Crohn's disease
Inflammatory bowel disease causing abdominal pain, diarrhoea and fatigue.
About this condition
Crohn's disease is a form of inflammatory bowel disease in which inflammation can affect any part of the digestive tract, often in patches and through the full thickness of the bowel wall. Symptoms include abdominal pain, diarrhoea, weight loss, mouth ulcers and severe fatigue, with flares separated by periods of remission.
Treatment aims to control inflammation and keep the disease in remission, using steroids for flares and immunosuppressive or biologic medicines for maintenance, all under gastroenterology care. Surgery is sometimes needed. Even when inflammation is well controlled, pain, fatigue and appetite problems can persist and deserve attention in their own right.
Treatments people usually try first
These are the treatments commonly offered in the UK for this condition. A specialist doctor will want to know which of them you have tried, and what happened.
- Corticosteroids to bring flares under control
- Immunosuppressants such as azathioprine or methotrexate
- Biologic medicines including anti TNF treatment
- Exclusive enteral nutrition, particularly in younger patients
- Surgical resection or stricture treatment where needed
- Dietitian input and nutritional support
Could medical cannabis be appropriate?
People with this condition sometimes ask whether medical cannabis could be appropriate for them. That is a question for a specialist doctor, who will look at your diagnosis, your history and everything you have already tried before saying anything either way.
Medical cannabis is an unlicensed prescription only medicine in the UK. It is considered only where a diagnosed condition has not responded adequately to conventional treatment, and it is never a first step. We cannot tell you in advance what might be prescribed, and UK law does not allow us to describe or advertise any medicine on this website.
What we can do is assess you properly and be honest with you. If a specialist doctor does not think this route is right for you, they will say so, and they will explain why.
All treatment is subject to clinical assessment and eligibility.
Questions about crohn's disease
Gastrointestinal and palliative
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