Hi 360Wellness,
I am in the same boat as you, it seems. I think I have had Crohn's since I was young, although it was not diagnosed until 2014. I have a stricture in the ileum, also diagnosed as severe. I was hoping to control the disease with diet alone, but after terrible pains, a round of prednisone, am now on Remicade and azathioprine. I feel well enough but both the GI doc and colo-rectal surgeon feel that because of the stricture, I should consider surgery now, while it would be a choice. In other words, don't wait until it's a total bowel blockage and an emergency surgery. I am still trying to wrap my mind around this, as I have always been a healthy person that didn't even take aspirin. I am worried about Crohn's reoccurring, about health problems later, and the loss of the ileocecal valve. Hope some post-surgery folks share their experience here.