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You’ve visited the gastroenterologist and received a diagnosis, and now you are either undergoing treatment or considering your options.

Now what do you do? Just sit back and wait for the treatment to work?

It’s never that easy. In order for you to get the most from your treatment, keep a steady and fruitful dialogue going with your gastroenterologist, and maintain your overall well-being, you’ll need to be more proactive about your condition and your health.

That means writing things down.

After an initial visit with your gastroenterologist, he or she may ask you to keep a written record of your Crohn’s symptoms to help determine the severity of your condition, as well as to observe how treatment is working for you. A simple way to do this is to keep a daily diary of the symptoms you experience.

For each day of the week, record the following:

• The number and quality of your bowel movements (e.g., liquid, soft, firm, bloody)
• Whether you suffer from stomach pain or cramps
• Your appetite
• Your temperature

Indicate when your symptoms are at their worst (e.g., after meals or when you first wake up), and rate their severity using the following scale:

0 = not severe
1 = mildly severe
2 = moderately severe
3 = severe

For your convenience, we’ve created a downloadable symptom diary that you can use to track your symptoms. You can then bring your diary with you to the gastroenterologist and discuss your symptoms more specifically.

Download the Symptom Diary