Living With Crohn's Disease.

Most people living with Crohn's disease find that periods of remission (when they are free from symptoms) are longer and more frequent than periods of acute illness. This has never been truer than it is today, when doctors have large and growing arsenal of treatment options to prescribe.

The severity of Crohn's disease can be measured objectively with indexes that chart symptoms, including:

•The number of bowel movements per day

•Appetite level

•Fever

•Number of days in a month when an individual must modify his or her work, home, or social schedule because of diarrhea, fatigue, fever, and other symptoms


Severity can also be measured subjectively, through a doctor's assessment of an individual's general state of being (such as whether he or she is angry, depressed, in pain, or embarrassed by needing to use the toilet frequently in social or business situations).

There is considerable variation in how people with Crohn's disease experience their illness. An individual whose radiological examinations reveal an extent of disease that would seem to be debilitating may lead a relatively normal life, while a person with few objective signs of disease may find his or her symptoms totally debilitating, both physically and mentally.