IBDstands for Inflammatory Bowel Disease. The best known are Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

Crohn’s disease can affect the entire digestive tract from the mouth to the anus. The inflammations are usually interrupted by non-inflamed sections. Ulcerative colitis, on the other hand, is limited to the colon and rectum. The inflammation usually spreads evenly from the rectum.

As things stand, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are not curable. However, it can be treated very well and new treatments are constantly being researched. It is important to find a good and trustworthy gastroenterologist.

In the self-help groups you will find different patients with different experiences with the doctors in the region. We help each other and exchange ideas.
On the helpline, we can give you several addresses to contact if you are looking for good IBD care.

There is no such thing as a “IBD diet”. Try out what you can tolerate. If you are not sure, leave a food out for a while and see if you feel better. In remission you will certainly be able to tolerate more than in acute relapse. You can also ask your doctor to prescribe nutritional counselling. Depending on your health insurance, the costs for your nutritional counselling will be covered in full or in part. Your health insurance company will explain the procedure to you.

The goal of therapy is remission. This is understood as the greatest possible freedom from symptoms of IBD.

As a DCCV member, you receive social legal advice. From voluntary support by other affected members to legal protection in the event of proceedings before the social court.
You can find further information under https://www.dccv.de/die-dccv/arbeitskreise-der-dccv/sozialrecht/

We have two groups here in the state of Berlin that specialize in this issue.
You can find them via the group search here on our site:
self-help groups Berlin

There are also working groups at the federal level on these topics:
https://www.dccv.de/die-dccv/arbeitskreise-der-dccv/pouch/
https://www.dccv.de/die-dccv/arbeitskreise-der-dccv/ced-stoma/

In principle, yes. For the planning of the group leadership it would be nice if you would register in advance by mail or phone. Caution. Due to the pandemic, most groups do not meet in presence, but meet digitally. Therefore, prior contact is absolutely necessary at the moment in order to receive the dial-in link to the video conference.

We offer various options within the state and national association to become active as a volunteer. Contact us and we will see together how we can get to know each other and how you can contribute your wishes and skills to the voluntary work of the German Crohn’s Disease / Ulcerative Colitis Association (DCCV e.V.).