u/Electrical-Donut-803

Back in January I had a few weeks of abdominal cramps and didn’t think too much of it. Then in February I found a hard lump near the anal area, which turned out to be an abscess that needed drainage. A week later I ended up back in the hospital with a 39°C fever and needed a second drainage procedure.

At the same time I also had eye inflammation and joint pain, which apparently can happen with Crohn’s. Since then it’s basically been months of tests, gauze, anxiety and trying to figure out what the hell is going on.

The wound never really healed properly and eventually they diagnosed a fistula. My gastro team strongly suspects Crohn’s based on the overall picture, although the biopsies still haven’t clearly confirmed it. My body apparently enjoys keeping things mysterious.

A few days ago I had a seton placed. Honestly, after doomscrolling Reddit beforehand, I expected something way worse. It’s definitely sensitive and bowel movements still sting a bit, but the horrible pressure after going to the toilet is already much better and I can almost sit normally again. Huge improvement compared to before.

Looks like biologic therapy will probably be the next step. From what my doctors told me, the combination of biologics and the seton gives a pretty good chance of calming things down and maybe even closing the fistula eventually.

Anyway, just wanted to share this because reading other people’s experiences helped me a lot during the worst parts of this whole mess.

I wanted to share my story so far, in case it helps someone going through something similar.

Back in January, I had about 2–3 weeks of abdominal cramping. In February, I noticed a hard lump, and by the end of the month it turned out to be an abscess, which had to be drained. About a week later I developed a 39°C fever, and needed a second drainage — this time without proper pain relief, which was honestly brutal.

At the same time, I also had eye inflammation and joint pain. While all the investigations were ongoing, I was dealing with the aftermath of the abscess — the wound didn’t heal properly, and eventually they diagnosed a fistula.

Meanwhile, gastroenterology suspects Crohn’s disease based on the overall picture, although the biopsy hasn’t clearly confirmed it yet. Because of the fistula, I’ll be getting a seton placed soon to help with drainage.

So yeah… not exactly the prize I was hoping to win.

The good news is that with the seton and upcoming biologic therapy, there’s a decent chance to avoid major surgery, and the fistula may even close over time. Still feels like a long road ahead.

Wishing strength to everyone dealing with this — you’re not alone.