Until a cure is found, inflammatory bowel disease is treated predominantly with medications to control symptoms in an individualized way for every person. It is important to understand the principles of IBD treatment and the following paragraphs on specific treatments discuss how to achieve the goal of remission.
Initially, the aim of treatment is to reduce the inflammation in your gut and allow the lining of the bowel to heal. This is called ‘mucosal healing’. Once inflammation is controlled, it is necessary to continue treatment to prevent the immune system from restarting the cycle of inflammation and bowel damage. Different people require different medicines to control IBD. It is clear that good control of inflammation reduces the risk of complications and surgeries.
There are many factors that will help your doctor choose the right medication for you:
The following are the most commonly prescribed medications for IBD patients:
People with IBD must take their medications on a regular basis, even during times when the disease is in remission, i.e., no inflammation. This can be difficult to maintain over the long term, but lapses in taking medications are well known to lead to flares.
Flares can also occur when the strength of the prescribed medications does not match the severity of the underlying disease. For example, having a flare despite taking maintenance medications correctly, or a flare of symptoms as you wean off of steroids, suggests that your physician needs to adjust your regimen.
If you believe your medication regimen needs to change, always speak with your doctor or nurses first. Your health care provider will be monitoring your medication use to make sure you are receiving the optimal treatment. It is extremely important to communicate to your health care team any medication-related information.
Before drugs are licensed in Canada, they go through rigorous research and clinical trials on thousands of people. The process can take many years. Drugs are licensed by Health Canada, which is responsible for regulating all medicines and medical devices in the country, ensuring they work and are acceptably safe. Health Canada gives permission and sets strict safety criteria for all clinical trials in Canada. It demands very high standards from medicine manufacturers and will only issue a license when it is satisfied that a medicine meets all its safety and quality requirements.
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