u/PandemicDays

25 yo female, 5’5”, 133 lbs.

About a year ago I began dealing with blood and mucus in my stool. It was treated as hemorrhoids initially with fiber and stool softening medication, but did not improve after 11 weeks.

So a year later, I have gone through two colonoscopies (one without a biopsy, and one with — biopsy was clean), one upper endoscopy, one capsule endoscopy and preliminary CTE scan, a SIBO breath test, and countless stool/blood tests. With these they’ve ruled out celiac, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s, food intolerances and allergies, various bacteria/viruses/parasites.

However, my capsule endoscopy came back saying the bowel looked normal, they just found approximately 18 small ulcers in the last two sections of my small intestine. And my CT scan showed a completely normal small bowel as well, no thickening or strictures anywhere.

During this time of over a year, I have dealt with NONE OF THE FOLLOWING:

NO abdominal pain, cramps or bloating.

NO diarrhea, constipation, nausea, or vomiting.

NO hemorrhoids or polyps found.

NO fever, weight loss, or loss of appetite.

NO sudden urge to use the bathroom, or pain when going.

NO anemia/iron deficiency.

NO systemic issues like swollen or painful joints, eye or liver issues, or skin rashes/ulcers.

Over this year I have had consistently elevated calprotectin in stool, from 70-230 (To specify, I’ve been told these levels are due to the blood in my intestinal tract interfering with the tests, I don’t know if that matters). But I’ve been tested for CRP levels and they’ve been entirely normal. And my CTE scan I had recently into this year of issues showed a completely normal small intestine, aside from constipation (stool in the small intestine that shouldn’t be there, in my case). My CTE scan also showed I have an umbilical hernia but it’s unclear if this is causing this and the hernia subreddit did not think so either.

My ONLY symptoms all year have been blood and mucus in stool. I would not say a lot, but it has been consistent.

I have had persistent fatigue as well, but my doctors have been unclear on what to attribute it to specifically as i dealt with this problem long before i had issues with blood and mucus — I also have an IGA deficiency that was causing me to deal with the same respiratory infections over and over. (And I have been told having an IGA deficiency makes me more susceptible to developing Crohn’s and Celiac which is why I had extensive testing for both.) and they felt that was also contributing to fatigue, but it is still here after taking immune boosters to successfully give me the antibodies I was not making naturally.

I have chronic low lymphocytes as well, but that’s also been hesitantly attributed to my IGA deficiency at this point. I do not know if Crohn’s can also cause this though.

I suppose my question is, has anyone else with Crohn’s dealt with this in the beginning stages? Could this be Crohn’s, even if everything else has come back relatively negative for it a year into these problems? Can early Crohn’s possibly look like this a year into things, with no other symptoms present?

I do not and have never smoked or vaped, and never drink either if that matters. NO radiation either. I also do not deal with long term/heavy use of NSAIDs.

Thank you in advance to anyone who can answer this.

25 yo Female, 5’5” and 133 lbs.

One year ago I began experiencing lots of mucus and blood in stool. I was initially treated as if I just had hemorrhoids and constipation (despite me feeling no symptoms of these) but my situation did not improve. So two colonoscopies, one upper endoscopy, one SIBO breath test, and countless stool/blood lab samples later, we have thoroughly ruled out parasites, bacterial/fungal/viral infections, Celiac, Crohn’s, Ulcerative Colitis, hemorrhoids/polyps, and I am not taking any medications known to cause this, no radiation treatments either. Diet also does not affect this issue, and no known food allergies found.

I deal with GERD symptoms too (frequent heartburn that medication doesn’t help the way I’m told it’s supposed to, as well as air/gas frequently coming back up my throat) but the upper endoscopy could not find anything of note either.

The blood and mucus in my stool still persists. I do not deal with fever, no abdominal pain, bloating, or cramps. No sudden urge to use the restroom, no diarrhea or constipation. No vomiting. No pain with bowel movements. Just constantly elevated calprotectin in my stool ranging from 70-240, meaning inflammation is somewhere. I am just very, very fatigued at all times, and blood/urine tests have always shown some level of dehydration despite me drinking more frequently than I’d personally like. I also have had chronically low lymphocytes, but we are still trying to figure out what is causing that exactly, as I also have an IGA immune deficiency (which is why they tested me so thoroughly for celiac and IBS issues, but show no signs or positives on tests.)

I recently got a CT scan in preparation for a capsule endoscopy, and it revealed I have a fat-containing umbilical hernia, and the inflammation was found, located in my small intestine. I finished the capsule endoscopy almost three weeks ago now, I’m still waiting for an answer.

I do not drink, and do not smoke or vape if that matters.

I asked a hernia subreddit about this and they’re doubtful that it is due to the hernia, so my question is, has anyone else dealt with anything like this before? And have you ever gotten any answers as to what is causing this?

Thank you in advance if anyone can answer this.

25 yo Female, 5’5” and 133 lbs.

One year ago I began experiencing lots of mucus and blood in stool. I was initially treated as if I just had hemorrhoids and constipation (despite me feeling no symptoms of these) but my situation did not improve with weeks of treatment. So two colonoscopies, one upper endoscopy, one SIBO breath test, and countless stool/blood lab samples later, we have thoroughly ruled out parasites, bacterial/fungal/viral infections, Celiac, Crohn’s, Ulcerative Colitis, hemorrhoids/polyps, and I am not taking any medications known to cause this, no radiation treatments either. Diet changes also do not improve or worsen this issue, and no known food allergies have been found.

The blood and mucus in stool still persists to this day. I do not deal with fever, no abdominal pain, bloating, or cramps. No sudden urge to use the restroom, no diarrhea or constipation. No vomiting. No pain with bowel movements. Just constantly elevated calprotectin in my stool ranging from 70-240, meaning inflammation is somewhere. Sometimes a sensation like I am not finished with my bowel movements.

I recently got a CT scan in preparation for a capsule endoscopy, and it revealed I have a fat-containing umbilical hernia, and the inflammation was found, located in my small intestine.

My question, if any of this information is helpful enough to discern; is it possible that my umbilical hernia can be causing this issue?

I had no idea I had a hernia before this CT scan as there is no noticeable/visible bulge no matter what I do or how I move, but I understand my navel is over my small intestine, where the inflammation is. I do not know how big or small this hernia is, or even where it is precisely, as I was not shown my CT scan or given a size, only informed a hernia was present. I feel no pain, other from a consistent sensation of fullness around my navel, (which I had assumed was from my inflamed small intestine), and a dull, acute pulling sensation in the area if I stretch or lean backwards.

Thank you in advance if anyone can answer this, I am just trying to figure this out.