A regular appointment
I had an appointment with my gastroenterologist the other day. It was just a regular checkup to see how I was doing.
Blood test results
My doctor said my blood test results have been normal. She said if the marker that they look at for Crohn’s — CRP (C-reactive protein) — is under 10, it’s normal. My past few test results have all been under 10, though they have been increasing (from 1 point something to my most result result, 4 point something). My doctor didn’t say anything about this pattern, so I guess that’s not a big deal.
Bathroom habits
I mentioned to her that I feel like after I stopped taking Entocort, my Crohn’s has been a bit more active, but nothing unmanageable. Most days, I’ll go to the bathroom 0-2 times, though for the past few weeks, about once a week, I’ll go 4-6 times in a few hours. My doctor wrote this down, but she didn’t mention changing my therapy at all, which is fine with me.
Previous rheumatologist appointment
My doctor asked about my previous appointment with a rheumatologist. I told her what vitamins he recommended I take, and that I wasn’t put on any other drugs for my bones since I wasn’t breaking any.
Fecal calprotectin research study
Sometimes, my doctor invites me to participate in Crohn’s research studies, which I usually do. At my last appointment, I was told about a study on fecal calprotectin. Basically, there is something in your stool called calprotectin. They are hoping they can take a stool sample and measure the amount of calprotectin and be able to tell if you are having a flare-up. If they find that the results from the stool sample (and a blood test, taken the day I gave them the stool sample) correspond with, I guess, my reported Crohn’s activity, then in the future, they can have people just give stool samples rather than go for colonoscopies. That’s definitely something I support, so I was glad to poo in a jar for them. At my last appointment, I was given a plastic jar to use for my sample. I could take the sample a day or so before my appointment as long as I kept it in the fridge afterwards. I also had to do a blood test the day of my appointment, which I wasn’t thrilled about, but the people at my hospital who take the blood are very good at it, even with my tiny veins. They didn’t seem to need to take a lot of blood either, so all went well. My doctor and the girl doing the study let me know that they will contact me if the results of my stool sample or blood test come back not normal, but they fully expect everything will be normal.
The future
I have another appointment in four months, which I guess is what I’ll keep having for quite a while, unless I run into problems.