IBD Patients on the Most Effective Ways Doctors Can Treat Their Condition

People who have inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)—which is the umbrella term for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis—often experience a range of symptoms, from intense abdominal cramping and pain to persistent diarrhea and overwhelming fatigue. Living with IBD can significantly disrupt everyday life and make it challenging to maintain physical and mental wellbeing. There’s no cure for IBD—it lasts a lifetime. Like other chronic conditions, IBD can go into remission with effective treatment, but people might still experience occasional flares that make life more difficult. Approximately 1.6 million people in the U.S. have Crohn’s or ulcerative colitis, and about 70,000 new cases of IBD are diagnosed in the U.S. each year. Here’s what seven patients with the disease wish doctors knew when it comes to helping them manage the condition more effectively. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] We want you to be upfront about gaps in knowledge Researchers have learned a lot about IBD, including risk factors such as smoking, family history of the condition, and antibiotic use—but there’s still much to learn about why someone develops IBD. One of the biggest questions patients tend to have is: What caused this? And more often than not, doctors simply don’t have the answer. Being clear about that would be helpful, says Georgia resident Lisamarie Monaco, 49, who was diagnosed with IBD in 2002. “I wish our doctors ...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Gut health healthscienceclimate Source Type: news