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How Do I Know If I have Inflammatory Bowel Disease?
If you have any distress with your stomach including pain, nausea, diarrhea, or discomfort, it is extremely important to understand what is going on and how to fix it. If you are having any of these symptoms, you may have some form of IBD or Inflammatory Bowel Disease which is a broad term used to describe both Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s disease. IBD is inflammation or swelling of the digestive tract or intestinal lining that can result in ulcers or sores.
If you believe you may have IBD, it is important to get tested as quickly as possible. Luckily there are many tests that range in severity and invasiveness. Here is a list of tests you can have done to diagnose IBD.
- Imaging: There are several different types of scans or image tests you can have done that will allow your physician to determine whether or not you have IBD. Ultrasound, CT, and MRI scans can provide cross-sectional, detailed imaging of organs and allow doctors to see the location and severity of any inflammation or any other intestinal abnormalities.
- Blood Tests: Blood tests are an effective tool to determine what is and is not being absorbed by your intestinal lining. Healthy digestive tracts are absorbing and digesting almost everything that is consumed which is then absorbed into your blood. There are three main blood tests you can do to determine the health or your intestinal lining.
- Blood Cell Counts: This test would be used mostly to test the number of white blood cells you have in your blood. Having an above average amount of white blood cells can indicate that your body is fighting an infection or that your immune system is trying to fight something. Because IBD is potentially considered an autoimmune disorder, this could mean that your immune system is trying to fight off something in your bowel.
- Vitamin Levels: Testing the amount of vitamins, including B12 and folate levels, in your blood tests whether or not your intestinal lining is properly absorbing the nutrients in your food. Malabsorption could be an indicator of IBD.
- Serologic: A serology blood test is done to measure antibodies in the blood. If you have an increased amount of antibodies in your blood, this could be another indicator that your body is trying to fight off what it thinks is an infection.
- Stool Tests and Cultures: By testing and culturing the stool, doctors can determine what bacteria or infections may be present in your intestinal tract. It can also determine what is not being digested or absorbed in your system.
- Invasive: The more invasive techniques are biopsies and colonoscopies. Biopsies allow doctors to test the tissue in your GI tract to determine its health but is typically only used in severe cases that are harder to diagnose. Colonoscopies can also be an effective tool at looking at the lining of your intestinal tract to determine if there is inflammation or aggravation of any kind.
Getting tested for IBD could make a huge difference in your quality of life. Once you know what is happening, you have the tools you need to move forward. Luckily there are many options available for treatment to live a normal life.