Tag Archives: calprotectin test

azathioprine, BAM, bile acid malabsorption, biopsy, bone marrow biopsy, calprotectin, crohn's, crohn's complications, Crohn's Disease, esophageal varices, fibroscan, gallstones, IBD, jaundice, liver biopsy, low platelet count, MRI scan, portal vein thrombosis, PSC, PVT, thrombocytopenia, varices

Fifty Shades of Grey

Let’s get my latest appointment out the way…….

Monday – 24th April 2017 – Gastro Appointment, Guy’s Hospital

I hadn’t planned this appointment, neither had my gastro consultant but the booking system had other ideas. It must be set to auto repeat every 6 months and doesn’t take into account any ad-hoc appointments in between. I had intended to cancel but I’m pleased I didn’t as there were things that needed talking through. I produced the obligatory list of questions (responses in red) :

1.    Biopsy results (from 11th March colonoscopy) – the report from the path lab said that the biopsies were consistent with “quiescent” Crohn’s disease. This result was about as good as it could get. Once you have the disease there will always be some signs of it, even when in remission.

2.    Explanation of rising calpro levels given result of recent colonoscopy?       – to be honest, he simply did not know what was causing the raised calpro levels. He had been concerned that something had been missed during a previous colonoscopy hence the repeat, in March, carried out by his trusted colleague (and watched by an audience of trainee, international gastroenterologists).

3.    If calprotectin tests not giving meaningful pointer to Crohn’s activity what monitoring regime should we adopt? – I had anticipated what the answer would be and I was right. If you start to feel the Crohn’s is becoming active then we’ll take it from there.

4.    The upper GI surgeon (Professor), who I saw locally (see previous post) regarding gallbladder removal, was talking about referral to a specialist liver facility “in case of needing a transplant” arising from complications during the  cholecystectomy (sounded very drastic) – my gastro agreed that I should be referred to a specialist unit in view of my concurrent conditions. The most likely unit would be the one at Kings College Hospital. The issue of needing a transplant would be a last resort if something went very wrong during the operation. He typed a letter to the Professor suggesting that the referral should go ahead.

5.    Awaiting ultrasound appointment (locally) to look at liver, gallbladder, bile duct and portal vein – noted. No date as yet.

6.    Pros and cons of having gallbladder removed? – to be discussed with specialist liver facility. Even if I decide not to have surgery I would at least be on their radar so that should I end up having another jaundice incident, that needed urgent resolution, they would already be aware of my case.

7.    Fibro-scan to see if liver cirrhosis progressing – he filled in the online booking form to request the scan. (Date now through – 4th September)

8.    Current weight 78.2kg. The target weight set prior to my ileostomy (October 2010) was to get UP to 90kg, which I achieved with the aid of 3 x Fortisip (300 calories each) per day. My subsequent decline by 12kg has been quite a loss – whilst I felt fit at this reduced weight it was a lot lighter than the previous target weight. I thought I had better point it out. We would continue to monitor.

9.    Next steps – ultrasound scan; fibro-scan; no further colonoscopies at present; follow-up appointment in 6 months time (the booking system should already be doing that); yearly endoscopy at Christmas to check varices + appointment with specialist liver unit.

50 Shades of Grey

For 30 years I really didn’t want to delve too deeply into my health. It was clear, black and white, I had Crohn’s Disease (after the usual “is it IBS debate” within the medical profession). It was centred mainly around the join between my small and large intestines (a common location) and had caused a stricture. Despite this I spent many years in remission.

In the last few years my medical life has become more complex with new issues arising. Most of them  are very definitely not black or white.

It started with the dramatic fall in my platelet count that has never recovered (thrombocytopenia). Was it really as a side effect of the Azathioprine I had been taking for 8 years? You would expect it to have bounced back when I stopped the drug. Is it related to my spleen becoming enlarged? Could this be the cause of the platelets issue instead? Two bone marrow biopsies later and there is still no definitive answer.

Next there was the incident where new blood vessels had grown in my esophagus and then burst. A subsequent x-ray showed a blood clot had formed in my portal vein (thrombosis) which had increased the pressure in the veins higher up. Most likely cause of the clot? The current theory is it’s the result of peritonitis following a perforated bowel operation in….1979! Really? That long ago? Apparently there is always a risk of PVT during any surgery. I’ve also seen research that once you have Crohn’s patients you are more susceptible to clots.

As a result of the above incident it was suggested that I might have Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC) I had a fibro-scan on my liver which showed signs of cirrhosis. What caused that? It certinly wasn’t alcohol related as I drink very little. Is it linked to that blood clot? I then had a liver biopsy and, thankfully, it showed no PSC.

What caused my recent jaundice incident last January? I felt no pain whatsoever only violent shivering and turning yellow. It must have been gallstone related but this is usually accompanied by the most excruciating pain. Again there is a potentially a link between Crohn’s and the increased likelihood of developing gallstones.

…and so to my latest consultation. Yet another puzzle – how to explain a rising calprotectin level with a colonoscopy, and biopsies, that showed I’m in remission.

…and not forgetting the reason I had that second colonoscopy – to see if there was any evidence of the strictures which showed up on the MRI scan, which there wasn’t. Another conundrum and one that had also happened back in 2012.

…and, of course, there’s the biggest grey area in the room – what causes Crohn’s Disease?

I’m not going to lose any sleep over the above. What’s done is done. It’s more out of curiosity that I would like definitive answers. In an ideal world I’d get a gastroenterologist, a hepatologist and a haematologist in a room together and let them reach a concensus on likely causes. That isn’t going to happen anytime soon…….

…but maybe the combination of conditions would at least give me a winning hand playing “Illness Top Trumps”

 

Budesonide, colonoscopy, crohn's, MRI scan

A little further down the road?

5th September 2016 – Gastro Appointment – Guy’s Hospital – 10:20am

…the story so far can be found in the post “Crying Wolf”

Today’s appointment was to get the results of the MRI scan I had five weeks, or so, ago and then work out the way forward to get my health back on track.

It was the first appointment following my retirement so no chance to just leave the office for an hour to attend. It would need a special trip and chance to suffer the reduced timetable operated by Southern Rail. Having left home in plenty of time I arrived at Guy’s only two minutes before the due time. Almost immediately my name was called for me to be weighted. I had lost around 6 kilos since my last appointment. I asked the nurse to put a note on my records that I wanted to see my usual doctor. “No problem”.

Being weighed allows you into the inner sanctum, the inner waiting area, from where you are collected by your consultant. A student approached me and asked if I would be prepared to take part in some genetics based IBD research. I’m always more than happy to help so he left me a document to read and would talk to me after I had seen the consultant.

The waiting area was remarkably quiet. It’s been jam packed on previous visits and I’ve waited over an hour to be called. I’ve been preparing to give a talk on “Living with IBD” as part of a lecture for undergraduate nurses on chronic conditions. I had intended to do it completely off the cuff but I have come to the conclusion that is unrealistic. I’ve written out what I want to stay and the software has then converted it to speech so that I can listen to it on my iPod. This seemed like a good time to give it another listen.

I was miles away, submerged in the narrative about weight loss and fatigue in IBD, and then realised my name was being called. It was my consultant. I apologised for appearing to be on another planet and we made our way into the consulting room. By now it was 10:50am.

I had my obligatory list of questions with me :

  1. Results of colonoscopy 13th July 2016 – “ongoing mild colonic Crohn’s Disease. Previous colonoscopy” – 25th February 2015 – “mild, patchy erythema throughout the colon, however no ulceration seen”. Has there been a change? Does it need to be treated?
  1. Results of MRI scan?
  1. BAM – could this be causing weight loss etc. Treatment – Questran (low tolerance) Colesevelam.
  1. Blood test organised for 2 weeks. Have asked for cholesterol to be checked

Starting with the 1) it did suggest that the Crohn’s has returned albeit mildly. I mentioned that my last calprotectin level had been elevated – around 425. He called up all my results and drew a graph which showed that the last result did not follow the trend. “Collect a sample pot on your way out and we’ll re-run the test in case that was a rogue value. Let me know when you drop the sample in so that I can keep an eye out for the result.”

I asked about potential drugs to treat the inflammation. (Usually I would have been kept on a maintenance dose of Azathioprine but the onset of thrombocytopenia back in 2008 had made this a non-starter). He explained that there were drugs that specifically targetted the colon that were used to treat ulcerative colitis. He mentioned a form of Budesonide. I have subsequently looked this up and found a NICE document about Budesonide multi-matrix (MMX/Cortiment). It is formulated to release at a controlled rate throughout the colon to minimise systemic absorption. The licensed dose is 9 mg in the morning, for up to 8 weeks. It was licensed in October 2014 for inducing remission in mild to moderate active ulcerative colitis in adults for whom aminosalicylate treatment is not sufficient.

2) What did the MRI scan show? Strictures in my colon but they hadn’t shown up on the colonoscopy. Usually a colonoscopy trumps an MRI scan so this was an unexpected result. He proposed to take the results of both to the next MDM (multi-disciplinary meeting) to try and come up with an explanation.

It also showed adhesions but the fact they existed was not news. Since shortly after my reversal I had been complaining of an ache around the anastomosis .

3) Given the very variable nature of my digestive system and my recent weight loss I wondered if it was finally time to bite the bullet and start taking a sequestrant to treat my severe bile acid malabsorption. I had been fighting shy of taking yet more drugs and have been controlling it Loperamide.

I asked if it would be possible to prescribe Colesevelam (the tablet form) rather than Questran (powders) as I had read many reports of the former being easier to tolerate. I was aware of the cost differential, a factor of 10. He said that for the good of the health service budget I should try the Questran first but this would be a discussion for me and my GP.

4) I mentioned that I had a blood test organised for a couple of weeks time and would send the results through to him. I had asked for a cholestrol check to be carried out.

He would organise my next appointment once the MDM had discussed my results. He then took me back to the student doing the genetic study and I spent 10 minutes answering questions and spitting (saliva into a sample tube).

Where did that get me?

I’ve learnt about the possibility of a new drug to treat the inflammation in my colon and I’ve set in motion potentially directly treating the BAM. I think I’ll leave the decision on that one until my next appointment when we have an answer on colonoscopy/MRI scan conflict.

…and in the meantime an old client has called me up to see if I would be free to do some work for them. Retirement will have lasted precisely 5 weeks…