context: If you've been living with pain and diarrhea from Crohn's disease, you may wonder what it would take to be free of symptoms. This can happen -- it's called remission, and it's the goal of all the treatments you take. Remission is a stage of Crohn's when your disease is no longer active. That means inflammation stops causing painful damage to your bowel and colon because your immune system is working like it should. If your disease is in remission, you'll likely notice these signs: No more symptoms like pain, diarrhea, or fatigue. Blood tests will show normal inflammation levels. Your Crohn's disease activity index ( CDAI) score may be below 150 -- more on this below. Lesions in your bowel or colon start to heal. You feel normal and have a good quality of life. No. Most people with Crohn's go through cycles of remission and relapses. When the disease is active, you'll have symptoms of inflammation. When it goes into remission, you won't. The pattern varies. Flares could last for weeks or months, and you might have mild diarrhea or cramps. About 10%-20% of people have long-term remission after the first flare. Treatment makes it more likely that you'll go into remission and stay there. Yes. You can be in: Clinical remission: You have no symptoms. It can result from medications, but sometimes it happens on its own. If you're taking corticosteroids to keep the disease at bay, you aren't considered to be in remission. Deep healing, endoscopic remission, mucosal healing: These are all different ways to say that the doctor finds no signs of disease when he checks your colon with an endoscope, a tiny camera on the end of a long, flexible tube that helps the doctor see inside your digestive tract. Histologic remission: Cells from your colon look normal under a microscope. This category is not yet well defined since there are 18 different scoring systems for Crohn's. Surgical remission: A lack of disease activity after a surgery, particularly an ileocolonic resection. This is the most common surgery for Crohn's disease. It involves removal of the terminal ileum, where the small intestine meets the large intestine. Biochemical remission: Your blood and poop don't contain certain substances that are signs of inflammation. Treatment is usually the way to get your Crohn's into remission. The condition usually doesn't get better on its own or go into remission without treatment. In fact, it will probably get worse and lead to serious complications. To get you to remission, your doctor will try: Medications. Your treatment plan will depend on how the disease affects your body. Most people need one or more drugs to ease their inflammation, reduce symptoms like pain or diarrhea, and help damaged intestines heal. These include: Steroids like prednisone ( Deltasone) Drugs to slow down your immune system, like azathioprine ( Azasan and Imuran), cyclosporine ( Gengraf, Neoral, Restasis, and Sandimmune), mercaptopurine ( Purinethol and Purixan), or methotrexate ( Rasuvo and Trexall) TNF inhibitors like adalimumab ( Humira), certolizumab pegol ( Cimzia), or infliximab ( Remicade) and it's biosimilars, infliximab-abda ( Renflexis), Infliximab-dyyb ( Inflectra) Newer biologics like natalizumab ( Tysabri), ustekinumab ( Stelara), or vedolizumab ( Entyvio) Antibiotics like ciprofloxacin ( Cipro, Cetraxal, Ciloxan, and Proquin) or metronidazole ( Flagyl) You may start with mild drugs, then step up to stronger ones if you need them to get to remission. Or if your disease is severe, you could try strong drugs first, then move down to milder ones. Surgery. In addition to meds, up to half the people with Crohn's also need surgery. Your doctor will take out parts of your intestines where there's damage and reconnect the healthy areas. You may need to get foods in liquid form through a feeding tube or injected into your vein to help your bowels rest and heal. Your doctor will probably suggest a low-fiber diet to help you pass smaller stools and avoid a bowel blockage. After about a month, you should start to see signs that your treatments are working. But it could take up to 4 months to really get results. The Crohn's disease activity index ( CDAI) is one way to check. It measures 18 symptoms, including pain and diarrhea, and gives you a score. But this test isn't always accurate. Even though symptoms go away and you feel fine, you might still have inflammation that can cause a flare. Newer tests may work better to show if you're in remission: Scopes and scans: A colonoscopy, endoscopy, CT scan, or MRI will show the inside of your digestive tract, so your doctor can see if damage has healed. Blood tests: Your doctor uses them to check for signs of active disease and inflammation. There is no standard. Crohn's affects different parts of the gastrointestinal tract and is usually active when you get diagnosed. In general, if you're in remission, your odds of relapse at the following milestones are: 1 year -- 20% 2 years -- 40% 5 years -- 67% 10 years -- 76% Once you get there, you want to keep it going. Here's how: Follow your treatment plan: Don't stop taking your Crohn's drugs unless your doctor says to. That can cause your disease to flare up again. You may be able to stop using one of your drugs, or slowly taper your dose of others. This is called maintenance therapy. Your treatment plan depends on what type of damage you have in your intestines, where it's located, and what symptoms you have. You'll probably keep taking a mix of meds to slow down your immune system or block inflammation. Steroids can cause severe side effects, like bone loss, if you use them too long. Your doctor will probably slowly cut down and stop them as you start other treatments. Avoid trigger foods and drinks: Your doctor might call this an elimination diet. It can help you figure out how certain foods affect you. Some common ones to consider include: Corn oil Fast food Juices Lactose Margarine Processed foods Processed meats Red meat (beef, pork, lamb) Soft drinks Sugary drinks Sweets Safflower oil No single food affects everyone the same. Eat healthy foods: Add these to your diet: Dairy products Fish Fruit Healthy fats (olive oil, non-hydrogenated nut/seed butters) Insoluble fiber (brown rice, whole wheat bread and pasta) Nuts and seeds Oats Poultry Soluble fiber (oats, psyllium, pulses) Whole foods Take these steps to help lower your risk of a Crohn's flare-up: Don't smoke, or get help to quit. Don't take nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs ( NSAIDs) like ibuprofen or aspirin for minor aches and pains. They can cause bleeding or ulcers in your gut. Don't take an antibiotic for an infection unless your gastroenterologist says it's OK. Keep up with doctor's appointments to make sure you have no signs of Crohn's coming back. Stay up to date with vaccinations or health screenings that your doctor suggests. If your insurance changes and you can't afford your maintenance drugs, let your doctor know right away.