Hello everyone. I have had GI issues for 20 years or so. For the first 10 to 15 years, docs always told me I had IBS or a nervous bowel. Five or so years ago, I was told I might have UC. I finally went to a GI doc two years ago, was scoped, told I had "mild" left side colitis, and given Lialda. My problems got worse from that point on. I had always suffered with day-to-day issues and occasionally from what I self-termed as flares (but which usually lasted no more than a week or so). Then about a year ago, I experienced a flare unlike anything I ever had in the past. It lasted about 3 months. Just when I thought it had ended, I got what I thought was an anal fissure that hurt like mad for weeks but then stopped hurting and left a tag. I visited my GI who took my ESR (is that the right term?) and CRP levels, said they looked "OK", and said the fissure was likely just from excessive BMs. I then felt good for a few months. About 4 months ago, I started a flare twice as bad as the previous one. I developed another fissure, but this time I ended up with an abscess. I gave up on my GI doc and went to a very well regarded hospital/clinic. They took one look at my sore bum and told me I had an abscess and very likely have perianal crohn's. Since that day I have had an MRI, CT and various other diagnostic tests. Just a week ago, I had a EUA at which time they drained an abscess and placed a seton in the one fistula they found. The other diagnostics showed issues in my terminal ilium as well.
My GI and CRS want to put me straight onto Remicade. I trust these new docs and I am pleased they took the time to locate issues my former doc just dismissed. I am just very freaked out and scared. I keep wondering to myself how I went in just a few short months from having what I thought was left-sided UC that, while not being a walk in the park, was at least manageable, to having perianal and TI crohn's, one surgery under by belt (with a lovely seton as a take home present), and my first infusion of a drug that scares the daylight out of me just weeks away.
Does perianal crohn's just continue to get worse? Are my docs insane for putting me on Remicade when the only others drugs I have used are Lialda, Flagyl and Prednisone? I am sorry for the ranting email and questions, but I feel like I went from 20 MPH to 100 MPH in almost no time and I am freaking out about everything - prognosis, how this will affect my job, my family, etc., etc. Any words of wisdom and advice would be greatly appreciated.
My GI and CRS want to put me straight onto Remicade. I trust these new docs and I am pleased they took the time to locate issues my former doc just dismissed. I am just very freaked out and scared. I keep wondering to myself how I went in just a few short months from having what I thought was left-sided UC that, while not being a walk in the park, was at least manageable, to having perianal and TI crohn's, one surgery under by belt (with a lovely seton as a take home present), and my first infusion of a drug that scares the daylight out of me just weeks away.
Does perianal crohn's just continue to get worse? Are my docs insane for putting me on Remicade when the only others drugs I have used are Lialda, Flagyl and Prednisone? I am sorry for the ranting email and questions, but I feel like I went from 20 MPH to 100 MPH in almost no time and I am freaking out about everything - prognosis, how this will affect my job, my family, etc., etc. Any words of wisdom and advice would be greatly appreciated.
