What Treatment Options Do You Have for Crohn’s Disease?
Severe diarrhea, abdominal pain, weight loss, and fatigue could mean inflammation in your digestive tract. The inflammation can spread deeper into your bowels and cause debilitating pain if left untreated. All these signs could mean Crohn’s Disease New Hyde Park, a type of inflammatory bowel disease. Your symptoms may come on suddenly and cause blood in stool, diarrhea, fever, abdominal cramping, fistula, and weight loss. Your doctor will recommend different medications to help you manage your condition. Here is a list of medications you may need.
Anti-inflammatory Drugs
Your treatment will begin with a prescription of anti-inflammatory drugs to treat inflammatory bowel disease. Your doctor may recommend corticosteroids, including budesonide, to reduce inflammation. You can use them for up to four months to improve your symptoms. Your doctor may recommend combining them with an immune system suppressor for maximum benefit.
Immune System Suppressors
Your doctor may prescribe immune system suppressors to reduce inflammation while targeting your immune system to counter substances responsible for inflammation. You may have a combination of immune system suppressors and other medications for them to work more effectively. They can include azathioprine which will require close monitoring and a regular blood check to check for possible side effects. You will likely experience liver inflammation, nausea, and vomiting. The second immunosuppressant your doctor may recommend is trexall which mostly applies if you are not responding well to other medications.
Antibiotics
You can take antibiotics to reduce drainage from abscesses which helps in healing Crohn’s disease. Antibiotics may also reduce bacteria responsible for causing inflammation in your intestines. Your doctor may recommend antibiotics, including Cipro and Flagyl.
Nutrition Therapy
You may need a special diet that your doctor can give through your mouth, infusion into your vein, or feeding tube. The special diet will help improve your nutrition while allowing your bowel to rest to reduce inflammation. Nutrition therapy is a short-term treatment your doctor can recommend alongside other medications. Your doctor may recommend nutrients through your vein if you are scheduled for surgery, especially if other medications fail. Additionally, you may require a low-fiber diet to lower the risk of intestinal blockage if you have a stricture to reduce the number of stools.
Surgery
Your doctor may recommend surgery if medications and diet fail to relieve your symptoms of Crohn’s disease. Your doctor will remove the damaged area of your digestive tract and rejoin your healthy sections. During surgery, your doctor may also drain your abscesses and close fistulas. However, it may not cure your condition. Your doctor will recommend medications after surgery because Crohn’s disease will likely recur.
Lifestyle Remedies
You can manage your condition by limiting dairy products, eating small foods, and drinking a lot of liquids daily, preferably water. Additionally, you can take multivitamins to increase absorption and have regular consultations with your dietitian, especially if you lose weight.
Crohn’s disease has no exact cause, but several factors aggravate its development. You can develop the condition if your family already has the condition. While the symptoms develop gradually, you may suddenly experience painful symptoms, including blood in the stool, abdominal pain, fever, and diarrhea. You will require treatment to reduce painful symptoms and lower possible complications, including bowel obstruction, ulcers, and fistula. Your treatment will include different medications to find what fits you. Your last resort will be surgery if all other treatments fail.
Skye Marshall
Ivy Skye Marshall: Ivy, a social justice reporter, covers human rights issues, social movements, and stories of community resilience.