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Frustrated

gjeanne's avatar image

By gjeanne

1 min read

I am an RN and have worked in healthcare for many years. I also have had severe Crohn's disease for many years. I have become increasingly frustrated with GI doctors. They don't make referrals, they don't treat pain, they don't treat infections, they don't treat anxiety or depression, etc. They order labs and CT scans. They do upper and lower endoscopy. That is it.

A friend of mine, who is a nurse practitioner in a big city, recently told me, "I can't find a GI doctor, I can refer my patients to, that gives a sh*t about patient care."

Rheumatologists, dermatologists, and other specialties that treat autoimmune diseases make referrals, treat pain, treat infections, anxiety, and depression. This is unacceptable and needs to change. There are many, many extraintestinal manifestations of Crohn's disease that GI doctors totally ignore. I would like to hear other opinions on this. The survey on this site shows over 50% had pain above 6/10. That is unacceptable and very debilitating.

Please at least bring it up to your GI doc, maybe we can push for better care.

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