Tests for Diagnosis:

• A blood test can determine if you are anemic and how high your white blood cell count is.
• A stool sample will let you know if the intestine has bleeding or infection.
• An upper GI series can check the status of your small intestine. You will drink barium, a chalky solution and x-rays are taken.
• A colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy will examine your colon health. A long lighted tube connected to a computer and monitor is inserted thru the anus which lets the doctor examine the large intestine. While in there your doctor may go ahead and take a biopsy.

The news is not all bad most Crohn’s patients lead normal lives, hold down jobs, and have children leading full productive lives. The other good news is that you will have periods where the disease is not active. Crohn’s cannot be cured but it is a condition that you can treat the symptoms when they do flare up.

Treatment Goals:

• Control inflammation
• Eliminate nutritional deficits
• Relieve symptoms of abdominal pain, diarrhea, rectal bleeding, and vomiting.

Treatments:

• Prescription Immunosuppressives – suppress the immune system and reduce inflammation.
• Prescription Antibiotics
• Prescription Anti-inflammatories (often steroids)
• Over-the-counter antidiarrheal drugs
• Acetaminophen for pain relief.
• Over-the-counter acid reducers (Pepcid, Tagament, Zantac)
• Multivitamins
• Surgery – Surgery may be an option to remove an obstruction or remove a diseased area of the intestine. Surgery does not cure Crohn’s. Multiple surgeries are common as more areas become so diseased they must be removed. Up to ¾ of those that have surgeries will have another surgery.