Advice please?!

[x0lou0x]

Hello,
I was diagnosed with crohn's in february of this year so it's still relatively new to me...
I was put on entocort at first with the consultant hoping this would put me into remission... it didn't so i'm now on 8x500mg of pentasa a day, been on it a month with no results but i'm planning on persevering as my doc said the next option is pred and i don't want the side effects from it...
anyway I have been really stressed these last few weeks (a major trigger for me) and I have noticed new symptoms...
really bad pain in my rectum and throbbing. the pain is worse during a bm and the throbbing is there all the time...
I thought it might be hemorrhoids so i had a look down there with a mirror...
(Sorry for the tmi but i spose i'll have to get used to sharing this sort of information)
and i noticed that there was a blue/red raised bit which again indicated hemorrhoids to me but i've never had them before so i'm only guessing
However, there also seemed to be a very small hole next to anus which i'm really hoping isn't a fistula but i've never had anything like this before so i don't know what to look out for.
any advice on first symptoms of fistulas or what to do would be really welcome as i'm so panicked about this

 

[sfgirl]

I'm sorry you feel so bad. I think u should definitely get checked for a fistula and possibly abscesses. I'm up to surgery #4 now for rectal abscesses and fistulas with one more to go (hopefully). There are meds they can try before surgery becomes an option though. I suggest getting checked out before things get too bad down there.

 

[Essieluv]

I think you should get that looked at. My fistula was found because a small bead from my Pentasa that I hadn't dissolved had gotten stuck in it. It was only a tiny hole on the skin near my anus, and it took a very long time for doctors to even notice it. The faster you treat fistulas, the easier they are to get rid of. Good luck!

 

[x0lou0x]

thank you for the advice, i appreciate it!
guess i better book in at the docs...
i know this sounds silly as i have crohn's but apart from my 2 colonoscopys (which i was heavily sedated for) no one has examined me there!
hence trying to put it off

 

[sfgirl]

Its not as bad as it seems. I was very nervous to get my bottom looked at the 1st time so I put it off and my abscess got so big I couldn't walk. The exam and recovery was much better than the time I spent putting it off.

 

[x0lou0x]

Update,
I have just got back from my gp, she has taken me off the pentasa due to no results and looked at my back passage... she said that it looks like a cut and that fistula's are big holes
im still a bit dubious as to whether its just a cut as she isn't my specialist and also i thought that fistula's looked like a needle wound not a big hole?

also she said there's nothing else they can do right now in terms of medication so now i am not taking anything until i see my consultant again

 

[KayleighMeek]

Sorry you are suffering at the moment it sounds horrible. I have been having problems too and went to my gastro nurse yesterday who had a look they couldn't see anything but because of my symptoms are sending me for an MRI to check what is going on and properly determine if its a fistula or not. I would really see someone in the GI department as they specialise in that particular area where your GP may not have much experience with Crohn's disease and fistulas. Have you got a flare line or non urgent enquiries number? It might be worth giving them a call and see if they want to see you sooner x

 

[x0lou0x]

Hello,
Sorry been hectic with uni work...
I have been using the ointment the doctor gave me (has hydrocortizone in it) and my cuts (which i also had) have cleared but the hole shaped wound hasn't...
I don't seem to be having much draining from it
any suggestions on what to do next? I don't have a flare line to call and I don't know when my next appointment is with my consultant (Although i did have a really bad flare and saw a different doctor who is trying to get my appointment moved up)
Thanks!