Hi,
I was diagnosed a year and 1/2 ago with a left posterior transsphincteric fistula with abscesses. My gastroenterologist has been trying to figure out if this is perianal Crohn's disease or not. I was hospitalized for a few days last month for what my GI thinks infectious colitis (flu-like symptoms, fever, chills, severe abdominal pains). The C difficile test and others, however, came back negative. The colonoscopy showed scattered inflammation in the colon but it wasn't enough to draw any conclusions.
I'm scheduled for surgery next month to replace a seton and finish the fistula repair surgery from six months ago. The fistula is very deep and it couldn't be finished at one time. Without the seton, my abscesses have continued to grow and I had a difficult one lanced last week. I went to the ER the same day bc of serious bleeding and pain which the surgeon treated on the spot.
At my follow-up, my gastroenterologist said that given my symptoms and the test results, it looks like I had infectious bacterial colitis and not Crohn's disease which relieved me. Crohn's may still be a possibility he said with my fistula and he wants to try a treatment of Remicade with methotrexate and anti-biotics over 4-5 months to see if it resolves the fistula (20-25% of cases) and concomitant pain and swelling in my perianal/genital area. If it does, then he said it's probably rectal Crohn's disease.
I need to decide now whether to try the Remicade or go forward with the surgery. I'm kind of scared about doing Remicade since I've never been treated. I proposed to my doctor that I wanted to try the SCD diet without medication to see if that would help first. He was skeptical about the diet alone and told me he would rather I try the Remicade and I could do the SCD diet along with it.
I would be most appreciative if you would be able to provide me feedback on Remicade and share your experience whether you found it helpful. Thank you!