guyfeelsgood sometimes surgery is the best method to put yourself into remission, and especialy if you have a good surgeon who has delt with CD before. I know many people try to avoid surgery at all costs and spend years and years suffering with pain and flares, and listening to GIs insisting that surgery is not necessary if you take humira or other immune surpresant type drugs, but really, if a person opts for surgery sooner than later, sometimes they can eliminate this disease for many years or foreever. Give you two example I know personally.
My cousin who is 38 started having pain in the illium in jan 2011 and GI diagnosed it as CD. My cousin had no other symptoms just pain, no D or blood, nothing just sharp pain. GI put her on steroids and insisted she go humira, which she got on on. Her surgeon wanted to take out the small inflammation immediately since he has had good success with putting people into long term remission with early surgery before a lot of damage has been done. GI keep insisting surgery was not needed and humira is the solution.
Three months into humira she was still having the pain in her side plus now the side effects of humnira like a rash and pain in her joints.
By may of 2011, she had to readmitted with a infection in her illium due to an abcess that formed. Surgeon had a big argument with the GI and told him to take his dam humira and stick it where the light don't shine and said enough is enough, this intestine has to come out now before more damage is done. Drugs arn't the answer.
Humira was stopped , then a month of antbiotics was given to reduce the infection and abcess, and then robotic surgery was done. Five inches of illium was removed and the valve. What impressed me with this surgeon was he had a pathologist in the OR with him analyzing sample of the intestine in real time as he was cutting it out so he knew he was getting all the active disease and not leaving any behind to flare up later. He also made sure not to cut out more intestine then necessary so my cousin would not have problems later with bms.
That was in july of 2011 and to this day my cousin is 100% symptom free, her bms are completely normal, and goes to the same GI as I do and she follows the SCD diet now like I do, and takes pentassa as a maintenance drug. A colonoscopy a few months ago shows very little to almost no scarr tissue, and no active disease or any signs of CD anywhere. My cousin says she wished she listened to the surgeon and had the surgery the first sign she had CD rather than suffering with trying to take drugs.
My barber , who had the same surgeon, had CD 15 years ago and he listened to the surgeon and after a few months of on and off pain, he had surgery where they took about a foot of illium and the valve. That was in 2000, and he has not had a flare or a symptom from CD in 15 years. He is also on pentassa, but follows no special diet.
Don't be afraid of surgery , if you have a good surgeon you can put this disease into remission for many years. I know on this site there are other people who had surgery and had great success for many years.