Know the Symptoms and Signs of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)
4/7/2023
People who suffer from the uncomfortable signs of IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) may imagine these symptoms are something they'll have to deal with for the rest of their life. Our GI doctors in Dallas, TX want you to know that you don’t have to endure this discomfort. Assistance is available — and it may be right around the corner. At Digestive Health Associates of Texas, we are pleased to educate patients on their GI issues and offer a number of treatment options to help individuals get back to enjoying their lives.
What is IBD?
Inflammatory bowel disease is known as chronic inflammation of a patient’s gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Two conditions you’ve most likely heard of make up this disease — Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. These conditions might seem like general discomfort you have to live with; however, inflammation of the intestines can result in damage to the GI tract over time.
While the precise cause of IBD has not been established, it’s often related to an unchecked immune system. It’s also thought that a patient with inflammatory bowel disease has an immune system that may not react to environmental triggers (viruses or bacteria) properly and has a close family member diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease.
Some of the signs of IBD include:
- Bloody stool
- Exhaustion
- Loose stool
- Constipation
- Abdominal pain
- Unintentional weight loss
How is IBD alleviated?
After a diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease, our main course of action is to decrease intestinal inflammation to help control your symptoms. There are a number of treatments we can try, and our goal is that, eventually, you will experience long-lasting remission. Treatments that are commonly recommended involve:
- Anti-diarrheal medications
- Changes to your diet
- Vitamin D, iron, calcium, and other supplements
- Anti-inflammatory medicine
Our GI specialists are here to help you find a course of treatment that works for your digestive health needs. It may take some experimentation to determine the right treatment to help lessen discomfort and inflammation. But rest assured, our specialists will be with you the whole way to find the ideal solution for your needs.
Help for inflammatory bowel disease in Dallas, TX
If you suffer from stomach pain, constipation, loose and/or watery stool, or other GI symptoms regularly, it may be a sign of inflammatory bowel disease. At Digestive Health Associates of Texas, our board-certified gastroenterologists can help diagnose, address, and control inflammatory bowel disease and the troublesome symptoms that come along with it. If you think you might have IBD and would like to start living life again with fewer worries and discomfort, contact one of our Dallas, TX locations to request an appointment.