Posted 2/10/2017 12:47 PM (GMT 0)
Like 73monte said, it's hard to give you advice because Crohn's varies so much from person to person. My brother for instance has had Crohn's for nearly two decades, but you'd hardly know it. He's always worked full-time, had two kids, played sports, gone away on holidays, etc. Most of the time he's in remission and when he has flared up, steroids have brought it back under control rather quickly. He's never needed surgery or to go on biologics.
But me, I've had a rather severe case of Crohn's which has involved never being in remission, losing loads of weight (not rapidly, but I became very underweight at one point), severe anaemia, hospitalisations, surgeries, etc. It was mainly my colon which was affected and eventually I had to have it removed, which involved having a stoma for two years.
Your girlfriend's prognosis will partly depend on where her disease is located. Crohn's colitis (that is, Crohn's of the colon) often causes fistulas and abscesses. Crohn's of the small bowel is more likely to cause stricturing (narrowing) of segments of the bowel - mostly commonly at the terminal ileum. Some folks can live with strictures for a long time, but if the stricture becomes narrow enough it will lead to obstructions and massive pain. If the obstruction is unable to clear itself it could result in hospitalisation or even emergency surgery. Some people do live with strictures for years, but eventually the stricture tends to need to be surgically removed or widened. I had a stricture at the terminal ileum and it does make eating very uncomfortable and painful - it literally feels and sounds like a drainpipe getting blocked up and then unclogging itself. Only intstead of taking a few minutes for the blockage to clear, it takes hours or even days.
Active Crohn's tends to be highly debilitating for a number of reasons. If it's very active, it affects more than just your guts. It can cause fevers (not everybody gets them, but I did), anaemia, inflammation in other parts of the body, malabsorption (particularly of B12, iron, vitamin D). Sometimes the meds can cause fatigue as a side-effect as well.
So yeah. Not sure what else to say really. I wish you and your new girlfriend the best of luck with your relationship, no matter what happens with her Crohn's along the way.