Crohn's disease is one of the toughest gastrointestinal (GI)diseases for healthcare providers to diagnose. The reason for this is because it is like a Trojan horse, hiding away while mimicking so many other GI conditions. So of course it is often tough to tell exactly what you are dealing with... mimics others and yet can still manage to make your life miserable!
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.
While there is no one test that your doctor can perform that will conclusively identify Crohn's, it does not mean that your concerns should be blown of. Rather it means that your physician may simply have to look a little harder and differentiate a little more selectively when trying to get to the true source of your pain.
As your physician tries to determine if you do have Crohn's or not, one of the easiest medical exams to help on the journey is a stool sample. This sample can help your doctor to determine if your bowel upset is caused by an infection or by inflammation.
In the case of Crohn's disease, inflammation of the G.I. tract presents itself as if there is an infection but there is no infection present. So you can see by obtaining a simple stool sample several possibilities can easily be ruled out.
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.
So you should already be able to see how difficult diagnosing Crohn's disease can be. However, just like putting the pieces of a puzzle together your physician should keep on going until a definitive diagnosis is made. You are worth it.
Crohn's disease symptoms can be a bit tricky and yet one of the commonly seen symptoms is bloody diarrhea or rectal bleeding. This bleeding is what can lead to abnormal lab work that beings to paint a picture of anemia because of the blood loss. These two pieces of information are important in getting the diagnosis right. So don't be embarrassed if you are experiencing rectal bleeding. For goodness sakes, tell the truth!
A colonoscopy may be helpful in getting to the bottom of your symptoms. Generally performed by a gastroenterologist, a colonoscopy can only be performed after you have completed a rigorous bowel prep so that your colon is thoroughly clean out. If there is still stool in the colon then your physician cannot see your colon. Make sense? So once you've completed the bowel prep, after mild sedation your physician will insert a flexible lighted tube that has a tiny camera attached to it through your rectum and into your colon. With the lighted tube and tiny camera your physician can see the colon and can assess for the presence 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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