Mindy-
Glad that you found this resource and support system, but sorry that you had a need for it. I was DX'd at 19 or 20 too, and depending on the severity of your condition, you will have times when you are feeling no symptoms, (hopefully most of the time), and times when you need to lay a little lower.
Different foods and lifestyles tend to either improve or exacerbate the problem, so my my best advice to you is to listen to your body and try to isolate foods that give you problems. For example, I avoid caffeine because it really tears me up. I also get to a doc right away as soon as I notice the first signs of a flare coming on. Flares don't get better on their own and tend to get worse and take longer to go away the longer you put off treatment. So, hoping that a flare will resolve itself on its own doesn't happen. It hasn't ever for me at least.
Your health is the same today as it was the day before you were DX'd. The only difference is that you now have a word to explain why your rear-end is mulfunctioning. Just take one day at a time, and work through the challenges. You'll make the adaptations that we all have and will lead a largely normal life. One thing that my mom told me that made me feel not quite so "alone" was that just about everyone has a medical problem that they need to deal with in one way or another. My Dad has bad asthma, my best friend is diabetic, my wife has clinical depression, my ass is broken.. See? We've all just got to play the cards that we've been dealt :)
Good lucK :) Dave