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pcoy05

Crohn's? Next steps?

Is this normal?

39 yo M, father of 3 and wife is 32 weeks pregnant. kids are 4,3, and 2. symptoms started about 2 years ago I guess with a perianal abscess that reoccurred 7 times since then. I recently(last Friday) got a colonoscopy and had pretty high inflammation in my terminal ileum but no ulcers or other notable issues(mild internal hemorrhoids). in the last two years in addition to the abscesses:

extremely low energy in waves. irritability. high WBC(at first 14k, most recently at 19.5k), mild diarrhea intermittently but mainly just lost my almost freakishly regular schedule of BM 30 minutes after rising and no blood on stool, I have actually gained weight these last 2 years(170 up to 190, I have never been this heavy) and lost muscle mass, I used to be extremely active running at least 3 miles 3 times a week but with the loss of energy and the fact that it causes my abscesses to flare I haven't been able to. it's really hard going from running half marathons to nothing. I wear contacts and I've had to discontinue intermittently and switch back to glasses because it feels like they don't fit and just bug me, pain(I guess they call it arthritis) in left left shoulder, elbow and wrist. I thought I had really bad poison ivy on my hands last fall and went to urgent care and they actually pointed out it's on my elbows and knees also, albeit more mild, and called it psoriasis.

my old PC just said "you're getting older. you need to quit smoking. we'll continue to monitor your wbc over the next few years."

my new PC told me it's probably depression and he doesn't want to see me again until next year... I got a new PC because I moved. he called me back 2 weeks later because my wbc was 16k and referred me to a hematologist to check for leukemia. the hematologist did a differential and my wbc was raised to 19.5k and it took a month between PC and hematologist, but hematologist ruled out leukemia. my primary never contacted me after that and when I called a few days later and left a message about my results I got a call back 3 days later from a receptionist telling me that if I have something I would like to discuss with my doctor I need to schedule an appointment... to be clear, I have struggled with depression 15 years ago which I included on my medical history and didn't just blow him off, I started seeing a psychiatrist and psychologist and started taking buspirone.

this isn't like me. I'm usually a really high energy, fun, rough housing Dad and I just don't have it in me now. I work with my head now and I've had mental fog and the fatigue is just unbelievable since times. some nights I can only sleep a couple hours total. it's like having a newborn all the time...

anyways, I put my results and symptoms into AI and that's why I scheduled the gastroenterologist who ordered a colonoscopy, which showed swelling in my terminal ileum. I'm not sure if colonoscopy pics are allowed here and in afraid this post won't be allowed if I add them, but if they are allowed I can add(I killed that prep and was so clean you could manufacturer micro chips in there ๐Ÿ˜‰๐Ÿ˜‰). my follow up with the Gastroenterologist is April 11 for my biopsy results and stuff but what I'm reading is that this is usually really indicative of Crohn's? also, I have BCBS FEP insurance and just found out biologics aren't covered basically (35% of 9000 still equals too much...).

I'm at a loss guys... I don't know what to do. my family deserves a better father and husband. my employer deserves a better employee. is it normal to have all these symptoms but other then occasionally I feel pain like cramping and diarrhea there's not much real unbearable pain down there and no blood. is this still Crohn's? maybe someone knows a next step? I just feel... lost...

Posted Feb 15, 2026, 8:37 PM UTC

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