New here - Possibly Crohn's

Hello I am new here and stumbled across this site as I was doing some research on Crohn's disease because it runs in my family. I feel as though I am developing symptoms of or have been for a while. I have no diagnosis yet but am being scheduled for tests to do so. My most recent largest sign that scared me so much was a large abscess I had. This also pointed to me that maybe it is Crohn's. I had it drained on June 27/13 after laying in bed for two days in agony. The incision site was right beside my butthole pretty much. Worst pain I have ever had. It was very scary as well. I do not think at this time I have had any fistula's develop and that wound seemed to heal okay after about 6 weeks. I now have something else that "popped" up on the other side of my butthole. It looks like a small whitehead and it drains pus and sometimes burns when I poop. There is also some pressure in that area. My surgeon looked at it and said looks like a wart and felt in my bum and said nothing else felt abnormal. My family doctor said she isnt sure what it is but gave me some hydrocortisone cream (Fucidin) to put on it. Two weeks later it is still there. My mother has been putting raw honey on it and feels that it will heal it (been 2 days). I hope that this is not a fistula. I also had a really bad yeast infection after my drainage and took medication for that; however I still have a bit of an itch and there is sometimes a weird smell. I have had constant diarhea since I got my gallbladder out a couple years back as I had a gallstone. I also poop little poops that are always diarhea at least 5 or plus more times a day. I have stomach and lower abdominal pain sometimes as well. I am just looking for answers and it scares me. My aunt who has Crohn's disease is going to come with me for my appointments. She has to go to the bathroom into a bag. If anyone has any answers or advice or what I should do to take the first step please help me. I am a 26 year old female living in Ontario. Scared.

It's good your aunt will be able to go with you for your test/appointments. Yes IBD can be hereditary and it's unclear exactly how it can get passed down, and I don't blame you for being scared and suspecting IBD based on family history and this abscess issue as well as loose stool...that said, as kazbern pointed out, gallbladder removal can also cause one to have loose stools, people without IBD can get abscesses and even fistulas. So until you know for sure, try not to worry too much because the stress isn't going to help either...I know it's hard but try not to let this get the better of you.

Hopefully you'll soon get in for the tests and get a quick answer as to what is actually going on...good luck and try and stay calm.

It's impossible to say what is going on with the abscess on your bottom. You really need to get a GI to look at it. There are ways to find a fistula, but often they are very small and visual inspection may not be sufficient.

about the gallbladder - yes, I think you could be bothered by spilled bile for a long time. It can be very irritating to the digestive tract. Have you tried a bile binder? Are you following a low fat diet?

I think you should talk to your GI about a bile binder. I think you should be following a low fat diet, since that will produce less bile. I think you could try sitz baths to see if that will help get rid of the "pimple," but that is something your GI is going to want to examine.

A fistula can form from an abscess from my understanding...did the first abscess you had also have a white head on it? I'm sure I've read others have noticed their fistulas initially starting out as an abscess.

What you're going through is horrible and most of us can definitely relate to many of the same issues (though I personally have never had an abscess or fistula---touching wood---) I've had to deal with nasty perianal crohn's skin tags, not as devastating as a fistula or abscess but to be quite honest I don't think I could mentally or physically handle either of those issues on top of my anal tags lol.

It's great that you are paying close attention to what you're consuming and avoiding and hopefully it will bring you relief...many IBDers find they can be successful with using diet as one way of helping get things under control...the tough thing is we're so individual when it comes to this disease and often what works for some doesn't work for all unfortunately...trial and error.

I know how you feel about being in the middle of eating and having to stop just to "go", it's embarrassing and very frustrating and for many of us it's the nature of the beast...but I'm still keeping fingers and toes crossed that IBD is not what's going on with you but instead maybe just an infection or something that will easily be cleared up...however, if it turns out to be an IBD all I can suggest is take it one day at a time and continue with all the positive changes you've made and know that there is lots of support here for you!

Thanks for the response kazbern. I will continue to research.

pb4 the abscess i had was on the opposite side of my bum and it drained and seemed to heal fine. This other thing happened about 3 weeks ago popped up on the other side and looks like a pimple and is small and pus is coming out of it. I thought maybe it could be a blister or infection that resulted from the drainage coming in contact with the skin and all the gauze I have had in there. It is right on the side of my butthole. Not very painful. Sometimes it feels as though there is "tightness" in the area from irritated the little pimple bump..and sometimes burns if if i poop because its so close to my bumhole.