About 700,000 people in North America suffer from Crohn's disease, making it one of the most common inflammatory bowel diseases. Despite the lack of a cure, there are various kinds of treatments that can be administered, depending on the severity. Today we’re going over Crohn's disease symptoms and different Crohn's disease treatment options, including lifestyle changes, medications, and Crohn's disease surgery.
What Are Some Crohn's Disease Symptoms?
Most of the symptoms related to Crohn’s disease can be traced back to the small intestine. These symptoms come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, including:
Abdominal pain and cramps
Constipation
Weight loss
Fatigue (or low energy)
Urgent need to move bowels
Loss of appetite
Night sweats
Persistent diarrhea
Fever
Rectal bleeding
Loss of normal menstrual cycle
How To Treat Crohn's Disease
Unfortunately, there is no one-and-done, end-all-be-all cure for Crohn’s. While there are certain measures that can be taken to help your symptoms and prevent the worst of complications, for most people Crohn’s is a chronic, lifelong condition. Luckily, there are several kinds of ways to manage your symptoms, and make life a little easier.
Lifestyle Changes
Getting enough sleep, exercising, and eating a healthy diet are all crucial for people with Crohn's disease. All of these can help reduce inflammation in your intestines, which is the primary trigger behind most of your symptoms and flare ups. What you eat plays an especially important role in this.
Crohn's Disease Diet
Having a healthy diet is always a good idea, but if you have Crohn's disease, you should pay special attention to what you eat. While it may not seem like a super important factor at first, diet can make a huge difference in how you feel.
The key is to consume lots of fiber and fluids from vegetables and fruit while limiting grain products like bread, cereals, pasta or rice. Dairy products are also off the table since they tend to be high in fat which will upset your stomach. If you have an overactive immune system (which may be the case if you have been dealing with other autoimmune disorders in addition to Crohn's), you should avoid gluten and dairy products as they can make symptoms worse.
Crohn’s Disease Medications
If diet and lifestyle changes alone aren’t doing the trick, the subsequent treatment would be medications. This includes taking prescription or over-the-counter pills that your doctor has prescribed to lessen the inflammation in your intestines, prevent bacteria from multiplying and blocking off areas of your intestine, heal ulcers you may already have, decrease diarrhea and help food move through your system more quickly.
Different types of drugs are available to treat Crohn's disease. Many people take medication for their Crohn's Disease— in some cases, the same medications used to treat ulcerative colitis, such as steroids or immunomodulators. Check with your doctor if medication for Crohn's disease is the right option for you.
Crohn's Disease Surgery
The last option to treat Crohn's disease is surgery. Surgery can be a life-saving measure or, in other cases, it is used to treat complications such as obstructions.
There are actually four types of Crohn's disease surgeries you might consider: strictureplasty, resection, colectomy, and proctocolectomy. Each of these surgeries involve either mending or removing different parts of the lower digestive tract, based on the extent of damage.
Talk To A Crohn’s Disease Specialist
Living with Crohn's disease is a lifelong commitment. It is essential to understand the different treatment options available so you can decide which one might work best for your lifestyle and preferences. If you are suffering from Crohn's disease, don’t wait to talk to one of our colorectal specialists about the treatments they feel may be best for you and their success rates so you can make informed decisions.