If you have ulcerative colitis, small growths dot your colon or rectum. These growths flare up, causing blood in your stool, diarrhea and accompanying pain, fever, sores and weight loss, according to the Cleveland Clinic. This is a lifelong condition, so it's important that you find a doctor with whom you're comfortable, and who is also a specialist in internal medicine first, and a subspecialist in digestive conditions---a gastroenterologist---second, according to the Arizona Medical Association. It's possible that your gastroenterologist may have expertise in ulcerative colitis, as do doctors at the Mayo Clinic's Inflammatory Bowel Disease Clinic in Scottsdale, AZ---one of three such facilities in the U.S.
Gastroenterologists
A gastroenterologist should be your primary treating physician, according to Centocor Ortho Biotech, which sponsors the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America. This subspecialty focuses on all things related to the gastrointestinal tract---including the esophagus, liver, pancreas, and the small and large intestines, according to the American College of Gastroenterology. Training is extensive; beyond their Ph.D. program, these specialists must complete two years of internal medicine study to become board-certified. From there, they study GI tract conditions for another two to three years. As of 2010, according to the ACG, there were nearly 150 gastroenterologists in Arizona. Most are in Tuscon, Phoenix and surrounding areas. Contact information is listed on the ACG site.
Subspecialization
It is possible that your doctor may have particular expertise or experience with ulcerative colitis, although "ulcerative colitis" is not listed as a specialty approved by the American Board of Medical Specialties, according to the Arizona Medical Association. The Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America lists a number of health care professionals as among its members, and lists their contact details by state. It should be noted there are associations for digestive disorders, but not those specific to UC. As of July 2010, 22 members from Arizona were listed on the CCFA site, which stresses that it cannot recommend specific doctors, but is merely a directory of member medical professionals.
In addition, the Southwest Chapter of the CCFA is based in Scottsdale. Its "Power of Two" program pairs a new UC sufferer with an existing member, who can then get tips and ask questions of a longtime member about elements like medical providers. Support groups hosted by the Southwest Chapter are many---held in Mesa, Tuscon, Phoenix and Glendale---and provide member insight into area gastroenterologists with UC expertise.
Services
You should expect a gastroenterologist and her staff to review your symptoms and create a treatment plan tailored to your needs, according to the Mayo Clinic. In the case of Mayo's Scottsdale-based IBD Clinic, a subspecialty clinic dedicated to colitis and related inflammatory conditions, you can receive diagnosis and treatment from a team of gastroenterology specialists--including those who specialize in IBD-related surgeries, and radiologists and pathologists with extensive IBD training, according to the clinic's webpage. Other services include specific knowledge of nutrition and dietary modification to help control and treat colitis symptoms.
Research
Gastroenterologists and subspecialist clinics give you access to cutting-edge treatments, available if other more traditional methods have been exhausted, according to the Mayo Clinic. You may also have an opportunity to participate in research used to advance understanding of the condition.
Tips
Centecor Ortho Biotech in its microsite, "Living with Ulcerative Colitis," provides a link to an online search, whereby you can type in specific parameters--ZIP code and subspecialty by condition--to attain very narrowly focused search results. A search of gastroenterologists specializing in ulcerative colitis within a 200-mile radius of Phoenix resulted in nearly 30 physicians who fit that bill, according to the locator tool. The Arizona Medical Association provides a directory of ArMA member physicians, which yields nearly 60 member gastroenterologists in the state, as well as an explanation as to what "type" of specialization is needed to treat UC. Another clearinghouse for Arizona-based gastroenterologists is the Phoenix Society of Gastroenterology, which provides continuing education to more than 200 such subspecialists and colorectal surgeons in the state.
