If you suffer from unimaginable abdominal pain, you and your doctor are probably in the process of ruling out certain gastrointestinal disorders and diseases like Celiac Disease and Crohn’s Disease. Although the symptoms of many abdominal disruptions can be quite similar, the subtle nuances can help your doctor prescribe medication or suggest lifestyle changes to help you get the relief you need.
What Is Celiac Disease?
Celiac Disease is a disease in which the body attacks its own cells in response to a perceived, external threat. Most autoimmune disorders can be managed with immunosuppressant drugs, but the best current form of treatment is the avoidance of gluten. This is because patients with Celiac Disease only experience intestinal damage and symptoms (severe abdominal pain, diarrhea, fatigue, weight loss, and more) when the protein gluten is ingested. In this way, Celiac Disease is an extreme gluten allergy, leading to the destruction of the intestines.
Celiac Disease Treatment
Since this is an autoimmune disorder, your doctor will likely begin by recommending that you avoid gluten. Some patients are prescribed immunosuppressants, although your risk for cancer will increase with the use of these drugs; those who have Celiac Disease are already at a greater risk for bowel cancer, due to the consistent damage that the immune response causes. Your best chance for living a healthy life is by avoiding the triggering protein entirely.
What Is Crohn’s Disease?
Crohn’s Disease has symptoms that are very similar to celiac disease symptoms; it may even be difficult for you or your doctor to distinguish the two at first. However, there is one major distinction that separates the two. Crohn’s Disease is a type of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD); these diseases are often aggravated by stress and anxiety rather than certain food groups. If you have Crohn’s Disease, you may experience symptoms like abdominal pain, diarrhea, ulcers, exhaustion, rectal bleeding, inflammation, and bloating.
Crohn’s Disease Treatment
Aside from avoiding trigger foods and cleaning up your diet, you may find that anti-anxiety medication helps you regain control over your IBD or Crohn’s. This disease is a long-term battle; some patients enter remission, while others are constantly battling their symptoms. Unfortunately, consistent damage and inflammation can cause other issues in your bowels and predispose you to colorectal cancer; for this reason, it’s important to control your symptoms as well as possible. Your doctor will likely prescribe an immunosuppressant, an anti-inflammatory, and ask you to keep a food log to help you avoid triggering foods.
Celiac vs. Crohn’s Disease
Since Celiac symptoms are so similar to crohn’s disease symptoms, many patients get confused about which disease they are struggling with. In the simplest terms, the difference between the two gastrointestinal disorders is gluten. If you have been keeping a food log and have noticed that your symptoms flare up after eating things like bread, pizza, pasta, or baked goods, it’s very likely that you have Celiac Disease. If you are unsure how to proceed, we’re here to help.
Find A Doctor For Your Abdominal Pain
Here at the Colorectal Clinic of Tampa Bay, our gastrointestinal experts are well-versed in the small nuances that exist between these two similar diseases. We’ll chat with you about your symptoms, take a look at your food log (or ask you to start one), and get to the bottom of your abdominal pain. Schedule an appointment today— it’s time to get those bowels under your control!