help me understand my boyfriends crohns

To start with do a lot of reading here. It helps those of us who have the disease to understand it better and it will help you also.

You'll only be able to help him as much as he lets you help him, so don't put all the burden on yourself, if he chooses to be private about some aspects of it then let it be, he'll share when and if he's comfortable to share it, and there's nothing wrong with that, everyone deals with this disease differently, afterall it's a pretty humilitating disease and it doesn't help that society in general tags it with a negative spin on it, expecially when you consider the fact that everyone does poop for crying out loud LOL.

:)