After an ulcerative colitis diagnosis, you’ll find yourself immersed in a new world—trying to understand your autoimmune disease, sort through various treatment options, and work with your doctor to chart a path forward. And while you’ll find all kinds of information about your condition online, asking your doctor some key questions about the disease can go a long way toward helping you get the best care, says Raj Devarajan, M.D.
, co-director for the Center for Inflammatory Bowel and Colorectal Diseases at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, what UC questions they want to hear from their patients.Ulcerative colitis is a form of inflammatory bowel disease that can affect different parts of the colon and rectum,, where bowel inflammation is limited to the rectum.Extensive colitisfor your type of UC, Dr. Devarajan says most practitioners will translate that to more understandable terms: mild, moderate, or severe.
The key with remission is to make sure you feel better and the lining of your colon and/or rectum has healed. “When both of those have happened, you’ve got the best shot at feeling better, longer,” Dr. Hagan explains.Dr. Hagan says one of the most important things to understand is that you didn’t do anything to bring on the disease. “If you have ulcerative colitis, know that you’re in this position because of your genetic makeup,” says Dr. Hagan.
If you’re someone who might be less inclined to get help when you really need it, your doctor might want to see you regularly so he can use objective markers found in bloodwork and stool samples to gauge the severity of your condition.To understand whether or not you’re on the right medication or other treatment protocol, it helps to first know your objective, says Dr. Devarajan.
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