Abnormally high FIT test

[Thomastuchel]

I have had bowel and digestive problems on and off for a few years. This weekend I was in a lot of pain and cramping after seeing a GP I had to do a FIT test and a Calprotectin test. Anyway I handled them in yesterday morning and my FIT has come back abnormal my level is 400.

I have to go back to the GP tomorrow and am on 2 week pathway.

I knew something wasn't right, I'm in a bit of a flap so any comforting advice, stories or help would be appreciated.

good luck with it, hope have a colonoscopy every 5 years. The prep is worse then the procedure in my opinion but you will get through it and the dr usually talks to you about it afterwards which is good.

Is the prep as horrendous as everyone says it is? I am so anxious about it. I am not anxious about the colonoscopy itself, just the prep.

The drinks are absolutely vile. I did get them down but it was a struggle. Then you cant be far from the toilet at all and be prepared for leaks. I had to put a wash on.

They are very salty and for me, I hate salt so it was horrid. But I read the advice, chilled it down and sipped it through a straw and had a nice drink to sip in between.

Its not pleasant but the second one didnt quite seem as bad as the first for me, but I think it depends on the type you get.

My prep has been sent out in the post. I am not looking forward to it at all. Luckily we have two toilets at home so I've warned the rest of the house that when I have to take it one of them is going to be out of bounds to the rest of them.

Im also going to get some of those mats you get for kids to put on the bed. My mattress is a week old and im worried about if I get caught short in the night.

you should be ok by bedtime. I think I had to take my first drink at 6pm or something and it was all over in a few hours. Then the next drink in the morning and you have a further clean out but it's not too bad then.

Re prep. I have 2 sons with IBD (one has colitis and the other Crohn's). The one with colitis has regular colonacopies since diagnosis in Jan 2020 he says that the new prep is so much better than the older stuff he had. Other son has only recently been diagnosed and said his prep was ok tasting. So it may not be so bad!

I didn't think it was, it doesn't taste nice but there was advice on here to use a straw, chill it, put ice cubes in and drink apple juice chasers with it. It still took me nearly an hour to get it down me though!

I was about halfway through the second dose before anything happened. I just didn't like being awake part of the night to keep going to the loo. I had an early morning appointment so was also a bit worried about having an accident on the way there. I sat on a towel but it was ok in the end. I did take the doses a bit earlier than they said because of that.

One thing that I had to go through about 10 pages of Google search results to find was that I had several days of period-type pains afterwards. That wasn't in any information I was given, but it is a known side effect, just one you have to dig deep to find!

(I had Plenvu prep)

I've had noticeable blood this morning. I passed bloody mucus, I'm not sure whether I should contact the gp again or not? There wasn't a lot but it was definite blood. I took a picture but I won't share here

I don’t think the GP would do anything different though, the colonoscopy is what you need and you have a date for it. I know it’s scary seeing blood and probably making you think the worst! But there are innocent causes for blood, something as simple as piles for example.

I'm on my way to the GP now. They gave me an appointment right away. I have been to the toilet since and there was only a trace of blood in the mucus.

I've also received my prep this morning. It is Plenvu which I have read isn't the nicest one to take.

I think Plenvu is half the volume of the usual one Moviprep, so if that's the case, it's a lot easier to get into you!

I don't know what GP will be able to do for you though, since you are scheduled for Colonoscopy soon? But maybe reassurance is what you need.

All the best and good luck with the outcome.

I've cocked up I got to the Drs and my appointment is tomorrow 🤦🏼‍♀️

Have you been examined by the GP? Mine did a rectal examination as well but he didn't find anything.

I had a rectal exam last week and they couldn't find anything

So I've had to to another calprotectin sample and this time it's normal. A couple of weeks ago it was 144 this time it's 15, my notes say likely ibs. Still have a colonoscopy appointment next week as my fit was 400 and Calprotectin 144 at the time of testing. I'm still having bowel issues on and off.

Is there a reason they did a second calprotectin? Hopefully your colonoscopy will give you some answers, is that soon?

They all like giving you Plenvu or Moviprep. If you can't tolerate it, most endoscopy units have Picolax and it is better than those. They don't tell you unless you ask. If the Plenvu won't stay down, ring them and ask to rebook after having a different prep or else ring now and see if you can swap for Picolax. If it is near you, you can go and collect it.

Colonoscopy is this week and I am terrified of it all. Had to start a low residue diet on Friday which was fun when I had planned to take my granddaughter to McDonald's on Saturday. Then I got home and everyone was having takeaway.

I haven't called the hosptal to ask to change the prep, I figured that either way the result is the same.

Im utterly terrified of the prep and the procedure. I don't want sedation the idea of that scares me too!

I had 300 in my FIT test, doctor rang me to tell me and that it could be serious and needed investigating. This was just before Christmas so you can imagine how worried and upset I was, and unable to say anything to the kids or grandchildren. One thing she asked is if I'd changed anything tablet wise like different vitamin pills or something. I had actually changed my magnesium brand and on comparing the ingredients discovered that the new ones had citrate I think it was, that wasn't in the old ones. Stopped taking them, symptoms stopped. Took them again, symptoms started again but the doctor still insisted on a colonoscopy. Any chance you've done the same?
I had gas and air and it was fine. 20 minutes afterwards I went home and all was OK. Good luck.

Sorry to hear you're having such a rough time. I have a few health anxieties / phobias knocking about. Really hard when you have to face them head on.

As it goes, I have multiple allergies to various medications and get quite worked up. I chose enhanced sedation, i.e. fentanyl. Paradoxically (or perhaps not as it's an opiate) that helped me to feel calm throughout. I was discharged about an hour after the procedure and felt pretty good.

Hope it goes well for you.

No i haven't started taking any different tablets. The only thing I was doing before I started with issues was having flaxseeds daily.

My sedation was fentanyl too, it was lovely! I was fully conscious but very relaxed throughout, which was useful as there was a difficult corner to get around apparently. Left about 60 mins after the procedure.

I wouldn’t rule the sedation out op.