I need advice on mixed Prometheus test results.

What other tests have you had that have come back normal?

The Prometheus test is pretty accurate but not always correct, so it's best to use it in conjunction with other tests (colonoscopy, CT enterography, capsule endoscopy, etc) to determine whether or not you truly have Crohn's.

It's not terribly uncommon to be positive on an individual marker or two and yet still have the overall result come back as "Pattern Not Consistent with IBD." That happens quite often.

That's because the determination of whether you have IBD or not depends not only on the individual markers compared to reference levels, but also on the levels of the different markers compared to each other. It's a complicated formula they use for the overall determination of whether or not you have IBD. And, again, their formula is pretty accurate but not 100%. Their formula ends up being wrong for about 1 out of 10 to 20 people.

I would ask to do another colonoscopy, and then perhaps a capsule endoscopy or CT enterography (which is essentially a newer, higher-resolution version of the small-bowel follow through).

For three years, I've had problems with my stomach. It bloats out after every meal to the size of a 6 month pregnant woman's belly. I've learned there are certain foods I can't eat including chicken, turkey (food allergy tests confirmed this), anything spicy, and most recently bananas. If I do eat these foods, I have a painful stomach attack which usually lasts 3-4 hours. During this time, I have to lie down and mostly just cry to ease the pain until its over. I've had an endoscopy, colonoscopy, numerous cat scans and MRIs. (I also had a HIDA scan to rule out the gallbladder). While the endoscopy showed acid reflux and one cat scan showed a loop of small bowel that was swollen, there was not much else to go on until my doctor ordered the Prometheus IBD Serology 7. My doctor was surprised to find the results stating that the Pattern is Consistent with IBD and Crohn's Disease.

Even though this test has come back positive, he isn't entirely sure that I have Crohn's Disease. I asked him what the chance is that I have Crohn's Disease or that I will get it eventually based on this test and he said 40-60 percent. I have a capsule endoscopy scheduled for this Monday and he hopes to find more answers. I certainly do not want Crohn's Disease, yet I am tired of having to take test after test and not receiving many answers. I'm wondering if anyone else has had all tests come back negative and then the Prometheus Test come back positive for IBD. Has anyone else been diagnosed based on the capsule endoscopy? Thanks:)

Beave, thank you so much for your speedy reply. Its comforting to know that other people out there have experienced similar issues and are knowledgeable about this disease. The cat scan I had that showed the inflamed loop of bowel was taken at an emergency room visit about a year and a half ago. I had gone there because I had been having stomach attacks all week and my stomach was actually stuck in a very bloated position. As soon as I arrived, they told me they were pretty sure I was pregnant, which I quickly and adamantly denied. When the pregnancy test came back negative, they then immediately thought it was appendicitis. To make a long story short, they said it must have been an ovarian cyst that ruptured since they found free floating fluid in my pelvis and mentioned that this was probably what caused trauma to the bowel and caused it to swell. I found this all very confusing since I was sure my stomach attacks were food-related all week.
This emergency visit jump started a chain of doctors appointments to various specialists over the year and has had my gastro baffled. He didn't seem too concerned over the loop of bowel that was swollen in the small intestine, yet it seems to me that this may be a small piece that fits somewhere in the puzzle of what has been going on in my body.
Since this was a year and a half ago, do you think I should still be concerned about the capsule getting stuck also considering all the problems I've had in the past year? I will make sure to ask my doctor about it when I go on Monday. The 90 percent chance of having it does concern me, yet I have to say that I've been preparing myself. I also experience joint pain and very dry eyes, which my doctor says could be related to Crohn's Disease. Thanks again!

Thank you for the advice Vitak. So, I had my capsule endoscopy on Monday and received my results already. Completely NORMAL. I'm at the end of my rope--I've had stomach pain associated with certain foods for two years and still no answers. I guess my Prometheus results meant nothing because apparently there is no sign of Crohn's Disease anywhere in my system. I'm glad I don't have it, but I'm left confused and upset that I still have no answers and I'm back to square one. So in my case, I guess the positive Crohn's Disease Prometheus Test results didn't make a difference. So far it seems all I got from those results is confusion and an even deeper hole in my pocket after what I had to pay for the test.

Thanks for the kind words Jeanneac. My doctor has given me some medicine to calm a stomach attack once it starts and Nexium for gerd. A fiber drink is probably something I should try. I do hope that I get to the truth eventually, even if it takes a few more years! Thanks again:)