Inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's, ulcerative colitis)
What HealthTracker can help you record, and how patterns might be explored.
Draft content. These suggestions are common starting points for self-tracking, collected for this service. They have not yet been clinically reviewed and are not medical guidance. You can edit your own list after adding a condition.
What you can record
- A daily rating from 1 (very poor) to 5 (very good) of how much your condition affected you that day.
- Symptom measures you can edit:
- Abdominal pain (none, mild, moderate or severe)
- Urgency (none, mild, moderate or severe)
- Bowel frequency (a number, times)
- Blood in stool (none, mild, moderate or severe)
- Fatigue (none, mild, moderate or severe)
- Treatment: medication or therapy names, dose and timing, start and stop dates, changes over time, and whether each dose was taken, late or missed. Prescribed and self-reported treatments are kept apart.
Factors people commonly track
These appear in your check-in for this condition. They are things some people choose to watch, not established triggers for you or for everyone with this condition.
- Poor sleep
- Stress or emotional strain
- Physical activity or exertion
- Cold, flu or other infection
- Other symptoms
- Demanding work day
- Travel
- Social activity
- Rested well or felt relaxed
- Gentle activity that felt good
- Something that seemed to help
- Unusual food or drink
- Alcohol
- Skipped or delayed meal
Suggested check-in questions
- How many times did you open your bowels?
- Did you notice any blood?
How patterns may be explored
After about two weeks of ratings, HealthTracker compares your wellbeing on days a factor was recorded with days it was not, and looks at ratings before and after treatment changes. Every comparison shows how many days it rests on. It describes your own records only and cannot show that one thing caused another.
Reliable sources for medical information
- NHS information about Inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's, ulcerative colitis)
- NICE guidance on Inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's, ulcerative colitis)
Links open a search on those sites. Ask your GP or specialist about patient organisations for your condition.