“It’s important to understand how Crohn’s might impact you as a patient,” says Dana Lukin, MD, a gastroenterologist at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City. In addition to learning common Crohn’s disease terms, Dr. Lukin encourages people with Crohn’s to develop a positive relationship with their gastroenterologist. “Having an open line of communication and a trusting relationship will enable shared decision-making for the complex and difficult decisions that may come down the road with Crohn’s,” he says. If you don’t understand a word or term your doctor uses when talking about Crohn’s, don’t just nod and pretend you understand — stop him or her and ask about it, Lukin urges. Lukin also emphasizes the importance of talking to your doctor about the potential complications of the disease and the therapeutic options available to you. “Medication is likely to reverse a lot of complications, or keep them from happening in the first place,” he notes. To help boost your Crohn’s disease vocabulary, here are some useful terms to learn.
