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How fast were you able to go back to work?



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I know it will vary a bit from person to person, but for those that have a desk job, how fast were you able to go back to work?

If you get the surgery on Friday, is going back to work Monday out of the question?

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Everyone is SO different. I wasn't ready to get back to work for 3 weeks. The first two weeks I could hardly get out of bed and was so weak. I started working from home after 3 weeks and physically went back to work at 6 weeks. But part of the reason that I stayed away for so long is because my commute is 140 miles round trip and I didn't want to get that far away from home and not feel good.

Most people I have talked to have gone back to work in 2-3 weeks.

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Definetly not the Monday after a Friday surgery. I didnt come home from the hospital until Monday. I went back to work the following Monday and was fine. You will need at least a week at home recovering and focusing on yourself and getting in your Proteins etc. Dont rush it, I would of taken a second week, but like you needed to get back to work. 1 week off minimum. Good luck.!

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:)My doctor said having this surgery is like hitting the "control, alt, delete" button on yourself. You have to take it easy, let yourself heal, and re-learn how to eat.

If you are feeling okay and don't have a really physical job, maybe a week but that is totally stretching it. I took off 4 weeks and I'm glad I did because it took so much time, and effort to eat, there is no way I could have focused on work.

Good Luck

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I had my surgery on a friday and went to school and work on tuesday. By thursday I was exhausted. Been in bed since. I get up and run errands of course also.

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Monday might be pushing it a bit. In my case, I had surgery on a Saturday, was on a cross country flight (6+ hours) the following Tuesday, and went back to work the next day (Wednesday). Needless to say I was exhausted. But it can be done.

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Time off is an issue for me also. I am hoping to have surgery on a Thursday (working the Sat & Sunday before to make up the time), then take the next week off, and the go back the following Monday. So it will be a total of 11 days off, and 5 days of paid time off. But what I plan and what happens may be 2 different things all together. Good luck!

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I'm having surgery on Tuesday afternoon, driving myself home (4 hours drive) on the Saturday, resting up on Sunday and then back at work on Monday. I am out of sick leave so I'm taking the days as unpaid leave, but will take extra half days off if I need to throughout that first week. I imagine I will be taking a couple of rest/nap stops on the drive home, but if it takes me 6 hours to get home, that's ok.

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Yeah, I plan to work the Sunday before, then take off Friday for surgery. I will be in the hospital overnight Friday night, then drive home Saturday (15 minute drive). I hope to be able to go back to work on Monday, but if that doesnt happen then it doesnt.

The problem is that all the snow we got really ate into my PTO time, and I only have two weeks for the entire year left. If I take a whole week, I'll only have one week left for the year. That would be a total bummer, but I will do it if I have to.

We'll just see how I feel and how it goes I guess....but I'm gonna get up and go to work if I feel it is at all possible. All I do is sit at a computer anyway, so I think it could be done if I am only in moderate pain.

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I thought i'd only take two days. Nope. it wasn't the pain, it was the exhaustion from such little nutrition. I'd say at least a week. I ended up havign to take it without pay. But it can be done.

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What was an expected 24 hour stay in the hospital turned into 48 for me. No other reason but they wanted to be sure there were no leak issues. Once at home I was able to move around to take care of myself (I walked from my room to the car at the hospital), yet I still knew I needed time to heal. It's kinda like getting into a car wreck and the first 24-48 hours, your feeling okay. Then the next day, you feel like you were hit by a train. That was the day after I got home from the hospital. The pain meds were all but gone ( I had my script I was sent home with), the nurses are not there to help me out and my bed didn't do all those cool adjustments like the hospital one did. I didn't sleep to well the first few night. The recliner in the living room was my new bed.

If you could help it, take a week for yourself. I agree with all the adjustments needed. The first couple of weeks, I felt like I spent the whole day thinking about what to eat and concentrating on trying to consume it with minimal discomfort. It seemed that once I was done eating, it was time to eat again. Take this time for you so you can make the right start on your new journey. Although I was not hungry following the surgery, I do think I was a little weak from the dietary changes. I have adjusted now and feel fine, but your body needs to adjust. You are altering the means to fuel itself. It's like taking a truck from diesel to bio-diesel. You use less and it processes much more cleaner and efficiently. But it takes time to convert the vehicals engine.

I had knee arthroscopy with lateral release surgery 2 years ago. I went back to work 1 week later as a medical office manager. I was on my feet way more then I had anticipated, but once I was healed, I was healed. The bone is what it is and will continue to be. What I have done to my stomach is life altering and affects me every day. Although I have healed physically, some days I feel like I am just out of surgery again with my choices and the volume I can consume.

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

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        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
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