New to all of this and so unsure.

HI MacTaffy! Welcome to the forum. It's a great place to hear from regular people who are living with the same types of challenges you are facing!

To answer your questions:

1. Crohns is reasonable. "Anal disease" (as in, disease at the end of your rectum) is a hallmark of Crohns. If you're having symptoms outside your GI tract (sores in your mouth, acne on your skin, problems with your eyes) those would also point toward Crohns. If you don't have other symptoms, seeing only ulcers in your rectum could just be ulcerative proctitis, which is basically ulcerative colitis that is localized to the last 4 inches of your large intestine. But like the doctor said, the biopsies will probably point toward a clear diagnosis for you.

2. One of the big things I came to consider (and it took me quite a few years to get here) was something my GP said. "When we see one autoimmune disease, we often see more than one." So if you're lucky enough to have a wonky immune system that allows something like IBD, it may also allow your body to attack other tissues. That was my impetus for going on a biologic medicine. I tried managing it with diet, with keeping my stress level low, with exercise, with anti-inflammatories (Asacol), and with steroids when I needed a "rescue". I just never felt as good as I wanted to and kept getting more and more symptoms that doctors would just shake their heads at and say, "I don't really know why this is happening, but here's a treatment that will probably be a band-aid that works to control this symptom some of the time." My hope with going on the biologic is that by suppressing my wonky immune system, it will not only help my Crohns Colitis, but it will also keep my immune system from wreaking havoc in other parts of my body.

Another big challenge is getting to the point where you are willing to somewhat structure your life around what is best for you (in regards to your disease). If you have a partner, he/she needs to really understand how you're feeling, how your disease affects your energy and your ability to function, and be willing to pick up slack for you at the times where you're in a low period. If you don't have a partner, you need to consider whether you have friends or family that would be good support who live nearby, or whether moving somewhere that you would have more support would be a better option. This is a hard disease to take on by yourself. Tell people what you're going through. Be honest about what you need. Let them help you. Don't feel like you need to do everything you've always done. It's ok to rest, it's ok to make yourself a priority.

3. Biggest challenges I guess are the two things I talked about with #2. Finding a treatment that works well for you (treatments for IBD are all pretty hit-or-miss, and it may take a while to find your magic bullet), and being willing to make changes to your life / ask for help, in order to make living with a chronic illness more manageable.

4. At this point, I would tell my employer very little. You don't even have a real diagnosis yet. If it is noticeably affecting your job right now (like if your boss sees you running to the bathroom a dozen times a day), I'd just pull him or her aside and say, "I just want you to know that I'm going through some health stuff right now." I've had some tests and I'm waiting for results, so I won't really know what's going on for a few more weeks. But for now, I just want you to know that my symptoms are causing me to need to visit the restroom fairly often, and I'm feeling really run-down. So I'm going to keep giving everything I have while at work, but it may take some time before I'm back to my old self. I really appreciate you being understanding, and I want you to know that although I'm in the process of finding a diagnosis, it may be a few more weeks before I know what it is and am able to start some sort of treatment." Basically assure your boss that even though you're really not feeling well right now, you are on top of the situation and heading in the right direction. Acknowledge that you need a little leeway right now, and let your boss know that you appreciate his/her being understanding about that.

Did the doc that scoped you give you any sort of treatment to help with your symptoms? Having to wait 3 weeks to see a GI and start any therapy seems like a long wait. There are steroid suppositories / enemas (Canasa is an anti-inflammatory suppository that you can get by prescription from most pharmacies and there is something called a budesonide suppository that can be made by prescription at most compounding pharmacies) that might help the ulcers heal and that will help stop your urge to go all the time. If you're having to wait with the GI because you're a new patient, maybe you have an established relationship with a general practitioner that you could explain the situation to, and maybe that doctor would help you get started on something that can help heal those ulcers sooner rather than later?

Good luck! It's an intimidating diagnosis to get hit with, but the good news is that a diagnosis can get you on the right path to treatment so you can actually feel better! :)

Welcome MacTaffy. I'm 52 also and I totally hear you on the night sweats! OY!

I'm glad you found this forum and I hope you will stick around. Sometimes diagnosing the specific IBD can be a challenge (I still don't have a firm one). Both UC and Crohn's utilize the same choices of meds in treating. Strategies can be slightly different, but if you have disease in your rectum the first thing you should do tomorrow is call the DR back and ask for rectal meds, specifically mesalamine retention enemas. They will help you feel better fastest. If your scope showed inflammation in other parts of the colon you will probably end up on oral meds too.

As colie said, and as you've indicated, this is an "all body" disease. It directly affects your colon, but the fatigue and loss of appetite are global issues. People with Crohn's also often have poor nutritional uptake due to inflammation in the small bowel - you should have your iron checked (stored and circulating) and your vitamin D. My biggest challenge has been getting the various angles of my illness adequately covered. It took me a long time to figure out the right treatment protocol for all of it (you can see my approach in my sig) but I am in a solid remission that's more than 3 years old.

Don't tell your employer. You should have no problems with work once you get your treatment plan started.