What is Testing Like? 

In order for your doctors to find out what type of IBD you have, and what the best treatment is for you, they need to run some tests. Does Cassie’s story sound familiar?

Your doctor may draw some blood to run blood tests​, and take stool samples to run stool tests. By testing your blood and stool, they learn about your digestive tract. They may also perform an endoscopy and/or a colonoscopy—procedures where they insert a camera into your digestive tract. These tests let your doctor look for inflammation in your GI tract. Don’t worry, it doesn’t hurt—your doctor will give you something to put you to sleep before the procedure starts.

Once they have the information from their tests, your healthcare team can decide which treatment​ is best for you. While there is no treatment that cures IBD, they can help relieve your symptoms, and help your digestive tract heal. This is called ​remission. Your healthcare team may also suggest following a specific diet or using supplemental nutrition. Different medications are taken in different ways, like by mouth, as a shot, or through an IV.

There are five common types of medications: ​ 

• Aminosalicylates reduce inflammation and treat and prevent flares 

• Antibiotics​ reduce bacteria in the GI tract 

• Corticosteroids​ can reduce inflammation and treat flares in the short-term 

• Immunomodulators​ can reduce inflammation and help maintain remission 

• Biologic and biosimilar therapies​ can reduce inflammation and help induce and maintain remission   

It’s very important to take your medicine the way your doctor tells you to! By taking your medicine regularly, you are taking control of your health. And when you take your medicine and start to feel better, you’ll have much more energy for more fun activities.