Hey there,
Welcome to the forum! "Normal progression" is sufficiently different for most Crohn's patient, just as a lot of things that relate to Crohn's somehow relate to the individual in question. I was diagnosed in 1999, at first wasn't treated well at all - I was on Pentasa that didn't help with inflammation at all and basically had constant problems with diarrhea, loss of weight and finally after more than 3 years had "sufficiently" advanced strictures in my smaller intestine that I needed surgery with 60cm of smaller intestine removed.
Well, after surgery I swore to myself to do a lot more to not get in the same situation again. I was started on aza right away, did a lot of sport and generally didn't have many problems, I even considered myself in remission (although in retrospect I definitely wasn't because I frequently had diarrhea, sometimes also bloating, cramps etc.). Things got more problematic after a few years, lost weight and got tired more easily and iron and protein deficiency followed due go malabsorption. I battled with those problems for years, tried to even get off aza for 2 years (that didn't really help...).
I would say the third stage in my Crohn's career started early in 2012. I was hospitalized for severe iron deficiency induced anaemia. This time I took more radical steps, high iron supplements in liquid form and tablets daily (I found tabs that don't get me into trouble), other supplements such as magnesium, zinc, vit D, vit b6 and b12 etc., stress relief and regular endurance sport and getting my aza intake to the right minimum of 2mg per kg body weight. I got better soon and for the last about 16 months I have finally actually been in real remission(no diarrhea, no weight loss, not tiredness, no cramping, no bloating, no gasing, virtually no problem with the very occassionally minor problems if I eat something I really shouldn't eat).
Ok, that was a lot about my history. What I am trying to say is that the "normal" progression can go into many directions. For me I started out really ignoring Crohn's and not been well informed, then accepting it but not really knowing how to get to long term deep remission (I though regular diarrhea, bloating, gasing etc. is just there to stay) but thankfully finally did my research and started to really work on long term remission - and for me it paid off. Of course, as said at the beginning of this post, Crohn's is very much different for everyone and I know there are many people who have big problems despite really trying lots and lots of things.
Having said all that, are you on any long term drugs for Crohn's? How about any supplements to treat deficiencies? Sport? Stress relief?
