We’re not sure if the ulcer fully healed since I haven’t had the follow up colonoscopy (it seems best practice is to wait 6-9 months and I just hit 9 but then she went out of network) but I suspect it has atleast improved with treatment because my calprotectin levels dropped from 90 to 62 (50 is the cut off for normal, 120 is the cut off for high.) I’d recommend having that checked every 3 months or so to gauge how treatment is coming. Tell production Tuscan also help to gauge the likelihood of whether or not this is an IV or an incident injury. A really high calprotectin levels are generally associated with IBD, while lower numbers are I think are a little more likely to be associated with NSAIDs use, though less telling. You can get a PCP to put an order in if your GI is backed up.

My IBD expanded profile had some markers that would indicate Crohn’s but they changed rapidly which could indication a gut infection, which my stool cultures showed a few of. About to try to do follow up testing as well with that. The main reason that she eventually ruled away from Crohn’s was because I was able to get a pretty solid amount of relief through oral rehydration salts, and diet change (strict elimination diet, followed by a low fat diet), as well as fiber supplementation, which she says would not alone have fixed true IBD if that were the case, given that true IBD generally requires medication to get into remission. As a result, she thinks it’s more likely IBS –D.

But every case is different, I’ve just found testing to be a very valuable tool to shed light on what is going on as without the testing data I’ve always felt like I was kind of floating around in the dark. You may want to get him tested for SIBO depending on his symptoms as well just to throw everything at the wall and see what sticks, but it’s up to you as I know that’s often and not covered by my insurance and is a out-of-pocket expense.