Recovery Time????

[Melinco 1]

I had my surgery on 12/17 and took off the 17th through the 12/27, returning to work on 12/28. Granted, I was able to take advantage of the holidays (we were closed 12/24 & 12/25 - we're closed on weekends as well). I probably could have gone back on 12/24 (if we were open), but not really before then.

I defnitely could not have gone back before 12/22 as I was still on high power pain meds and was unable to drive.

I'd recommend talking with your doctor. My doctor sent me home with a pain med pump that delivered the pain meds directly to my incisions, and I was not allowed to drive while I had that in. I also had other pain meds I was taking which prevented me from driving. So find out what his protocol is for pain meds, and that will help you decide when you can return to work.

Also think about where your incisions will be and the kind of clothes you can wear. I found wearing my bra pretty irritating.

Good luck with it! It really won't be too bad.

[Debbie Taylor 0]

hi denise i am getting ready for my lap band surgery hopefully February 18,2010. i work as a techician in a doctor's office lots of walking what do you think about recovery time i have a week to take so i will just see how i do

my main concern is food after sugery. what did you do? have items fixed and frozen before you went to the hospital how about Protein Drinks do your use alot of them

thanks for any comments

[kells0802 0]

Also think about where your incisions will be and the kind of clothes you can wear. I found wearing my bra pretty irritating.

lol Mel that is soooo true forget the underwire's for a while I lived in sports bras and sweats My port incision sits right where you buckle your pants so jeans killed me the first couple of weeks.

Debbie as far as food I was on mushies after 5 days and mashed potatos, yogurt, applesauce and scrambled eggs is what I lived on till I was on solids. and let me tell you those mashed potatoes with brown gravy tasted like filet mignon after a week of broth, popsicles and Protein shakes lol but from what I have read on here everyones doctor is different with the diet so what foods will you be allowed to eat when you go back to work do you know??

[Cocoabean 430]

hi denise i am getting ready for my LAP-BAND®®®®® surgery hopefully February 18,2010. i work as a techician in a doctor's office lots of walking what do you think about recovery time i have a week to take so i will just see how i do

my main concern is food after sugery. what did you do? have items fixed and frozen before you went to the hospital how about Protein drinks do your use alot of them

thanks for any comments

Hi Debbie,

Working in a doctor's office with a lot of walking may be tough after one week. I don't think I could have done it. But that is me. Many others could have. My doctor would have cleared me to return at that point. It was funny because he said one week, his nurse practitioner over heard him and then told me he is crazy and that I should plan for two--she'd write me a note if I needed two! It was actually somewhere in the middle, as I said upthread.

Congrats on your surgery! For me, I stocked up on grape juice, broth, creamy Soups, ensure, and medifast shakes. Lost of people like sugar free popsicles a lot as well. I also got some Protein powders from GNC. I cannot remember what kind they were, I think whey powder that could be added to Soups.< /p>

I think a lot of the return to work also has to do with what you are able to eat post-op. If you are not tolerating much Proteins and liquids, your energy level is going to be low. My opinion only, your mileage may vary.

I purchased everything in advance. I had my hubby to help me, but could have made the shakes and soups myself. Along with making the mushies myself when I got to that point. I actually did not use all the protein stuff I purchased. I had read here that many people use shakes and thought they would be a normal part of my diet long-term. But my surgeon wants me to eat my calories, not drink them. So now I only do shakes if I am having trouble, or after a fill.

I had my surgery on a Friday and by Sunday was starving. I was doing very well, and on Monday was allowed to move to mushies. I had a lot of mashed potatoes with squishy peas, and scrambled eggs during that time. oatmeal and cream of wheat were also big favorites. These can be easily prepared with hot Water or in the microwave.

Someone else has suggested fat free refried Beans, that sounds yummy. I am upset I never thought of that!

As I moved back to solid foods, I did not have any problems with slime/Productive Burps/sticking until about my 2nd or 3rd fill and I finally had restriction. That was well past my immediate post-op recovery period.

Best wishes in your journey! My 2 year bandiversary is right around your band date! woohoo!!!

Denise

[morichesdonna 0]

I may have to just wait a while before having surgery to guarantee I have enough time to take off in case I do encounter any problems or issues. So, I will probably be putting this off again. :smile2:

[pennreporter 12]

I had surgery on a Monday, had to stay overnight because of sleep apnea, went back to work the following Monday. Daughter flew down to Houston from NYC on a Sunday, had to watch a video on Monday, surgery on Tuesday, flew back on Friday, worked on Saturday. Her job is much more physical than mine, hair colorist so up on her feet. I'm a court reporter and the only issue that I had was lifting all my equipment. Otherwise I could have gone back sooner. But my surgeon also had a procedure where he sucked all the gas back out. So I didn't have the gas issues. I took pain pills for the first few days but mainly because they knocked me out and I could sleep. Pain really just felt like I had gone to a bootcamp exercise program and done way too many situps. Port was a little tender at first. Elastic binder to wear around mid section helped with sleeping on side

trisha

[gbakerc 2]

I had it on a Wednesday and went back to work Monday I could have gone back Friday if I had to but I was quite lucky. I had very little pain and recovered from the anethsia quite well.

[HNNYPOT 0]

schedule your post op visit! My doctor wouldn't do a post op less than a week after the surgery so I am off longer than I wanted to be (glad I am though since it knocked me for a loop!) so make sure you can be releasedas my job won't take me back to work without it! Good luck!

[janaey 0]

I had my surgery done Jan. 8,2010 at 7:45am. I stayed in the hospital for one night...the worse part was getting out of the bed the first time to walk. I did have to walk around the nurse station a couple of times. I took of a week from work...I was suppose to return on the 19th however, I still feel some discomfort. And I know that the inside of the body takes a while to get better so I am going to take those two weeks off. I think if you can use the two weeks for yourself to get better. I would not just lay around but take it easy. Maybe starting walking in place for ten to fifteen mins while watching tv every hour or two. We only get one body and we have to take care of it...getting the lapband is one of the steps to taking care of our self. Again don't rush back if you really don't have too.

[Blue_Eyes 0]

morichesdonna

I had my surgery on a Thursday and returned to work on a Monday. I spent the night in the hospital cause thats how my doctor does it. The first time I got up to pee they had me walking the halls I think that helped me out ALOT. The more moving around you do the better you will feel and the easier your recovery will be. Everytime I would get up to go to the bathroom which was like every hour (because I had an IV) I would go walk up and down the halls before going sit or lay back down. As long as you don't do any heavy lifting at work you will probably be fine.

[ParrotheadCathy 0]

Someone will probably take me to task for my opinion, but I believe that PART of the recovery time is in your head. I have had a couple of major operations in the past and was up and walking within a matter of hours in spite of what everyone said would happen. I believed I could do it and I did.

Having said that, lap band is almost always an outpatient procedure. The worst after effects are not even from the surgery itself but from the anesthesia and the gas they pump into your abdomen when they do the surgery.

I had surgery on Tuesday and went back to work on Friday. I could have gone back on Thursday but I had already arranged for the 3 days so I stayed home that day. I took a nap when I got home, then I went outside and walked to the end of my street and back (movement is the #1 best thing for the gas issues). Later, I did it again.

I drank PLENTY of Water to help with the anesthesia getting out of my system and to stay hydrated. And I drank about 80 grams of Protein a day.

I am a legal assistant so I sit all day and that of course contributed to my ability to go back to work so soon....picking up a file folder is well below the weight limit on what you can pick up, LOL.

That weekend, I was good to myself. I rested plenty, I walked twice a day. I did a load of laundry and I cooked a couple of meals for my family. This is the other important thing. Don't think that you can go back to work AND take on all your house duties at the same time. Clean your house really well now. After the surgery, someone can change your sheets for you and maybe vacuum. You can always catch up in a week or two.....DIRT IS PATIENT, LOL.

[scottyd 0]

I may have to just wait a while before having surgery to guarantee I have enough time to take off in case I do encounter any problems or issues. So, I will probably be putting this off again. :thumbup:

I put it off to work around my work and I only took 3 days including the weekend. and six weeks after returning to work I was let go after 10.5 years.

It's your life and time, if you need more take more. I would not put anything off ever again because of me being a great employee. I have watch and seen how good employees get the Shaft in the end. Do this for yourself and set it up around your schedule.

Scotty D

[adagray 1]

For me, in one week, most of the actual pain was gone. I would not have wanted to work that first week at all because I had a lot of pain in my shoulder and some of it would come on very suddenly and be very severe.

The second week, I felt good (very little pain and nothing that was ever severe), but I was more tired than normal and would get worn out more easily. I could've worked the second week, but I probably would just need to make sure I went to bed early and got extra sleep.

By the third week, I was really all better. Not even any dull pains anymore and my energy is all back to normal. And, I'm antsy to get back to my normal exercise (Jazzercise), but have been told I'm not allowed to do that until after my appointment next Friday. I feel like I could even do stomach crunches, but I won't dare do that until I am told it is all OK.

By the way, I was required to do laps around the bariatric unit while I was there and that does help a lot. When I got home, I got lazy and didn't walk as much. Then, the second or third day home I woke up w/such severe pain in my shoulder that I could barely move and was crying. I had to get my husband up to get me a heating pad and my medicine. That is when I realized I needed to be walking more and I started walking on my treadmill for 10 minutes (slow) every hour. Within a day, I was feeling much much better. So, the walking is really really important!

[catho72 0]

I felt absolutely horrible for two weeks after (and I don't consider myself a wimp). I wasn't hungry at all, in fact, the smell of things made me gag. I had to force myself to drink water/broth/jello and after a week the Protein shakes and eat mushies. Because of the lack of calories, I had NO energy. I could barely move off the recliner for a week. My husband did all of the cooking. Honestly, I thought I'd feel much better than I did. People on this message board said it was a much easier recovery than from a C-section (I've had three) so I was expecting to snap back quickly. I can't stress enough....have a backup plan! Despite how bad I felt after the surgery, I'd do it again in a heartbeat! :thumbup:

Good luck with your surgery!

[JoiaRox 430]

I may have to just wait a while before having surgery to guarantee I have enough time to take off in case I do encounter any problems or issues. So, I will probably be putting this off again. :devil:

That makes me sad :eek:. Do it! I'm surprised at peoples' recovery times they're posting...everyone IS different, but I've had more experience with people who recover very quickly. I had my surgery on a Thursday and could have returned to work on Monday, easily - and I'm a high school teacher/union politician who does long days with a lot of walking around. Although I did take a week off, it was more because my long distance boyfriend came in town and not because I needed to recover. Sure, being able to be lazy and waited on hand and foot by the amazing man in my life probably helped recovery...but if I had to be back at work on Monday, I would have been fine. On that Monday I drove the 100 miles to LAX to pick up my boyfriend, then back home...all good! Spent the week with him doing all sorts of hanging out and other things people do who live 2,400 miles from each other....

But, really - why postpone it?! DO IT! You'll keep finding excuses not to have the surgery - and you'll keep living the unhealthy lifestyle you've been living. How much more time do you want to take off of your life?