New to forum

[Dcadirish3]

Hi all,
I am new to this sight. I have been told by a GI that I went to today that he is 90% sure that I have Crohns disease. All I presented to him was low back pain and an anal fissure at midline (3 o'clock). He wants to do a colonoscopy to confirm. He handed me a packet that talked about treatments and surgery. Imread about stomas and colostomy bags and i am really nervous. I have no other symptoms. No pain at all. No family history. I am obviously taken aback by this and a little upset. Can a fissure be the only symptom?
I am a 37 year old male. Thanks for any input

 

[KayleighMeek]

Hello,
Welcome to the forum but sorry they think you have crohn's disease. You can have crohns with this being the only symptom as it may only be affecting this area I think te called peri anal crohns. Someone may correct me there as this isn't where my disease is found. Some people do have to have surgery and had stomas but a lot are treats with medication or resection surgery but again it all depends where your crohns is and how severe it is.
I have been diagnosed with crohns colitis for around 4 years now and still haven't had any surgery and live a vaguely normal life when medication keeps everything in check. I am also the only person in my family who has the disease.
Wishing you luck and hopefully they can get you a good treatment plan to get your symptoms under control x

 

[David]

Hi there and welcome

Let's hope that it's NOT Crohn's. But I'm glad your GI is being thorough and doing a colonoscopy. It's certainly possible to have a fissure and back pain and for it not to be Crohn's. And I certainly wouldn't worry about the stoma and colostomy bag stuff, especially with your symptoms.

You don't have any other symptoms? Weight loss, constipation, diarrhea, weird rashes, blood in your stool, fatigue, fever. Nothing weird?

Please keep us updated what they find with the colonoscopy.

 

[Dcadirish3]

Thanks David,
I really have slight throbbing rectal pain...Nothing else.
The GI said Crohns bc he said that a fissure off midline usually means Crohns.

 

[David]

Let's hope he's wrong!

Either way, we're here for you. Good luck!

 

[lola99]

Welcome to the forum. First off id like to say don't be scared by all the stuff you read because it doesn't apply to everyone. Surgery is usually the last resort and for bad cases. If your not having any other symptoms besides a fissure I'm surprised your doctor would be quick to say he believes it could be crohn's. Alot of testing goes into a crohn's diagnosis (small bowel series x-ray,blood tests,egd,colonscopy,etc). Good luck and hope you feel better.

 

[Dcadirish3]

Well,
It has been a couple of weeks. I have been to a new GI. She is really nice. I went through a small bowel series x-ray. I do have narrowing/inflammation right where the small and large intestine meet. I have a colonoscopy scheduled this coming Tuesday. The GI said the Crohn's is a possibility because of the fissure and x-ray.

She did say that a lot of times when people are diagnosed in their mid 30's to 40's ( I am 37) that Crohn's tends to be a mild form. Has anyone experienced or heard similar?

I don't know much about Crohn's bc I am not meeting with the GI again until after the colonoscopy.

I do have anxiety which makes things worse (my mind wonders and thinks the worst).

I have been feeling bloated and have had pain near my right hip. Not sure if it is my anxiety or not

I am still kind of in shock bc physically all I have had is fissure, this bloating and the occasional diarrhea 2x a month.

Sorry for the novel but just new to all this.

I don't want to read a 100 articles on symptoms and stories of Crohn's bc I have learned all that can drive you a little crazy. My big fear is an ileostomy or stoma, I don't want to offend anyone but I am scared of one. My GI said not to worry about this as these are all rare and seen in severe cases. She said that people have long normal lives on meds and good diet.

Does the swelling in the intestines go away with meds? Or are your intestines permanently damaged once you have had some swelling?

Sorry if these questions are silly...just trying to wrap my mind around some of this.
Thanks all

 

[David]

Hmm, the narrowing is indeed concerning

Yes, I have read numerous studies where later onset Crohn's disease tends to not be as serious.

Right hip pain isn't uncommon in people with IBD from the anecdotes I've read around here.

Swelling can indeed go away with medications. Sometimes inflammation is unchecked for too long and that can lead to scar tissue which does not go away with meds. But if it's not extensive it's not that big of a deal as long as the additional inflammation is brought under control.