Do I have Crohn's or IBS?

this information doesn't make sense. Inflammation means you have INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE (IBD). IBS = irritable bowel syndrome. There is no inflammation associated with IBS. Whether your IBD is Crohn's or UC I don't know but it looks a whole lot like Crohn's from what you've said.

Well, in all fairness people without IBD can can fistulas but they are usually linked to trauma (like having a large baby naturally and/or long labour) but fistulas related to IBD are completely different, so in essence if a person with IBS was pregnant and had either or both a large baby naturally and long labour they can get a fistula, but again it's not related to them having IBS.

That said, having inflammation in your GI tract and a fistula screams IBD, not IBS. People with IBD can have constipation issues (like myself and many others on this board). Also, even if I'm not constipated I generally don't have D (did at first when I got sick 23 yrs ago but for most of my CD years I've had more formed stools than D).

You might strongly consider finding a new doc, getting a second or even 3rd opinion. It can be hard to properly DX IBD (especially one over the other CD or UC although mine was easily DX for me.

Generally UC is limited to the colon/rectum and usually starts in the rectum, CD usually starts in the small intestine and can affect any part of the GI tract from mouth to anus, the inflammation with CD can also go further through the intestinal lining, with UC it always remains on the surface of the lining, that's one key distinction between CD and UC along with CD inflammation being patchy, with UC the entire area will be inflammed not patchy like with CD.

Where is your fistula?

pb4 said...
Well, in all fairness people without IBD can can fistulas but they are usually linked to trauma (like having a large baby naturally and/or long labour) but fistulas related to IBD are completely different, so in essence if a person with IBS was pregnant and had either or both a large baby naturally and long labour they can get a fistula, but again it's not related to them having IBS.

Yeah, that's very true. Probably should've elaborated on that point. I meant IBS doesn't cause fistulas, but there are other, non-Crohn's, causes of fistulas.

But everything about Cinnamon's case just sounded like classic Crohn's, apart from the lack of diarrhoea (and even that is not that unusual, but I don't think doctors are clued up on the fact that constipation can be a symptom of Crohn's).

@Cinnamon - I'm sorry about what you've been through. I rarely wish Crohn's upon anyone, but in this case I'm hoping the biopsies show Crohn's, so that you can get some proper treatment at long last. Pred is okay in the short term to get an acute flare-up under control, but once you come off the Pred, you will need something else to maintain the remission.

Remicade is likely to be used because you have a fistula, and the biologics (Remicade, Humira, etc) are very good for closing fistulas.