How long off work?

[CJinMichigan 14]

Hi! I am scheduled for surgery in five days. I have a sediatary job; sitting behind a desk all day. If no complications arise is it reasonable that I can go back to work in just four days? Will I be feeling too weak? How long were you off work?

[lisajxoxo 11]

Hello and congratulations on your pending surgery!

You will get a wide variety of answers here I'm sure. I took 2 weeks off and that seemed perfect for me. My first day back (was this Monday) and the only real problem I had was that I was SUPER tired. No issues with pain or anything else. For me, your food intake the first week or so is soooooooo minimal that my energy levels just tanked.

I've also read on here where some people are up and back to normal only a couple days after surgery.

My advice would be to take as much time as you can. It's good to let your body heal ...

Good Luck with your surgery!

[firefighter2621 0]

I had my operation last Thursday, I am going back to work tonight. I haven't had many problems to date. I actually thought about going back to work Monday night but since my doctor note says Wednesday, Wednesday it will be. I actually have a position where I am going ti be on my feet for 10-12 hours. Try to move around as much as possible to avoid becomming stiff. Also alot will have to do with if you have a lot of gas. After my surgery I had alot of gas and even with my pain tolerance I still had a hard time with it. I hope this helps you some.

[PdxMan 4,292]

I also have a desk job. I took off 4 days, Thurs/Fri & Mon/Tues. Back on Wednesday no problem. A little tired, but able to make it through the day. Went to bed early for about a week or so. Slept a solid 9 hours.

[Geeewhy 30]

I had my surgery on a Tuesday and was back at work the following Monday. Had no issues other than feeling very tired by the end of the day. If you're not in pain, there should be no issue.

[Shae 44]

There is no way to know how long it will take YOU to feel comfortable going back to work.

That said, here is my story:

I was sleeved on 10/19/11, released from the hospital on 10/21/11 and back at my desk job 10/25/11 only because I don't like my jerk of a boss and decided I needed Monday as a "me" day. My doctor said he wanted me out for at least two weeks but I cannot just sit at the house for that long (especially since my time off was unpaid). I heal rather quickly though. The biggest challenge for me so far has been my emotions. I was not allowed to take my birth control (hormone balancer), my mood stabilizer, or my antidepressant for three days. This threw me WAY out of wack emotionally. I am just starting to get back to my normal self. Another challenge has been that I work in a large room of cubicles with about 200 other people who all seem to have great smelling lunches. Oh and there were back to back pot luck lunches yesterday and today. Smelling all that food and then drinking my lunch is tortorous! This too shall pass once I can actually chew something. At home, I don't have a problem.

I hope I have helped you or someone else in some way with this post.

[vegaslaw 2]

Each person is a little different. I had my surgery late Thursday afternoon (4 pm), and I went back to work on Tuesday morning. I was really tired at the end of the day, but otherwise fine. I work full time and go to school for 5 hours in the evening, so my days are pretty long. My suggestion: if you HAVE the time off, TAKE the time off. Unfortunately, I just didn't have the time to take, and I need the money

[PJ713 1]

Omg...my employer approved 4 weeks..100% paid. Take as much as your employer will allow..it is a major surgery and everyone handles it differently!

[legnarevocrednu 47]

Hello! Because I am young and reasonably healthy, I only took a week. I am having my surgery on a Monday and I go back to work the following Monday. I have a mostly desk job as well. I have warned everyone that I may be extremely tired and not up to par when I come back and they are okay with that. Worse comes to worse, I'll leave early, but I don't anticipate that. You may want to do something similar. Start with a week, but warn them that if complications arise, you may need to stay out longer. Also let them know that if you are at work, you will not be at 100 percent. Just an idea! Good luck!!

[Heller2u 11]

I had my surgery on 10/14 and returned to work on 10/24 (one week). It was plenty of time. I was and still am tired at the end of the day, but I was before the surgery!

If you feel well enough, return to work and then use the paid time to Celebrate the new you in a few weeks!

[Pagie 64]

I was off 4 weeks and needed every day of it. I had no energy, had a hard time getting any fluids in and I felt like crap. Although I have an office position, it is high stress and requires me to be mentally on my toes. So I took as much time as I needed to get to the point that I could function at work. Even then, my first week back I worked a reduced hour schedule.

Everyone is different with their recovery. Listen to you body and you will do the right thing.

[5McK 10]

I agree that everyone is different and heals just fine.

I had my surgery on 10/6. I went back to work on 10/14 thinking that I was fine. Now I have a desk job, but after 2 hours I found I was having trouble concentrating. I ended up going home after 4 hours. The next day I worked 6 hours...after that I was back to full hours.

[mullet head 18]

Omg...my employer approved 4 weeks..100% paid. Take as much as your employer will allow..it is a major surgery and everyone handles it differently!

Agree with PJ, if you don't have to hurry back, don't, I was sleeved on Oct 12 (Wed) and went back to work the following Mon Oct 24...I "could" have gone back sooner but was able to take the additional time off to settle in after surgery. No real "side effects" other than soreness at main surgical point and being a little tired.