Referral changed to 2 week referral. I’m scared!

[BottomStress]

I was referred to gastroenterology by my GP 4 weeks ago, after positive fecal calprotectin (very high, 1200) and occult blood (only just consisted positive, 10.3 when

No it is done when there is a chance it could be cancer not because they suspect it is, most of these referrals will show something other than cancer.

@bloodywhitecat

No it is done when there is a chance it could be cancer not because they suspect it is, most of these referrals will show something other than cancer.

Sorry, yes, I don’t think I’m explaining myself very well. There was always a chance it ‘could’ be cancer, which even the GP did say. I’m just unsure why it’s been changed from urgent gastro referral (which according to the hospitals website is around an 8 week wait at the moment) to an urgent 2 week referral.

Maybe it should have always been done as a 2 week referral and she made an error or perhaps I misunderstood.

Op - maybe they've changed it to get it dealt with quicker, things have slowed due to pandemic

I would imagine it meets the criteria for the two week rule and has been changed for that reason. Good luck, I know how worrying it is

Op I have crohn’s, I have just had a 4 week referral because my fecal calprotectin was 380.

I have been diagnosed for 10 years and it’s pretty normal to be seen quite quickly with gastro issues. I suspect there are a couple of reasons you have been put through as urgent. Firstly, your fecal calprotectin is very high which would mean if you do have IBD you are having a severe flare up. This would need to be treated very quickly before your bowel became increasingly scarred. Secondly, because you have blood in the your stool they just want to rule out worst case scenario. This is how all medical professionals work, there is a pyramid, they start from worse case scenario and keep moving down, ruling things out, before they reach definite diagnosis. Even when they strongly suspect they know it is IBD. Don’t let the referral scare you, you will be treated and feeling better in no time.

I also have extreme health anxiety but honestly, your symptoms sound like IBD, especially considering your age. Blood is very common with these conditions.

Sorry that was terribly written, I kept having to go back to it (baby climbing all over me).

I work in this field. It does sound based on your age/history that it could well be IBD. The problem is they can’t tell that for certain so they treat it as a two week wait, to get you seen promptly, until they can rule out cancer. Where I work we are back on top of things hitting targets for two week waits. The more routine stuff is still behind though. Even if it is “just” IBD (I know the thought of cancer is scary, but obviously appreciate IBD is worrying too), it’s best for you to be on the two week wait pathway to get you in promptly because if they do find IBD, they can get you on treatment ASAP. Hope all goes well for you.

@Maggie900 Don’t worry, it was very clear, thank you!

The calprotectin was very high, but I am having no symptoms of inflammation. No abdominal pain and no diarrhoea. I am still very ‘regular’, other than the occasional small amount of fresh red blood on the toilet paper (maybe every 2 weeks or so) I am absolutely fine. It’s all just very strange. I did have a badly upset stomach for a couple of days in January, but I had covid at the time. I don’t know if that can cause inflammation?

I am quite relieved that the test I did myself came back negative, hopefully that counts for something.

Thank you for the advice everyone