Treatment of crohn's disease
In addition to controlling inflammation, some medications may help relieve your signs and symptoms. But always talk to your doctor before taking any nonprescription medications. Depending on the severity of your Crohn's disease, your doctor may recommend one or more of the following: Anti-diarrheals. A fiber supplement, such as psyllium powder (Metamucil) or methylcellulose (Citrucel), can help relieve mild to moderate diarrhea by adding bulk to your stool. For more severe diarrhea, loperamide (Imodium A-D) may be effective. These medications could be ineffective or even harmful in some people with strictures or certain infections. Please consult your health care provider before you take these medications. Pain relievers. For mild pain, your doctor may recommend acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) — but not other common pain relievers, such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) or naproxen sodium (Aleve). These drugs are likely to make your symptoms worse and can make your disease worse as well. Vitamins and supplements. If you're not absorbing enough nutrients, your doctor may recommend vitamins and nutritional supplements. Nutrition therapy Your doctor may recommend a special diet given by mouth or a feeding tube (enteral nutrition) or nutrients infused into a vein (parenteral nutrition) if you have Crohn's disease. This can improve your overall nutrition and allow the bowel to rest. Bowel rest may reduce inflammation in the short term. Your doctor may use nutrition therapy short term and combine it with medications, such as immune system suppressors. Enteral and parenteral nutrition are typically used to get people healthier prior to surgery or when other medications fail to control symptoms. Your doctor may also recommend a low residue or low-fiber diet to reduce the risk of intestinal blockage if you have a narrowed bowel (stricture). A low residue diet is designed to reduce the size and number of your stools. Surgery If diet and lifestyle changes, drug therapy, or other treatments don't relieve your signs and symptoms, your doctor may recommend surgery. Nearly half of those with Crohn's disease will require at least one surgery. However, surgery does not cure Crohn's disease. During surgery, your surgeon removes a damaged portion of your digestive tract and then reconnects the healthy sections. Surgery may also be used to close fistulas and drain abscesses. The benefits of surgery for Crohn's disease are usually temporary. The disease often recurs, frequently near the reconnected tissue. The best approach is to follow surgery with medication to minimize the risk of recurrence.