An alternative to the dreaded scope...

So I finally googled the test that my GI said I should.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faecal_calprotectin

Sounds like it might be an awesome way to avoid the scope unless absolutely necessary. Which would totally rock.

Has anyone on here tried this? Or does anyone's GI use this to monitor your progress?

Yes, we've had this done in Italy and were told that they and another test (lactoferrin) are more accurate than blood tests, which are quite often normal even when inflammation exists. It's widely available in the US but isn't covered through OHIP (I don't know about the other provinces). However, a friend just did some investigation and found that a few labs will do it (life labs being one) for $110 for an rx from a GP and I assume insurance would cover that if you have it. So, I plan to get our ped to rx these for my daughter and read them myself. I hope it's covered on OHIP soon and becomes a standard test rxed by GIs here

I don't know if it's an alternative to a scope when it's necessary (ie for cancer monitoring) but it's more accurate than blood tests for detecting intestinal inflammation.

My GI tested my fecal calprotectin a few times. It definitely accurately tracked my inflammation, unlike CRP and sed rate which seemed to change randomly relative to my flare (sometimes normal when I was flaring hard, or vice versa). At my illest in the hospital my fecal calprotectin spiked to >900, I believe upon discharge it was down to about 300 (no inflammation is <50).

That said, you still need regular scopes for cancer monitoring, but perhaps a little less often.