Doug:)

I was in for 4 days, in my take home med was 21 days of Clexane I had tube stockings on from the start and had to keep them on till the Clexane ran out, i wonder if people with low BMI have less clot troubles?. The best way to avoid clots is to keep walking to get the blood moving from your feet/legs
Doug

I would try to get the word of the surgeon, rather than nurse or office staff, as he is the one who will get to repair any hernias that you create. The typical advice is no more than 10 lb for sometime on the order of 3-6 weeks, maybe a bit more after 3 weeks or so, but usually nothing substantial for at least 6-8 weeks. My doc was a bit more conservative in that he specified no serious core work such as sit ups and crunches for 12 weeks. Arguably, that may not be enough for some.
One of the problems that I learned about talking with the physical therapists after some orthopedic work, is that while your muscles may heal quickly and feel up to more work, the connective tissues like the tendons and ligaments don't have as much blood flow as the muscles, so they heal more slowly and are more vulnerable to being torn (and this would include the fascia that holds the abdominal muscles together, which they cut through for your surgery.) It is not unusual for a sharp sneeze or cough to cause an incisional hernia many weeks or even months after surgery.
Real story here, of my sister's octogenarian FIL who had some sort of hand surgery, After all of the recovery and physical therapy, the surgeon cleared him for all normal activities. His wife, a retired nurse, called the surgeon asked what he had told him -
"just that he could go back to normal activities.... "
"Did you know that he is back under the house digging ditches and pouring concrete? "
"Oh **** I didn't mean that!"
So, it pays to go to the source and to be specific.
Related to that, after my post WLS reconstructive/plastic surgery, when discussing with the surgeon what I could do at the gym and when, he told me that crunches and such loaded, bending abdominal work was out, but surprisingly twisting was fine - he knew exactly what he had done inside, and where the strengths and weaknesses were.
Also, your surgeon may be able to suggest appropriate protective gear - straps or supports - that may help you during this period. But do be specific as to what you do.
Good luck on continued recovery

I went back to work 2 days post op . I have a desk job and would not recommend this. As your job is laborious with the volume of weight you must lift your stomach muscles are not healed enough at 3 weeks post op. The recommended period for laborious work is 6-8 weeks post op.

I went back to work 11 days after surgery, but I have a desk job. I was told not to lift anything over 20 pounds until 6 weeks after surgery, and I think that's pretty standard. Does the nurse know that you do heavy lifting at your job?

Hi Doug - I had my surgery on the 28th and also had a hiatal hernia fixed. I am experiencing the same thing. They keep telling me that it's normal because of the gas and hernia repair and to keep using the spirometer (breathing thingy) - so I do. I'm still going to call in tomorrow and keep asking though!

My friend pointed me here sooo happy she did. Being able to read about other people experience is nice I feel less alone
I had my op on the 15th but thing never go as expected lol seems i had a hiatus hernia, they fixed it but as I started to awake I found I could not draw breath (15 days down I can just now pull 3000ml on the flow thingy)kind of scary ,has any one else had this ?
Thanks in advance and hi all
Doug