When IBD Treatment Isn't Working: How to Know When It's Time to Reassess

Living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) often means paying close attention to your symptoms and how well your treatment is controlling the disease. But what happens when you're still having symptoms; or a treatment that once worked doesn't seem to be working as well anymore?

In this episode, Dr. Corey Siegel, an IBD specialist and Director of the Center for Digestive Health at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, joins us to explain how patients and their healthcare teams can recognize when an IBD treatment may not be achieving its goals and when it may be time to reassess the treatment plan.

We discuss what successful IBD treatment can look like, why response to treatment may change over time, and how healthcare teams determine whether ongoing symptoms are caused by active IBD or something else.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• What successful IBD treatment can look like

• How long it may take to evaluate whether a treatment is working

• Why a treatment that once worked may become less effective

• How healthcare teams determine whether symptoms are caused by active IBD or something else

• What treatment optimization means and when a different approach may be considered

• Why your goals, concerns, and preferences matter when making treatment decisions with your healthcare team

Dr. Siegel also explains why ongoing monitoring and open communication with your healthcare team are important and how shared decision-making can help patients and clinicians determine the next steps in IBD care.

This episode was produced by Gastro Girl with support from Sanofi.