I would suggest making an appointment with a GI doctor first and foremost. He will determine, based on your health history and symptoms what tests will need to be done. Usually, they do blood work to check for inflammation markers, blood counts, liver function tests, etc. They will then usually run a colonoscopy and sometimes a CT scan.

Meds vary and depend on the extent of the disease and how responsive you are to the meds. Not all meds work for all people so sometimes it's dialing into the right treatment. Once the disease is then under control, the symptoms and pain usually get better.

I don't have Crohns but I do have UC, and I have had blood clots in the past. People with bowel disease are often more prone to blood clots than the average person.

So first things first... see a GI doc. Also, check out http://www.ccfa.org/.

It may help you find a doctor if you need a resource for that. It's also just a good solid resource for bowel disease in general.

The three procedures that helped my GI diagnose my Crohn's disease were endoscopy, GI series and colonoscopy. The colonoscopy was the worst of the procedures because of the cleanse day. It is not a pleasant experience and it always irritates my intestines more than they were before. They put me under during this procedure.

With the GI series, you have to drink barium liquid and have x-rays and fluoroscopy, so you will be getting radiation. A series of "pictures" are taken at different intervals as the barium works its way through the intestines. They seem to be concerned with the ilium. They said that Crohn's likes to attack that part of the intestines, but mine looked fine both times I had this done. The barium is supposed to leave the body within three days, but it took over a week for me and it also aggravated my condition. If you have this one done, make sure they cover your thyroid. They didn't cover mine the first time I had this done. They are pretty good at remembering to cover the reproductive organs, but they tend to forget about the thyroid as they do in dentistry. This procedure takes a few hours.

The endoscopy was the least irritating. They put me out for this one too.

I take Asacol. It helped to reduce the number of trips to the bowl. I get Remicade infusions. I've had three so far. It has helped with some of the intestinal pain, but I'm not sure about recommending it. It has a myriad of side effects. My GI thought it was the only thing that might heal the fistula I have. Sometimes I take Hydrocodon-Acetaminophen for pain.

I keep a food/symptoms journal. I try to stay away from GMOs and eat a healthy diet of fruits and vegetables, no red meat, some fish and some raw organic dairy. I take a raw probiotic and vitamin D3 daily. I also try to chew my food really well so my intestines don't have to work too hard.

Let us know how things work out for you. Best of luck.

I have had Crohns for 39 years and I highly recommend making a appointment with a GI doctor not a GP doctor. The doctor will want to take blood work, CT scans with contrast both upper and lower GI series and a colonoscopy. Some of the tests are not pleasant but they are needed in order to do a complete exam. Once the results are in there are various options to treat Crohns or UC. If you are having stabbing pain please request a prescription for pain medicine. There is no reason for you to suffer. Call and make a appointment so you will have peace of mind. I wish you the best and hope you feel better soon.

I agree, my PCP was a dud, she missed the whole thing, it wasn't until i had a sed rate through the roof that she thought seeing a GI doc might be a good idea; I had a colonoscopy at age 32 and was told I had Crohn's colitis. It was great to have a name for my pain but I was offered very little direction. I went out on my own journey of discovery and am now in a very good place! I took 4 GI docs but I found one that I can live with.

I eat a grain free, dairy free diet (but anything else goes: raw foods, salads, eggs, meat, etc. lots of coconut oil!, take 150 mg imuran a day and ginger, glucomannan fiber, vit K2, multi vit, calcium plus D, and digestive enzymes.

I exercise 4 days a week and am in school right now for a masters in nutrition.

so far so good! No complaints! I hope you enjoy finding your way :)

I agree with the others about a good GI doctor. I had severe symptoms and a not so good GI that I was referred to. My PCP was useless.

It took 3 different GI doctors and going to a teaching hospital in another city, before they found out it was Crohns..Colonoscopy, MRI, CT scan, GI series, all the blood work. DNA positive for Crohns. I was officially dx'd w/ Crohns about 2 years ago. My symptoms came on fast and hard at age 52.

I've tried a lot of the meds, had multiple blockages and had part of colon removed that was damaged beyond repair. I'll restart Humira soon to try to protect the rest of my colon and body.

I also agree w/ the food journal. Everyone is different with what they can eat.

For the first step...Find a GOOD GI doctor that is experienced with IBD and go from there.

Good luck and I so hope you don't have anything but IF you do, you're smart to find out and get started with managing it.

I went to a good GI had a Colonoscopy and at first I was told it looked like uc- proctitis very mild and could be cleared up - it wasn't caused by dairy - blah, blah, blah... Second time I had a scope done hmmmm it looked more like a mild case of crohns because the inflammation was more patchy... They look at your colon with these scopes and I swear they guess some things are helpful other not so much... Really glad though that my GI listened to my input - Most my issues topped the charts when I consumed dairy & sugar seemed to do a number on me too. Finding the right enzymes and adding them to my digestion has helped better then anything else... Food journals are worth their weight in gold! Hope you have a good GI - good luck your way!