it changes from person to person, my remissions usually come slowly, I will be in pain day in, day out. then one day i will just not really feel as bad. my cycle is usually roughly 6-10 months of outbreak and anywhere from a year and a half to 3 years of remission. Don't get me wrong, I will still have pain here and there but it will not sideline me from anything for multiple days, usually just a bad day here and there