I'm new here so hello everyone. There doesn't seem to be very much online about Crohn's and sexual health and I'm not sure if that's because Crohns doesn't normally cause these kind of problems or because people are uncomfortable talking about it. If it's that people are uncomfortable I hope I can bring it out in the open a little bit.
I'm a 27 year old male. I don't know if I have Crohn's or Colitis. Everything has pointed to Colitis so far but now with this fistula my doctors say they think I have Crohns, but they can't tell for sure. I'm not even sure if it's an abscess or a fistula. There's an opening on my left butt cheek but i guess the surgeon can't be sure that the opening opens at another end, so it could be an abscess if there's no other opening, but guessing by my bowel movements i think it opens inside of me.
But basically what I'm worried about is my inability to get a full erection. I can't prove that the fistula is causing my urological problems, but i have pain on the left side of my genitals that seems to be 'connected' to the fistula pain. If I touch my genitals it hurts into my butt area and gives me the urge to have a bowel movement, sometimes uncontrollable (seriously!).
I get twitching from my butt to my genitals when i try to pee or have a bowel movement. Did I mention i am almost unable to pass a stool: the muscles in my rectum wont flex. My colorectal surgeon said that the rectal dysfunction has been caused by the fact that the muscles in my bowel spent so much time being soaked in 'infectious material'. Could that same effect be causing my sexual dysfunction. And if so does anyone have any idea if it will come back once this fistula is healed.
I have seen four urologists and they all guess that it must be caused by my IBD. I finally have testing coming up in a few weeks - a penile doppler and an ultrasound. It has taken way too long to get adequate urologic care!
I'm just hoping that there is someone out there that can tell me about their experiences with this. I'm 27 and I'm afraid that I'll never be able to have sex again and that I'll be lonely for the rest of my life
I'm a 27 year old male. I don't know if I have Crohn's or Colitis. Everything has pointed to Colitis so far but now with this fistula my doctors say they think I have Crohns, but they can't tell for sure. I'm not even sure if it's an abscess or a fistula. There's an opening on my left butt cheek but i guess the surgeon can't be sure that the opening opens at another end, so it could be an abscess if there's no other opening, but guessing by my bowel movements i think it opens inside of me.
But basically what I'm worried about is my inability to get a full erection. I can't prove that the fistula is causing my urological problems, but i have pain on the left side of my genitals that seems to be 'connected' to the fistula pain. If I touch my genitals it hurts into my butt area and gives me the urge to have a bowel movement, sometimes uncontrollable (seriously!).
I get twitching from my butt to my genitals when i try to pee or have a bowel movement. Did I mention i am almost unable to pass a stool: the muscles in my rectum wont flex. My colorectal surgeon said that the rectal dysfunction has been caused by the fact that the muscles in my bowel spent so much time being soaked in 'infectious material'. Could that same effect be causing my sexual dysfunction. And if so does anyone have any idea if it will come back once this fistula is healed.
I have seen four urologists and they all guess that it must be caused by my IBD. I finally have testing coming up in a few weeks - a penile doppler and an ultrasound. It has taken way too long to get adequate urologic care!
I'm just hoping that there is someone out there that can tell me about their experiences with this. I'm 27 and I'm afraid that I'll never be able to have sex again and that I'll be lonely for the rest of my life