It Is A Mighty Challenge To Diagnose Crohn’s Disease
Wednesday, August 29th, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed
A disease in disguise, one that mimics other gastrointestinal diseases and a difficult challenge for healthcare providers, diagnosing Crohn’s disease is most certainly a difficult task for healthcare providers. Become it mimics so many other diseases, Crohn’s disease may initially be misdiagnosed as another G.I. ailments.
A battle of the wills… who is going figure it out first…the symptoms of Crohn’s disease vary from person to person and naturally that does not make diagnosing it any easier.
Currently there isn’t one absolute test that your physician can elect to use to definitely diagnose your Crohn’s disease, it is simply a matter of taking the time to eliminate other GI diagnosis while trying to correctly identify what in the world is going on in your gut. Kind of like trying to master a 10,000 piece puzzle.
So you think you have Crohn’s disease? First thing is to get yourself to the doctor! One of the very first tests that your doctor will probably elect to perform is a simple test of your stool sample. It is a cheap and and easy to perform test. Your physician can take a look at your stool sample and determine whether the bowel issues you are experiencing are because you have a raging gut infection or if instead you are experiencing an inflammatory response in your bowel. Either way, this simple test can tell your health care provider a lot about your GI tract.
Inflammation is one of the hallmark signs of Crohn’s. With this disease, your GI tract acts as if your body is fighting an infection but in fact, there is no actual infection present. Again, a simple stool sample can tell your doc a lot about your gut.
Well, once your physician has had a good look at your poop and has had a chance to see if it is infection or inflammation hiding within, the next thing on the “tests” to do is typically several other standardized tests. Some of those tests may include drawing blood to assess your complete blood count to check for signs of anemia due to blood loss and for signs of infection, a CT scan of your belly, or even a colonoscopy, a flexible sigmoidoscopy and perhaps a barium enema. Some physicians may also elect to have you get a small bowel x-ray series and even a capsule endoscopy.
If your blood work shows that anemia is present then Crohn’s disease may be a possible diagnosis. If your blood work shows that an infection is present then that piece of the puzzle would point to the fact that Crohn’s disease is not likely.
Well, it is pretty clear by now that getting an accurate diagnosis of Crohn’s disease is a bit like hunting for bear with a BB gun! It is a tough diagnosis to put all the pieces together. So no worries if it takes a bit of time for your health care provider to get to the bottom of your symptoms. Just don’t give up, your health is worth getting an accurate diagnosis.
A further review of your symptoms may indicate bloody diarrhea and even rectal bleeding. With excessive blood loss your blood work may show signs of anemia. So, here’s another piece of the puzzle, if you are anemic it is possible that you are in route to a definitive diagnosis of Crohn’s disease.
Your physician may also elect to perform a colonoscopy. This procedure is generally done by a gastroenterologist trained in the procedure. After a stringent bowel prep prior to the exam, your physician and a will insert a flexible lighted tube with an attached camera through your rectum and into the colon to check for any evidence of Crohn’s disease.
It is important to remember with any medical procedure and there are risks associated with it. Risk associated with a colonoscopy include G.I. bleeding and perforation of the colon wall.
There are a few downfalls with a colonoscopy, though. It is not a perfect test. Remember that Crohn’s disease may only be found in the small intestine and so if that is your story then a colonoscopy simply won’t do you any good.
When diagnosing Crohn’s, your doctor may decide to take a look inside your colon by ordering a flexible sigmoidoscopy. With this exam, after a stringent bowel prep, your physician will insert a flexible scope through your rectum to take a look at the last two feet of your colon. Again, a visual look can tell the whole story if the those last two feet of colon show signs of Crohn’s disease. Just like the colonoscopy, the flexible sigmoidoscopy has its limitations too. If the disease is up higher than the last two feet of the colon, then this exam is not going to catch it.
Well, it should be rather clear by now that if you have any symptoms of Crohn’s disease that it may take while for your healthcare provider to put all the pieces of the puzzle together and to get to an accurate diagnosis. This is not something that can taken lightly and it is important that an accurate diagnosis is reached before rushing to judgment just to have an answer on the table.
Yes, Crohn’s disease is tough to diagnose primarily because it acts so much like many of the other GI conditions. While it may take time to get to the correct diagnosis it is not something that you should take lightly and you should be honest and work closely with your physician in order to get an answer for the symptoms you are experiencing.
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