Hello my name is Chloe and I am 23 years old. I suffer from Crohn's disease and have had crohns since the age of 3. I have always suffered from symptoms but just recently have been suffering very badly. For the past month I've been in and out of the hospital and I'm due for my first surgery in June. They are going to be doing a bowel resection and was wondering if anyone can give me some advice on what to expect and how long recovery time normally takes that'd be great. Also, I currently have an abscess as well and the hospital put a drainage bag in my stomach which hasn't been that fun to deal with :/ ice been kind of taking it easy and not wanting to go out much or see any of my friends. Any advice on what to do? Thanks!
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First timer on here
- Thread starter Cmeyerson29
- Start date
Healing time varies from person to person. Trust me you would rather have the new drainage setups then the old ones. My honest advice would be to try to find a way to socialize and have fun with your friends or whoever. The medical issues you are having can actually help to create stress and letting your mind wander sometimes can be the worst thing.
- Location
- London, UK
Hi Chloe! Welcome to the forum!
There's quite a lot of advice about surgery as well as personal accounts in the sub-forum here
As with everything experiences vary quite a lot but I think that's good to know too!
With my four surgeries, I was in hospital for 10 days with the first, 3 weeks for the 2nd (with further admissions for a post-op abscess), 3 weeks post-op for the 3rd and 7 days for my last surgery in Aug 2014.
6-8 weeks is a good rule of thumb timescale for most people recovering from a resection, but it can vary. Some people will recover faster, especially if they have had a laparascopic procedure.
I've never much enjoyed having a drain in myself and I understand how something like that can make you feel less like doing things but it can help a lot to get out and to see friends. Is there something in particular that is making you feel less like doing that? Finding clothes that work with the drain or anything like that? Hopefully your friends will understand if you just want to do something very low key like watch a movie or chat about anything but your health.
When is your surgery scheduled to happen? Have you had a meeting with the surgeon yet?
There's quite a lot of advice about surgery as well as personal accounts in the sub-forum here
As with everything experiences vary quite a lot but I think that's good to know too!
With my four surgeries, I was in hospital for 10 days with the first, 3 weeks for the 2nd (with further admissions for a post-op abscess), 3 weeks post-op for the 3rd and 7 days for my last surgery in Aug 2014.
6-8 weeks is a good rule of thumb timescale for most people recovering from a resection, but it can vary. Some people will recover faster, especially if they have had a laparascopic procedure.
I've never much enjoyed having a drain in myself and I understand how something like that can make you feel less like doing things but it can help a lot to get out and to see friends. Is there something in particular that is making you feel less like doing that? Finding clothes that work with the drain or anything like that? Hopefully your friends will understand if you just want to do something very low key like watch a movie or chat about anything but your health.
When is your surgery scheduled to happen? Have you had a meeting with the surgeon yet?
I agree with this. You may be discharged from hospital after just a few days if all goes well, depending on your surgeon's assessment. The next six weeks or so, you should see a steady improvement in your pain levels, energy and bowel function. Though if there are complications, they are usually minor, but they delay healing a little. E.g. after my last surgery I got an infection, but my GP treated it with antibiotics, so there was no need for me to go back to hospital. You'll need to avoid strenuous activity, bending and lifting for this time because those movements are hard on your abdomen, so you may need someone to help a bit when you first get home (though I know some people manage without, but it's less risky if you keep lifting to a minimum).
I gather from your post that you've been in hospital before for things other than surgery, so I guess you're familiar with what hospital wards are like and what you need to pack, etc. but if you've still questions about it there are plenty of people here who can answer.
Is it the drain in particular that's stopping you wanting to go out? I don't really know what's best, as people feel differently about things like this, but I think I would try just telling people you have it. That's what I do with my stoma. I never feel there's any need to keep it secret. If you tell people straight off that you have the drainage bag, you won't spend the whole time worrying that people will notice.