couple of days.

Calprotectin

During this whole episode, another fecal calprotectin test was done.

It came back at 2670.

What surprised me is that only 5–6 months earlier, it had been below 50.

The doctors ruled out the common infections they tested for, although they mentioned it could have been caused by a virus.

Colonoscopy

I now have a colonoscopy scheduled.

I'm honestly much more scared of the bowel prep than the procedure itself because I have severe emetophobia. If anyone here also has emetophobia or was terrified of the prep, I'd really appreciate hearing how it went for you.

My questions

I'm curious what symptoms people with IBD or Ulcerative Colitis experienced, especially before they were diagnosed.

• Did your symptoms come and go, or were they constant?
• Did anyone else have years of relatively mild symptoms before things suddenly got worse?
• Has anyone had calprotectin go from normal to extremely high in a short period of time?
• How was the colonoscopy prep, especially if you're someone who gets nauseous easily or has emetophobia?
• Any general advice, tips, or things you wish you'd known before getting diagnosed?

For some additional context:

• I've only had blood in my stool twice in my life, and neither episode involved a large amount of blood.
• I've never had black or tarry stools.

I'd really appreciate hearing other people's experiences. I know nobody here can diagnose me, but reading about other people's journeys would help ease my anxiety while I wait for the colonoscopy.

Thanks for reading.

Also i apologize for alot of yapping, my paragraph has been enhanced/rewritten by AI since my english is not so sharp at all lmao. So for the conclusion, Im not yet diagnosed with IBD or UC, im just sharing my GI experiences.

Wasn’t sure what flair to use so went for IBD flare because that’s where I’m at right now!

Just getting to know the relevant groups here for this stuff. I’m in Northern Ireland, female in my 40s with many years of symptoms that have now worsened quite a bit and include blood, mucus, cyclical patterns from one extreme to the other bathroom wise, previously clear imaging besides a “twisty” bowel and adhesions found on bowel during gallbladder removal. I’m here now following 3 hospital visits in the last month, one of them an admission (with no bed after 50 hours), confirmed active ileitis and waiting for red flag colonoscopy. My whole experience last week in particular was, to say the least, pretty awful. One minute I’m ok and the next I’m in floods of tears thinking about it and worrying about if I have to go back. I was sent home with no information on dietary advice, prep for colonoscopy, nothing. GP sent me back to A&E on Friday as I couldn’t pass wind, but fortunately (so lucky!) things progressed late Friday night.

I’m at home again, actively flaring, while waiting for scopes, biopsies and diagnosis. They’ve already lost multiple blood tests and accidentally cancelled my bowel prep for the colonoscopy once, fixed this morning by the scheduling team. Based on my experience so far, I’m not expecting it to be easy despite the confirmed contrast CT findings (severe inflammation in ileum, ilio-something junction, fat stranding), ongoing blood and mucus in stool, weeks of severe diarrhoea followed by impaction. Gastro incredibly dismissive. Belly is stinging and bloating right back up again as I type this.

Feeling pretty alone with it, tbh, and would really like to talk to people with similar experiences.

Does anyone else feel like complete crap when tapering prednisone? Like yes my Crohn’s is a LOT better but everything else is blah.
Tomorrow I taper to 10mg after starting out at 40mg 3 weeks ago (10mg taper every week)

My body feels like it’s going wild. My chest is tight. I wake up feeling like I ran a marathon the night before.

Even my Oura ring is like what is going on? My readiness scores just keeps dropping. I got major symptoms today due to my HRV being really low.

It’s all such a weird thing to explain, anyone else feel like this during a prednisone taper? It’s making my anxiety bad! Like should I be concerned? Should I go to doctor or is it all just good ol prednisone.

Hi, I'm 20M. I've been having issues with bad digestion my whole life. Diharrea several times a day during flare ups (every 1 or 2 weeks), debilitating abdominal pain +10 times a day that sometimes makes me wake up overnight to go to the bathroom, sudden urgency where I need to find a toilet in 5 seconds or I'm shi**ing myself. I've tested for celiac desiease, sed rate, colonoscopy, endoscopy, parasytes bacteria fungus etc... The only test that came out not normal was calprotectin, healthy value is below 50 and it came out 283 for me. Should I insist to get more tests? I have no idea what could it be but it's ruining my life and doctors keep saying I'm too young so I should try therapy first

edit: I take trimebutine when I'm having flare ups, and fodmap diet helps (not always). Imodium- loperamide- works wonders until it stops working and it all comes out 3 times worse so I don't take it anymore.

Hey y’all. Long story short, I ended up in the ER last Friday with INTENSE abdominal cramping after a long bout with diarrhea and a couple weeks of randomly vomiting after eating or drinking certain things. I had a CT scan which showed lots of inflammation in my terminal ileum and the blood test for inflammation was about 5 times higher than normal. The doctors have mentioned the possibility of Crohn’s quite a few times. The ER doctor put me on a prednisone taper and I’ve been eating a low-residue diet in preparation for my upcoming colonoscopy with the GI doctor on Wednesday.

In your experience, even though I’m feeling better because of the prednisone, will my guts still show if something is wrong during the colonoscopy, or will things have cleared up because of the treatment? If something is going on, I’d like to get ahead of it and not go around in circles for months or years, ya know? Thanks for your time!

We are on Day 7 of a hospital stay that started because we thought he had contracted a terrible bacteria. Now, they have done almost every test imaginable and after yesterday’s colonoscopy/endoscopy, they seem to be narrowing down to IBD. No one in our family has any history of this, so we are a little out of our depth.

It just blows my mind because prior to this, he has been so healthy, has never had diarrhea, and even had constipation issues. Can it really just appear out of the blue like this? Any tips for helping him deal with this as a child and adult?

So I had a colonoscopy done, been having symptoms on and off for the past 5-6 years or so and they've found:

Terminal Ileum - Mucosa & Colitides: patchy moderate erythema and granularity, patchy mild congestion, few small ulcers and ileitis

Right colon - Mucosa & Colitides: patchy mild erythema and granularity; colitis

Mucosal inflammation, terminal ileum ulcers and ileitis - likely IBD

Waiting on a small bowel MRI later in the month and for biopsies to come back but just wondering from others' experiences what this sounds like?

I am 19 Years old and was diagnosed with Ulcerative colitis about 1.5 Year ago. Currently i am in flare remission but still i am struggling to gain weight . I am 5”11 and weigh about 52kg . I tried to bulk about 800-1000 calories surplus for a month still didn’t gain even a pound what is the issue.

Hello!

I’ve been on a mission to see a GI specialist for 6 years. Due to state-health insurance, every dr previously has refused to give a GI referral, which I cannot afford to see out of pocket.

I was in so much pain yesterday and ended up throwing up from the pain, my partner to me to the ER. They gave fluids, and an oral pain med which I promptly threw up. I was afraid to even go because I have gone in the past and all that was done was an EKG and sent me home telling me to relax because it’s all due to anxiety… thankfully this time they did some scans, but are obviously limited due to drs and resources in emergency care. Basically, the doctor told me I have a visibly fatty build up around part of my colon (the part with the most acute/sharp pain) and the rest of my gi pain is likely due to intense inflammation. Said I most likely have IBD, but need a colonoscopy for an actual diagnosis. Told me to see a gi dr which I am still trying to access, but getting closer.

Anyways, I haven’t eaten in ~30ish hours due to the pain I had yesterday. Each day for the last 6 years have been increasing severity of symptoms to the point where I’m afraid to eat anything. I know I need to for my body to function properly, but I’m terrified of ending up in so much pain I’m throwing up again. I’m tired of waking up in so much pain that I’m sobbing for an hour each time I’m up, and get AT MOST 2-3 hours of sleep at a time.

Until I’m able to see a specialist, does anyone have recommendations on maybe nutrient dense drinks or protein powders/etc that might be easier on my system? It’s at the point where anything I eat ends the same. Tried all the restrictive diets. Tired of living on potatoes and rice and still feeling awful. Any recommendations for drinks/nutrient dense shake mixes that are easier for y’all? Thank you in advance for your feedback. ❤️

TLDR; went to ER from likely undiagnosed IBD (actively trying to get a GI specialist) pain and vomiting from pain, haven’t eaten ~30 hours, asking what nutrient/protein drinks others with IBD find helpful or less irritating to GI tract

I’m a 33-year-old male, and about a month and a half ago I noticed a small amount of blood on the toilet paper and on the surface of my stool. I can’t say for sure whether it was bright red or more of a wine-colored red, but it only happened once.
It was only a small amount, and I had no other symptoms at the time. I was terrified because I have severe health anxiety and I believe I’m a hypochondriac.

The very next day, I started experiencing a dull ache below my belly button, which led me to see a gastroenterologist. During an anoscopy, the doctor found hemorrhoids and referred me for a flexible sigmoidoscopy. The sigmoidoscopy showed only mild, nonspecific inflammation of the rectum, with nothing particularly concerning.

However, the dull discomfort persisted and eventually seemed to shift to the area of my descending colon, near the splenic flexure. It’s there constantly, 24/7. I wouldn’t even call it pain—it’s more like a persistent sensation that feels as though it’s about to become painful. Sometimes it radiates to my back and even to my left shoulder.

I haven’t had any further bleeding. My bowel movements have been normal overall, although I do always notice a small amount of mucus.
My gastroenterologist has scheduled a colonoscopy for IDB screening in the end of the month, and I’m absolutely terrified of what it might find.