Work sick days.

Hi all!

I'm new to the Forum!

Any advice on how to deal with the sick days off work?

I've only got very mild Crohns and have been off work for the last 3 days. Symptoms were vomiting and real bad stomach cramps, with lots of unusual noises from my gut.

This is the second time I've had to take time of work in the last four weeks and I hope it's not gonna be a regular thing! I have also been unwell every weekend in between. This sucks because I haven't been able to do any jobs around the house and my girlfriend has had to put up with me!!!

Some people at work have asked when I'm gonna get IT fixed!!!
Difficult one to explain that as the last scan I had just showed a thickening of the small bowel. I count myself lucky that it was all they found after all the tests etc that I'd had before Christmas.

Just beginning to feel like I'am unreliable. The nature of the work I do involves a lot of lifting and bending so I get very uncomfortable on occasions.

Please any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you.:depressed:

Every case seems a little different, but I also had a thickening of the small bowel and it causes food to get stuck due to the small physical opening. Certain things seem to get stuck easier than others. This also causes even more inflammation being the food sits way longer than it should and then you throw up. I was not aware of why I was sick until just before surgery. Meat and any other food that is not finely ground up seems to get stuck easier. Soup and other watery food seemed to go through just fine. I lived on soup for quite a while. Ginger helps prevent inflammation and also helps nausea but only to a point. If food sits too long it will insist on going either down or up.

I do not think it is possible to get rid of the thickening. You can only make the food small enough to go through and try prevent inflammation. I opted for surgery since I was losing so much weight. You may have to consider that option also.
I feel great now but am focusing on preventing inflammation so I do not grow another stricture.

D Bergy

First off... Welcome to the forum. I too have been through the whole work "issue". I've been through several jobs because of it and just started a new one in Feb. I've missed time already because of me being ill and my son being ill (He's 3 and daycare is his enemy it seems). Lifting and bending makes my belly more "active" and I do a lot of it too. Just do the best you can do and make sure you're seeing your Dr. to help with the symptoms you're having. Drink lots of fluids too so you don't get dehydrated. If work is giving you grief about the days you're missing, let them know you have Crohn's. I know sometimes that don't matter because they're all about the $$ but it's worth a try. I just always get a Dr's excuse and go on with it. You have to take care of yourself before you can do anything else. Hope you're feeling better and once again welcome.

me too.

It is so good to see you guys writing about this issue (not that you are experiencing it, of course, but it feels good to talk to others who have experienced it too). I am an attorney and my GI "issues" started at the end of my first year of law school (and haven't stopped since!). I had to take a semester off of law school, which turned out to be the easiest of the things I've missed, since schools are often way more understanding than employers. Once I finished law school, I received a prestigious fellowship which paid me to do my dream job, helping poor and disabled people get healthcare. But, unfortunately, I was just as sick as many of my clients, and, after missing loads of work, I had to resign. I was out of work, and lucky enough to have my parents to help me, for about eight months. I have just started working again, doing temp lawyer jobs, but I've been out of work today and yesterday with awful pain and bloody mucus (sorry to be gross). I've just begun on Entocort, and I'm hoping I'll have some relief and will be able to work more than a couple days in a row without missing days!
I guess I don't have a whole lot of advice other than to take care of yourself and possibly discuss the situation with a supervisor to see if any accommodations can be made. Sorry I can't be more helpful, but know that you're not alone and I wish you good luck!