Hi Liza.  I've never heard of Crohns impacting the uterus or ovaries.  I've had Crohns for 30 years,  just focused in my perianal area after having my colon out 29 years ago. (More in my profile bio if interested.)  I did have a fibroid tumor about 10 years ago but my Mom who doesn't have any digestive issues, also had one, lots of women have them, and the doctor never mentioned any connection to Crohns.  I had the fibroid tumor removed, uterus left in, and haven't had any issues since.  Congrats on the good mammo and good luck with the MRI!  

I far as I know it’s any part of the body from the mouth to the anus. Basically any part of the body that takes in digests and excretes food. My dentist has said she has seen patients with some awful mouth ulcers.

Thanks Lynne,

I also had some fibroid tumors removed about 10 years ago.  At the time I didn't know I had Crohn's.  Though it turned out I had an abscess and fistula around that same time, which the doctor is telling me now was probably the Crohn's even back then.  It just didn't get diagnosed.  :(  That is what made me think if I was having other signs of Crohn's even back then, maybe there was a link.

Posted by: @john68

I far as I know it’s any part of the body from the mouth to the anus. Basically any part of the body that takes in digests and excretes food. 

Hmm.  I don't think my uterus takes in, digests, or excretes food.  😂

Hi Liza,

Inflammation from Crohn's can spread to female reproductive organs if there's fistulization between the digestive tract and the reproductive organs. Here's what I found: 

Gynecologic Aspects of Crohn's Disease - American Family Physician

And here's a short excerpt, emphasis added:

Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammatory disorder that may involve any portion of the gastrointestinal tract. Predominant symptoms of Crohn's disease include abdominal pain, diarrhea and weight loss. Because inflammation may be transmural and fistulization is frequent, involvement in any part of the female reproductive tract is possible. Complications may be the first manifestation of Crohn's disease; therefore, clinicians should be aware that unsuspected intestinal disease might be the underlying problem in women presenting with apparent gynecologic complaints. The psychosocial burden of this potentially debilitating chronic disorder has not been amply documented. This article reviews the diverse gynecologic spectrum, protean manifestations and diagnostic difficulties of pelvic Crohn's disease.

I know it's not exactly Yuletide cheer, but I do hope it helps and is useful information for you. May your MRI be completely negative.

@ileostony

Thanks Tony. This article is very informative. And a little scary. 😢

I'm so sorry for spooking you. What I was driving at was that it sounds like there is a decent chance your imaging results point to a Crohn's- related etiology. Also I didn't want to make the assertion without backing it up. The last thing I wanted to do was frighten you, though I should have known an article like that could be scary.☹️ how thoughtless of me..

No apology necessary, Tony. I so appreciate you thoughtfully researching this for me. It is always better to have more knowledge. It is empowering. 

The scary thing was that a lot of this article rang true to me. And it made me realize how severely and for how long this disease has been affecting my life. And I never knew about it. It is like learning someone has been pulling a long-running heist on you and you have been obliviously living your life like a sucker. Like a total blindside. It just hit me sort of hard. But you did nothing wrong!!!

Hi all! Tony, I'm afraid you and Liza inadvertently but very necessarily opened the proverbial can of....those things I hate  so much that come out when it rains!!!! My dots have never been connected until I read Eric's story or  this article you kindly and heart warmingly provided.  As a young woman and then wife and mother struggling with IBD, not one single specialist ever  connected my dots.  The timing of bowel issues with menstrual issues and in turn miscarriages and bladder issues and so on, were pathetic.  However thanks to science and very curious and smart humans we now are lucky enough to know that we are more likely to get  answers, now more then ever.  Even 5 yrs. makes that difference! This fabulous article got me thinking and I now have a whole other list  of questions for my  new GI Specialist. I have been checking in here and there the past few weeks as I deal with the severity of anemia that I never thought was possible, and coming across this forum and this article means a lot to me. My gynecologic list of issues may be  going to get some answers once and for all. I never would have thought these extraintestinal Manifestations (Erics milion dollar  words) would connect with  such things as my uterus, eye inflammation and bladder issues. Sometimes us old chicks may be able to bring things out in the open that the young chicks among us may not have thought to even talk about in the GI apt. I certainly would never have considered a connection until now. Eyes, uterus and bowel and even bladder. My goodness, what is this disease coming to?¿? The importance of simply talking about these issues is not just for  woman, but also men are highly important in my eyes. There  are single Daddies out there raising little girls too! As a young hubby my man was the first in my life to say..."this is not normal!"  When I think about how devastatingly shy and embarrassed I was to even think what was happening to me, let alone ask, I know there has to be other young ladies out there that feel the same and experience issues with a OB/GYN and GI inclinations that may need to be made aware of the fact that these things could all be connected and recieve  answers to the unasked questions  they have and  may not think to ask if it is likely their issues could possibly be connected. 

This does not fall solely on the patient here either.  Our Doctors are so  limited by time that they often do not get to take that thorough history needed  to answer these questions that we do not think to connect to one issue to the  other.  Thank you for the question Liza and the article Tony.  This is a whole other conversation I am about to have with my GI. 

Liza, I'm so sorry you are having to deal with more issues, but like I was told not so long  ago, maybe know that you have a diagnoses they can treat you appropriately  for your  sufferings.  All the best!

Interesting topic.  I always had bad D on the first day of my period.  I didn't know it wasn't normal and never connected the 2 until much later.  Crohns has affected my entire GI tract over the years and I've been told it also caused eye issue I had.  The beast doesn't discriminate! 

Liza, I hope you get some answers.  HUGS