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Going back to work POST-Op.



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Good morning all!

I was reading my surgeon's gastric sleeve Gastric Sleeve guide, and they had this in there that somewhat concerned me.

"Most patients with a sedentary (desk) jobs are able to return to work within 3 weeks."

Is this accurate? I thought within 3-4 days I could be back at work after the sleeve?

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Oh my.....I plan on going back within a week. I have a sedentary desk job.

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I had surgery on Wednesday morning (2/17/16) and was comfortable enough to return to my desk job on the following Tuesday. I think it helped that I followed my 2-week pre-op diet religiously and I told myself repeatedly that I would immediately get up and start walking after surgery and not stay in the bed.

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Went back after a week. You will definitely want to take it easy the first few days back at work. I'm a healthcare provider and was able to just see patients half the day the first two days I was back. I kept a shake and Water at my desk at all times and sipped throughout the day.

Sent from my iPhone using BariatricPal

Edited by crystal_clear

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My surgeon's office in general recommends 4 weeks off for the sleeve but said with a desk job, as long as I was able to get my fluids in and get up and walk for a couple minutes every hour or so I could probably go back after 2 weeks. They really didn't recommend trying to go back sooner than that.

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I had four weeks off and wish, on reflection, that I had taken six.

I didn't factor on feeling so exhausted!!

Good luck with the surgery and best wishes for a speedy recovery :)

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I went back to work 15 days post-op. I have a desk job as well. For me, the main issue at that point was fatigue. I was exhausted and just went straight to bed as soon as I got home every day for those first few days. 3 weeks would have been better.

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I went back to work 4 days post op. I'm a dental hygienist, I do sit but I'm anything but sedentary.. Other than getting tired quicker than normal and a few positions that were uncomfortable all went well!! Listen to your body, everyone is different!

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I had taken 1wk off at first because I felt fine and I had a desk job but all of a sudden a few days later I felt soooo exhausted. So I took another week. I'm so glad I did. I needed that extra week to recover. My advice is do not rush back to work if at all possible. Give yourself time to recover. This is a major surgery.

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I, too, am a healthcare provider and will be heading back to work on Monday. I will be two weeks post op then. Aside from puncture site pain ( mainly the largest one) when I move a certain way, I feel wonderful! I do get exhausted after 30 minutes walking the treadmill, but I've been keeping myself active throughout the day. We will see how work goes.

Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

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