do you work?

i know it's a very personal question...oh yeah just like all the others...haha.

just for curiosity's sake- and please don't feel compelled to answer if you don't want to, but are you unable to work due to your Crohn's?

My wife asked me the % of people in the Crohn's forum who's illness precludes them from holding a job.

personally my Crohn's has not kept me from work, but lately it HAS kept me from going into the office which is definitely an escalation.  Needless to say i'm a bit nervous if my disease heads in that direction...thanks!

I can't work. Would like to get a casual or part-time job one day, but day-to-day life is still pretty exhausting and overwhelming at this point.

Ivy.

I have been out of work since my last surgery in March, not entirely due to recovery. I plan to go back to work in October. I only work PT though. There is no way I could work FT and still function the way I want to function. That is just me. I am a control freak, so laundry can't pile up, housework can't go for weeks, we can't have take out dinner every night. You get the idea. Working part time gives me the perfect balance. I get out into the world and still get to take my time to get everything else done without stressing my body and still might find time for a nap.

Heya,

I'm 43 now, I started working at the age of 16. Having a job for me when I was young meant a couple things.

I could move out of my parents house soon, cause we all know at that age you are so much smarter and wiser then your parents, you just can't wait to get out to the world and show them.

I had money for dating. Oh yeah baby, itallian food and girls. The two things I couldn't live without in my youth. What could be better then eating an amazing pasta dish across from a women you want to get to know :)

And of course, a car, I was going to buy the car of all cars, one that blows away my clasmates in highschool. Oh and my parents helped me to get that gorgeous Pinto, yeah I said Pinto. Never let your parents buy your first car :P But hey, I had a car. Pinto or not, my friends didnt have cars :)

I worked in the public sector until about 25 after college, but it was horrible, I don't know how people do it. Other employees like clicks where high school never ended, boss's on power trips, never earn what your worth, sexism, favortism, on and on.

I started my own business, then it got big and I sold it, and I kept doing this till 30 when I got sick. I could no longer spend 16 hours a day building a business model that would not only succeed but be something someone else would want to invest in.

I took another public job as a Bartender at a the Marriott, I worked there for three years while going through crohns. I managed to start 2 more business's while sick after my pancreas calmed down and held my job bartending to fund my business's.

By 35 I was done, crohns had beaten me down horribly, surgeries, hospital stays and being home sick tanked my business models, I declared backruptcy with over 40k debt.

I ended up on SSI, apparnetly running your own business's and selling them does not net you the ability to collect SSID. Either way...

It is now 8 years later, I am still on SSI, still sick and every time I start to get better, another organ decides it wants to be useless.

My 15 year long relationshipt GF stays by my side but works full time, if she didn't we would be screwed, as stated above, a tremendous amount of guilt goes with not being able to financialy help your mate or family.

I try not to let emotions get the best of me, I got enough to deal with.

So yeah, disabled after struggling for 5 years to work while sick. I so envy those who have the ability to work while sick. Truly warrirors, I can't even imagine how you work while having crohns, I know for some you must, for some its a way of life or belief, it doesn't matter I suppose in the long run, that you work at all is astounding to me.

I am simply amazed by the strength of some of our members to go on in the world carrying such a huge weight on their shoulders, or, errr...bowels :) WHile working.

Thanks

Jon

I have a full time job. I have been there for over 22 yrs. I am out on short term disability right now, and God willing will go back to work on 9-19-11. I wish I could be out on disability full time as I too feel better being able to lie down when I want to, but I am trying to work for at least a couple more years to at least get my truck paid off, and then I will go for my knee replacements and try for disability then. That will be like my 16th surgery, so I think I will qualify then. Hugs!

Lamb61 I am the same as you, usually push thru and keep working. But the nausea will stop me in my tracks. Hugs!

I have had CD for about 23 years now.  I went to school full time and held down a part time job.  After school I got a full time job and have always been able to hold it down.    I do have days where it is hard to work, and I have used sick days in the past for CD problems...but overall I haven't had a problem holding down a job and having CD.   In fact, I have in the past contiplated opening my own business.

Overall, I just refuse to let the CD run my life.  There are times it does but I always fight back.  I know not everyone can fight back as many people have it worse than me.

I think though you can ask this question about any disease out there and get the same responses that are appearing here. 

Yes, I have a 40hr/week job.

I've been at law firms since I graduated college in 2009/2010, so I've always been in the 'grown up' work force since getting Crohn's. My employers have always been forgiving with me since I have been able to prove my worth time and time again when I am at work. (Maybe they feel bad because of my age..? Who knows.)

I'm at a new job now (started 7.7.11). Workers' comp. =] It's a slower pace then general litigation/insurance defense litigation that I got used to for a couple of years.

There's a bathroom down the hall (sometimes feels REALLY far, sometimes not so much) and I have had to run there more than a few times before I got things under control (fingers crossed it stays that way for a while). Luckily everyone stays in their offices here and minds their own business.

My boss lets me take sick days as much as I need. I don't abuse that. I'm pretty stubborn, so I won't go home unless I just can't pick myself up or get out of the bathroom.

The only thing I don't enjoy is my commute. It's short compared to most, but for people like us it can be a daily nightmare, twice a day! Here in Minnesota, when the weather is nice ("summer"), we have road construction. (Yay...) Just in time for construction to let up, we get dumped on snow wise.

Lately, though, I'm just happy to be here, wherever here ends up being.

thanks for all the info! i wish that i didn't have to work but i too work full time and have done so throughout the 20+ years i've dealt with crohn's. with a wife and 6 year old daughter not working is not an option. i've been in the financial industry for a long time- with a Wall St. firm and now with one of the country's largest banks (oh yeah we just found out there is a RADICAL health insurance change coming this year) -- no more HMO/PPO type plan- they are only offering 2 plans- an HSA and HRA so looks like my insurance bills will skyrocket!)...

i talked to my doc's nurse today and he wants me to go in for another MRI to take a peek and also wants to set up a meeting with the surgeon (gulp)...i have not had any surgeries for crohn's so this is starting to really scare me. not sure what kind of surgery etc...but if it would let me lead a normal life i don't think i really have a choice right?

now with that being said today it brings up more questions with work like recovery time etc...

I was diagnosed with Crohns at age 23 right after I got married. I worked full time for about 10 years until I had kids, then I worked part-time for the next 15 years. I was lucky enough to work for a large company in the computer field, so I could work flexible hours and work from home. There is no way I could have worked full-time, kept my health and my sanity, and spent the time I wanted to spend with my kids. Fortunately, my husband had/has a great job, and we agreed that one of us should spend the time with the kids, and I was the best candidate since I could get the flexibility in my job.

Unfortunately, I was asked to retire at age 44 during the 10th downsizing at the plant where I worked. They had cut from 1800 workers when I started there in 1984 to 700 when I "retired". I did some part-time work after that off and on, but when I started with an abcess in 2009 which turned into a fistula after draining it, I stopped working altogether and haven't worked since. At this point, my husband is close to retiring, so I have stopped worrying about finding a job.

I feel very lucky, in spite of this DD that my husband has continued to work at his horribly stressful job. I feel like my job is to support him emotionally (being dumped on at the end of HIS very stressful job, listening to his woes, etc.). We are also lucky to have great health insurance and we will be able to stay in his company's insurance after he retires (at our cost - maybe half of the normal premium).

It hasn't always been easy, but we made it all work some how!

Sudsmom

I work over 40 hours a week.  High stress job too.  BUT...I am one of the lucky crohnnies with remission for a long term and no major meds.  I also have the back pocket ability to work from home every so often if needed.  I would say my CD affected my work ability when my last job had me traveling 2.5to3 weeks a month....that was near impossible becuase it is hard to manage what I call mini flares when traveling.

Hi isergodur

How did you go about getting disability? Is that something you do from your job? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

The trick is to find a job that is near a bathroom...Then you can really get something done :)