Question 1

what medications are recommended for inflammatory bowel disease?

Accepted Answer

It depends: On disease location and severity.  Mild colitis responds well to mesalamine, while moderate to severe colitis, or Crohn's disease require either an immunomodulator like mercaptopurine or methotrexate, or a biologic medication like Remicade, (infliximab) Humira, or Entyvio.

Question 2

what are some of the non-drug treatments for inflammatory bowel disease?

Accepted Answer

The non drug treatments for Inflammatory bowel disease include::   Quit smoking, Supportive care, Hospitalization, Intravenous fluids, Colectomy, Proctocolectomy, Small bowel resection.

Question 3

is there anything i can get from the grocery store or drug store for my inflammatory bowel disease  until i can see a doctor?

Accepted Answer

Not really: Most inflammatory bowel disease requires prescription medications which you get from a doctor's prescription.   Do not try to treat this from over the counter remedies.

Question 4

how can i treat inflammatory bowel disease ?

Accepted Answer

Various medication: The two most common inflammatory bowel disease are ulcerative colitis and crohns disease.  After diagnosis by your GI doctor, you will be recommended to take Asacol (mesalamine) or its variants and may require steroids and some higher order anti-inflammatories.  Do not take Aspirin or nsaids which can worsen the problem.  These are chronic diseases which flare up and down.

Question 5

how would i know if i had inflammatory bowel disease?

Accepted Answer

Sometimes it is: Difficult for doctors, even specialists, to determine if you have it or not.  So it would be even more difficult for you to figure out on your own.  Typical symptoms of crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis would be unexplained abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fevers, weight loss.  It is unpredicatable.  Go see a GI specialist.

Question 6

i was just wondering how bad is inflammatory bowel disease?

Accepted Answer

Varies with each: Case and whether it is ulcerative colitis or crohn's disease.  Confer with your GI specialist for your individual case.

Question 7

can changing what i eat help control inflammatory bowel disease?

Accepted Answer

With flares, but...: Ulcerative colitis involves inflammation of the colonic mucosal surface, so colectomy (removal of the colon) is curative for it. Crohn's disease however is a transmural (full-thickness) inflammation of any part of the GI tract (from mouth to anus). Crohn's is not curable, but it is controllable with medications (see my previous healthtap answer regarding "step up" versus "top down" treatments.

Question 8

can anyone give me information on management of inflammatory bowel disease?

Accepted Answer

Step up / Top down: Traditionally, ibd was treated with progressive addition of drugs of increasing efficacy (5-asa, topicals, antibiotics, steroids, immune modulators, biologics) designed to suppress gut inflammation = "step up therapy." increasingly, GI docs are turning to "top down treatment" where biologic treatment is used early after diagnosis. Surgical management is appropriate in select cases. Talk to doctor.

Question 9

can i do anything to avoid getting worse inflammatory bowel disease?

Accepted Answer

IBD treatment: Make sure that you follow up regularly with your gastroenterologist and take your medications as prescribed.

Question 10

what is inflammatory bowel disease?

Accepted Answer

IBD defined: Earlier healthtap answers may help. Briefly ibd is a spectum of inflammatory diseases of GI tract.  At one end of the spectrum is ulcerative colitis---a disease confined to the mucosal surface of colon. At the opposite end of the spectrum is crohn's disease--a transmural (full thickness) inflammation of any part of GI tract (from mouth to anus). Both are systemic & increase colon cancer risk.

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Doctor answers about:

Inflammatory bowel disease medication

A member asked:

What medications are recommended for inflammatory bowel disease?

A member asked:

What are some of the non-drug treatments for inflammatory bowel disease?

A member asked:

Is there anything i can get from the grocery store or drug store for my inflammatory bowel disease until i can see a doctor?

A member asked:

How can i treat inflammatory bowel disease ?

A member asked:

How would i know if i had inflammatory bowel disease?

A member asked:

I was just wondering how bad is inflammatory bowel disease?

A member asked:

Can changing what i eat help control inflammatory bowel disease?

A member asked:

Can anyone give me information on management of inflammatory bowel disease?

A member asked:

Can i do anything to avoid getting worse inflammatory bowel disease?

A member asked:

What is inflammatory bowel disease?

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