Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Care

IBD refers to autoimmune disorders that cause ongoing inflammation in your digestive tract. These disorders occur when your immune system attacks your own body. The inflammatory response can result in a number of troubling symptoms, including abdominal pain, diarrhea, rectal bleeding, weight loss and more.

Specific types of IBD we treat include:

• Crohn's disease — A form of IBD that can affect any part of your digestive tract from your mouth to your anus.
• Indeterminate colitis — A condition in which you have symptoms of IBD but it’s not clear which form of the disease you have.
• Microscopic (collagenous and lymphocytic) colitis — Inflammation of the colon that is only diagnosed after doctors examine tissue under a microscope.
• Pouchitis — Inflammation that occurs in the pouch that’s created after your colon is removed as part of treatment for ulcerative colitis.
• Ulcerative colitis — IBD that causes chronic inflammation and ulcers in your colon.

To diagnose IBD, we carefully evaluate your symptoms and may order one or more tests. These can include an endoscopy exam, imaging studies, and blood and stool tests.

Based on the results of these tests, we develop a personalized treatment plan just for you. The longer your IBD goes untreated, the more damage the disease can cause. So we focus on beginning treatment as early as possible, when your body will respond best.

BIDMC’s Center for Inflammatory Bowel Disease is a world leader in clinical research on the best methods for treating IBD. There are a variety of IBD medications that we may suggest.

BIDMC researchers pioneered new strategies that optimize medication levels so treatment can be most effective. At the same time, our treatment strategies are intended to minimize side effects. This approach, known as therapeutic drug monitoring, is being adopted by doctors around the world as a new standard for IBD care.

Ultimately, our goal is to get you to the point where you don’t have active disease (remission) — and then help you stay there. We want you to feel as well as you felt prior to your IBD diagnosis.

We also work to improve the inflammation in your GI tract. This improvement has the potential to prevent permanent damage to your GI tract, limit your hospital stays and help you live more fully.

If surgery becomes necessary, our dedicated surgeons are ready to provide you with the latest procedures.

IBD symptoms can be hard to talk about. As a result, it's common to feel isolated. In addition, symptoms often are made worse by stress. We provide you with access to a dedicated, specialized clinical psychologist who can help you manage your diagnosis and symptoms so you can adjust your lifestyle without sacrificing quality of life.

Typically, you may see the psychologist five to seven times. You learn strategies such as stress management skills and physical relaxation training. These strategies help you better manage symptoms, tolerate uncertainty about the future and feel less anxious.

Sessions last 45 to 60 minutes. And you don’t need a mental health diagnosis to schedule an appointment. Speak with your IBD doctor for a referral if you feel you may benefit from a behavioral health consultation.