Thesis-Synthesis-Antithesis: Diary of a Crohn's Flare: Four steps Back

Since I sent my last message, I've experienced a number of developments.

First,
(Mentioned in a previous post) The wound seems to be growing and not healing properly.

The bad news is that my doctor has elected to try to surgically correct the problem.

Second,

My fistula, treated last summer, resumed its shenanigans. It has resumed discharging blood & pus and I now have a swollen nodule underneath the fistula outlet. This nodule shrunk in size from two finger widths (1.25"?) to one finger widths (.675"?). It is uncomfortable and somewhat painful.

The bad news is that this causes me pain and discomfort.

The good news is that both the surgeon and GI doctors feel that the Remicade treatment will clear this problem without further treatment.

Third,
Saturday night I experienced what I thought was a partial bowel obstruction. I went to the hospital, and based upon their diagnostics (CT scan, blood tests, urine tests, palpitation of the abdomen), the medical staff agreed with my assessment and admitted me.

The bad news is I'm back to the NPO "nothing by mouth" diet. This is a great weight loss diet but isn't fun. :(

The good news is the hospital can treat me with heavy duty pain meds and knock the pain back. They provided me with medications for pain and nausea. Now I'm feeling quite comfortable and I'm able to sleep again. My surgeon has promoted me to a clear fluid diet.

Fourth,

The CT scan performed on me to confirm the diagnosis of bowel obstruction also imaged the lower portion of my lungs and found "nodules" there. The doctor ordered a second CT scan of my lungs and this confirmed that I have unexplained/unusual nodules in my lungs. The initial assessment was that I had pneumonia, however, the doctors are rethinking this conclusion because both my symptoms and the nodular appearance in the lungs are atypical for pneumonia.

The bad news is that they will probably not release me from the hospital until after they've got these nodules figured out. Also from the research I've done, there are very few possible explanations for these lung nodules that are not bad or very bad news. Rather than spending time worrying about what it could be, I'm waiting for a consultation with the pulmonologist today (Monday). I may be getting a bronchoscopy today so that the pulmonologist can see what is going on and get a biopsy. Because I will need sedation for a bronchoscopy, I'm restricting myself to NPO until I learn what we'll be doing today.

The good news is that if this is an infection or cancer, then we identified it before starting the Remicade. Taking Remicade with an active infection that can cause these nodules or active cancer would be a recipe for disaster. So in a way, the bowel obstruction may have been a a huge blessing in disguise.

I should either learn more about what's going on sometime today, in which case I'll try to post what they find OR I should discover what other diagnostics they think I'll need.