Hi all, I dont fit the regular diagnosis

[foodRunner]

Hi all,

Im 23 years old I have been having anal leakage for the last 2 years or so. Its not after a bowel movement, It just leaks during the day, I can feel it but cant stop it. Ive read many posts and it seems that many people have the same, its a yellow, sticky, mucus type of discharge. Ive been wearing adult diapers for a while to catch the mess, sometimes I see blood. Last december I had a surgery because my doctor thought It was an anal fistula.

The leaking didnt stop, so I contacted him again and he had me apply nitroglycerin externally near my anus. That didnt work.

He thought it might be a Crohn's disease so he sent me to a gastroenterologist, this new guy did a biopsy (this was this last friday). I was sedated during the procedure, when I woke up he requested I do some lab work and take a tb shot, I asked him if I did indeed have Crohn's, he confirmed. We talked mildly about treatment and he basically said Im going to give you a shot every 8 weeks.

But heres the thing..

Ive done tons of reading on these types of diseases, but something doesn't seem to click. The only symptom I have is the discharge. No cramps, no abdominal pain, no pains when I have bowel movements, no fatigue, nothing! Its just the leaking.

Wanted to hear your thoughts or if anyone had a similar story or was successful able to stop the leaking ( I just saw the "success story" section and am now going to dive into those).

PS I'd rather not take the meds, Ive looked up tons of diets to follow and Ill try those and see if I notice a difference.

Thanks guys

EDIT: Currently the DR says I have crohns and a fissure

EDIT: They want to put me on remicade

 

[Josephine]

Diets are good but medication as much we hate take it. It also save grace for lot of us who crohns.

 

[PsychoJane]

Symptoms can greatly vary from one to another...
It is tricky, when you are making your first step with this disease to chose the right approach for you. Some disease will behave well, other will act recklessly. Medication, may contribute to lessen these risks of more severe symptoms related to crohn.
I encourage you, even though it is the most annoying part of the story, to read about the different medication available and make your own risk/benefit analysis of the situation. Needless to say, you will find it trickier than someone who experiment lots of pain or any other symptoms but, being "symptom" free does not mean the disease is not acting up on the inside.
Did you get any Ct Scan, MRE, colonoscopy, barium meal and so on? These, could help you discuss with your GI of the current situation of your bowel. There are certain opinions out there that suggest that the "hardest" you hit on this disease, the best it is for the disease maintenance (less risk for annoying complication such as fistula, stricture/stenosis, etc). This tenant will be pushing the use of the more potent medication at first in order to prevent those events. Unfortunately, you have to consider the risks associated with these medication as well.

Anyway, I hear you when you say you don't have much symptoms. At first, I did not have... I've been bleeding a lot during 6 months before I actually tried to seek medical advice (I was 14 at the time). That being said, I kept up with school, I also was in the cadets so I would physically train and all. Yet... I eventually became tired... and it's that symptoms (well I was tired because I was almost emptied of my blood...) that got me to consult. But even though I had almost no pain... I was a total wreck from the inside... So, we have to be careful about the external symptoms only. Try to know about your inflammation marker also. The discharge you are talking about, mucus, is your body response to inflammation so, there is, but to what point?

 

[nogutsnoglory]

Jane is right that symptoms can vary drastically in some cases.

Has your GI looked up your bum or have you had an MRE of your pelvis? The colored mucus discharge can be a sign of an abscess that is draining. If it's draining that could be a good thing and may warrant antibiotics but a doctor needs to find the cause first.

 

[David]

Hi there and welcome. Did the doctor take biopsies during the colonoscopy? If so, have the results for them come back yet?

All my best to you.

 

[Axelfl3333]

I would take the meds,I had this gunk for ages and my tablets eventually stopped it.good luck

 

[foodRunner]

Thanks to all, you guys are great. Yes the biopsies came back , in his notes he wrote

that he say hemoriods and that there was a fissure