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My husband just recently had 6 inches of his small intestine removed laparoscopically.  We felt blessed that there wasn't more damage.  He was just diagnosed with Crohn's in November and didn't respond to any treatment.  I read about the surgery before hand and saw that most places listed 4-6 weeks for recovery.  My husband has a very cooperative boss and he has 5 weeks vacation leave that we are using for his recovery.  I have been reading lots of stories online of people not being able to return to work for several months.  I have now succeeded in freaking myself out.  We really want to have children and we won't be able to afford that without him working.  Can anyone give me some guidance as to how long it will take my husband to return to work?

 Reply posted for narcisse.

First of all keep your head up! How are you feeling? I just had 8inches of my small and 6 inches of my large intestines removed on April 8h of this year. I am currently still home recovering and doing well. I  go back to the doctor next thursday and I am hoping he will release me back to work. I work full time, but I am going to try part time for a couple of weeks just so i can get back in the routine.My biggest thing right now is that I am tired and I still get cramping every now and then, which i believe is because I am healing. Dont get me wrong, I have really good days and then I have days where I am like who no, is my crohnsback? Keep your head up and know that everything will be ok.

 Reply posted for narcisse.

I would like to thank everyone who responded to narcisse (my wife).

It has been a hard year for us. I got diagnosed about 6 months after our Wedding (which is about 6 months ago), and as she said, I didn't respond well to treatment. I've been on Asacol, Prednisone, Remicade, just to name a few, with little or no help. Surgery turned out to be the only option left. My Wife has really worried about me through all of this and the thought of surgery was a little much for her. I tried to put on a happy face, but even she knew it was paper thin. In retrospect the jokes about the Doctor leaving a watch inside me, or me asking the Doctor to "save" what they remove in a jar, most likely didn't help too much.

Now that I have almost fully recovered, we have had time to really reflect on the past few months. It is amazing how fast everything went, all the doctors visits, all the misinformation and misdiagnosis, all the pain, and all the hardship. I have truly been lucky to have narcisse through it all and I don't know what I would have done with out her. We found pictures showing my weight loss and then weight gain from prednisone, that was really dramatic.

Again, thank you all for helping her and I'm sure to get an earfull since she doesn't know I found this post from her.

 Reply posted for narcisse.

My 14 year old daughter had 10" of her large intestine removed August 13th, 2007 and within 4 days she came home and within 2 weeks she was up moving around and going to school -- the only restrictions were no lifting over 5 lbs and no sports for 6 weeks. By 6 weeks she was released with no restrictions -- I agree that he will need to get up and move around it helped my daughter so much. She started Humira shortly before her surgery and it seems to have worked well for her once they removed the section that wouldn't heal.  I wish you all the best of luck I know how difficult it is for both of you. My daughter was diagnosed in March 2005 and we have tried so many different treatments and meds that there are days you just want to hide but although the surgery wasn't the "life changing" experience that the doctors kept talking about it has helped a lot. Good luck.

 Reply posted for narcisse.

My blessings to your family after the surgery. I hope he is doing better now. I do not have Chron's but my father does. After his resections it would take him sometimes up to 6 months to be back to himself.

However, he had the ileostomy now, and he recovered very quickly. I know it's not much of a positive, but to not sit here and wonder when the next time we would get the call that he's a Mayo is a relief.

 Reply posted for cdpgirl.

Correct! FMLA or Family Medical Leave Act, that was enacted under Clinton requires a covered employer to grant up to 12 weeks (in 12 months) of unpaid time off:

Synopsis of Law

Covered employers must grant an eligible employee up to a total of 12 workweeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period for one or more of the following reasons:

• for the birth and care of the newborn child of the employee;
• for placement with the employee of a son or daughter for adoption or foster care;
• to care for an immediate family member (spouse, child, or parent) with a serious health condition; or
• to take medical leave when the employee is unable to work because of a serious health condition.

IBD which Crohn's, UC, and the like fall to an extent under under the Americans with Disabilities Act if special and reasonable accomodations are needed.

 Reply posted for narcisse.

Hi,

I had surgery back in 2000, where about 30% of colon was removed, along with a substantial stricture and abcess.  I was on leave from work for 6 weeks, plus limited duty for the month after,  while everything healed.  Fortunately I work in an office so limited mobililty is my everyday routine.

After the third day (of eight) in the hospital, I was up gotten out of bed and was doing laps in the hallway because it was proven that working the muscles helped them to heal faster and better. While at home I had a walker and cane and moved around as much as I could. After a month my wife took me to the mall to walk and get me out of the house.

Everyone heals differently and at a different pace so it's up to the individual to know their limits.  One thing your husband may want to look into is suplimenting disability (if he has it) with vacation time.

I had 60% disability coverage at the time of my job (upped to 80% after the surgery) and I was able to collect 100% pay the whole time by using a commbination of disability and vacation/sick pay.

Good luck to both of you! 

 Reply posted for narcisse.

Hi, about 5 years ago I had four surgeries to remove my colon and now have a J-Pouch.  It was a very rough road for me in terms of recovery.  I was fortunate to have an understanding boss and co-workers because it took 2 years for me to return to work full-time. I think it really depends on the person on how soon the recovery will go.  I was in pretty bad health and a several complications so I think that's why my recovery was slow.

 Reply posted for narcisse.

My boyfriend was diagnosed about 5 years ago and it's been really rough. He had his first surgery back in July. He had to have 2 different sections removed, a total of about 12 inches removed of his intestines and his job was bowling, which involved almost every weekend and lots and lots of traveling. He was out for about 2 1/2 months and he was sore when he first started out but he was back to himself after the first few games. It was amazing! I know it's not a treatment that will work for the rest of his life but it's great. I would think if he was back bowling in less than 3 months that your husband would be able to go back work sooner than that and just take it easy.

Good luck with everything!

 Reply posted for narcisse.

  I posted the surprise cancer thread.  I had about 12 inches of intestine including 2 inches of ileum.  My surgery was laproscopically assisted but the main incision was about 4.5 inches through the center of the belly.  I was driving a tractor (slow...bumps are not good), pushing a two wheeled wheelbarrow after about 4 weeks and handling horses at about 5 weeks.  I considered horses only after I felt that I would not break the incision open.

Everyone heals at a different rate.  I healed fairly fast; the doctor told me to wait 6 weeks.  I had a friend that had the same section removed for a different cancer but had complications that required a much longer healing time.  The level of physical labor is also a big factor.  Frequent heavy lifting and shovel work can strain the abdominal mucles more.  Your husband's post surgical doctor appointments are probably your best source of information.  The surgeon can gauge the progress of the healing.

Take care,

Howard

 Reply posted for narcisse.

Your husband should not have as long of recovery as others seeing as his surgery was done laproscopically.  I've seen individuals be able to return to work within six weeks while others may take up to eight weeks.  I have found after my surgeries that the more walking and mobility I can do the faster my recovery time is.  I would like to suggest that your husband begin the right medication regime after his surgery to prolong any remission he may experience.  Don't get yourself too worked up - just remember when your reading other's stories that each individuals Crohn's (and recovery post-op) is unique to them.  I wish your husband, and you, the best of luck.

 Reply posted for narcisse.

I had Ilecolic resection surgery in November of 2006.  Thats where they took 30% of my colon and about 5-6 inches of my intestines out and then reatached everything.  I was out of commision for about 3-6 months.  I mean I couldn't lift anything.  I don't know 5 weeks is awfull fast to go back to work.  But only he knows how he feels.  Crohn's is such a terrible disease that you don't know how your body is gonna react.  If he does need more time off of work I don't think legally they can fire him for that.