I have been diagnosed with Crohns for 15 years, but it seems to be getting worse with age

Having surgery that results in a stoma is for most people a very difficult prospect to consider.  Fears and concerns on what impact it will have on their life and issues such as body image, intimacy, and the effect on a couple’s relationship can weigh heavily on one’s mind.  However by reading informative material that comes from a reliable source and by talking to others who have been through the same experience with a positive outcome can help allay many of those fears.   There are several stoma associations and stoma support groups, including Young Ostomates United – www.vicnet.net.au/~youinc  that you can contact for information and be put in touch with other young people living with a stoma.  You may also find it very beneficial calling the Crohn’s & Colitis Australia helpline 1800 138 029, which will give you the opportunity to talk through your situation at length as well as provide you with a wealth of information about stoma surgery and the treatments used in Crohn’s.  Contact with others who have been in a similar situation can also be arranged.

Before making a final decision, had you considered to see what hypnosis could do to assist you? Hypnotherapy is established in Alternative Medicine Clinics as a Complementary Medicine.

But be aware that you do need to choose a therapist that knows what they are doing in the problem area you wish help with. I am not a gastroenterologist, but I don't have to be if I know what needs doing to correct the problem. We might call that in this case - gut-related hypnotherapy. 

I have lectured at Monash University on both the subject of hypnosis and IBS having got the information from the United Kingdom of what they did at the Manchester Hospital (Prof. Whorwell) in those that took the hypnotherapy route with a 75% success rate.

Have a look at this video here: http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/hypnotherapy-used-to-treat-ibs/8478128 Whilst this is ranked as IBS, there is no reason to suppose that the same results can't help you with Crohns.

Epigenetics is the new understanding that tells us that it is not our genes that cause the disease.  What happens in our life through our thoughts and beliefs, causes us internally to release the brain chemicals directed by our thoughts. So for example, if you have happy thoughts, you release chemicals that cause you to feel well. And of course the converse happens that when you are miserable and unhappy, your mind releases the brain chemicals that can cause you to feel unwell. 

So my first question would be; "What happened 15 years ago (or earlier) that may never have been dealt with and is now established in your subconscious. If you wanted to, hypnotherapy can take you back to the reason of the first occurance to more fully understand what happened. 

One of my clients did just that and went back to the age of 15 when he messed his pants in class. When he reflected with the age he was now, he felt it had been due to the day before when he ate so much ice cream and other junk food that it upset his system. We were able to put healing into place with this knowledge of knowing his then fear of recurring and his embarrassment at the time of that happening, perpetuated problems with his gut from that day forward. (Under awareness from the conscious mind of course.) Many other things can happen to us that cause us undue stress and upset our system.

You might like to take this study here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/apt.13706 to your gastroenterologist and ask for his advice in regards to deferring an operation to trial hypnotherapy to see how that can help you.