First post here!! Hi everyone!! I am considering a sleeve, but i am worried about how long it will be before i can return to work (self employed single mum). How long did it take you? And what was your BMI and age?? (want to see if there is a correlation;)) I work as a foot health practitioner and there is quite a lot of physical activity; carrying heavy bags, twisting, bending, and lots for holding feet still!

Thank you )

First post here!! Hi everyone!! I am considering a sleeve, but i am worried about how long it will be before i can return to work (self employed single mum). How long did it take you? And what was your BMI and age?? (want to see if there is a correlation;)) I work as a foot health practitioner and there is quite a lot of physical activity; carrying heavy bags, twisting, bending, and lots for holding feet still!

Thank you )

I returned to work yesterday and was just sleeved 2/28 so 2 weeks for me but I'm struggling a little and I don't have a lot of physical activity. The Dr tried to get me to take 1 or 2 more weeks but I had to get out of the house. I'm 35, 5'5' started out at 247 and weighed in at 219.8 this morning. You might need 3 or 4 weeks tops depending on how things go. These past 2 weeks have been really hard. They say it'll get better in a couple of weeks...I sure hope so! Good Luck with it

I returned to work after three weeks. I'm 37 years old.

I do not have a physically demanding job like yours, so I'm not sure how much time you should take off. Whatever you do take it easy!!!

I returned to work after 3 weeks, BMI 35.9, (about 33 when I returned to work) and I am 56. I walk quite a bit for my job but don't have to lift anything. I was really tired at the end of the day for the first week but did okay.

First post here!! Hi everyone!! I am considering a sleeve, but i am worried about how long it will be before i can return to work (self employed single mum). How long did it take you? And what was your BMI and age?? (want to see if there is a correlation;)) I work as a foot health practitioner and there is quite a lot of physical activity; carrying heavy bags, twisting, bending, and lots for holding feet still!

Thank you )

I'm a National Media Buyer at an Advertising Agency so while i'm up and running the halls i have no heavy lifting other than print media such as stacks of magazines etc.

I was sleeved on 2/28/11 and went back to work full time exactly one week later. I will be 48 on the 29th and my starting weight was 215. I was 2 weeks exactly post op yesterday and I'm feeling great. No probelm doing lifting like laundry baskets, bending over doing yard work etc. They will restrick your lifting by weight (I think mine was 20 lbs).

Here is the kicker and I think it makes a HUGE difference. I'm one of the rare people who have no problem getting the Protein drinks down. I manage at least 60 grams of protein per day and I take..... 6000 IU's of Vitamine D, B-12 sublingual, Prenatal Vitamines, Additional Omega 3, and Calcium. EVERY DAY....... with out fail. I have no problems chewing gummy Vitamins and they have become like a treat to me.

As you can read.... everyone is different. I had no choice but to go back to work at one week so I just had myself amped up and ready to go. I really think a lot of it is emotional and Psychological. If you have a healthy home life and not dealing with emotional issues and/or physical issues that may prevent you from working I do think you will be OK to go back by week 2 and maybe even week 1 if you can keep your lifting to a minimal.

This may be TMI.... but even my incisions are looking good this week. 3 of them you have to look really hard to even find.

Best advice I can give you... Get yourself prepaired for work: preplan you meals... get plenty of rest while you are home (I was going crazy), and most of all GET PLENTY OF PROTEIN AND TAKE YOUR VITAMINS and don't forget to get plenty of fluids.

Oh one more thing. During week one you will want to take at least one or two naps per day. By day 6 I was done with napping but I was ready for bed by 9pm. I would be sore in the mornings after first crawling out of bed at 6:30am. This went away as the day went on. By day 10/11 I was bouncing out of bed like my normal self. Now day 15 and I really feel no pain other than itching at the incision sites which is normal healing.

I hope this help... It's so ramdom who different every experience is.

Thanks everyone, what a lovely bunch you are! Keep em coming!!

I'm 34 years old. I'm 5'1" and was 247 pounds. It took me 3 weeks to go back to work, but I had some problems with nausea and dehydration.

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I went back to work yesterday, exactly one week after surgery. Feel great, had no issues.

For me... 2 weeks.

I am 33, 294 and I just had my sleeve last week. I am on tract to go back to work in 2 days shy of 2 weeks. I work in a lab, I manage it, so I am going to limit my activity to only scope work and paperwork for the rest of the 6 weeks. If your job is straining, and if you can't modify anything while you are healing, I wouldn't take any chances on your full recovery so I would plan for time off based on that. This is the beginning of the rest of your life!!!!

I was sleeved on 3/10/11 and plan to return to work tomorrow, 3/17. Have some problems with acid reflux and nausea but nothing that would intere with work. I manage a medical practice and am up and down a lot during the day. I don't anticipate any problems other than a low energy level. My experience from having worked in a surgical practice for many years is that if you're motivated to return to work sooner, you will probably do fine, barring any medical complications. Be sure to follow lifting restrictions you received from your surgeon. I am 54 and pre-op weight was 276. I have lost 13 lbs since surgery. Hope this helps!

I was 245 5' 4" and I'm a teacher. I took off 4 weeks. There is no way I could have gone back before 3 weeks, I couldn't do the morning routine with my children who are 5 and 8. Everyone heals different, though. I give major KUDOS to people who said they took a week off!!!!!

I am 48 yo and was 221 before 2/24/11 sleeve. I had the sleeve done with a laproscopic procedure (not sure if they are all done laproscopically now but that is definitely the way to go). I decided I was bored and didn't have anything to do so I returned to work the following Monday afternoon, 2/28/11, 4 days post surgery. My tummy was a little sore but it would have been sore regardless of whether I was sitting on my couch or sitting on my office chair. I spent most of 2 days post surgery napping and then I was ready to go. I didn't have to do any heavy lifting but after 2 weeks of limiting my lifting to 20 lbs I felt fine carrying a heavy bag of dog food or a load of laundry. I'm not suggesting that you should do it, but I am a single and didn't really have anyone around to carry my dog food. I think if you have the emotional strength to have the surgery you have the strength to figure how to do whatever else you need to do to support it.

I am 58 and had a very easy time with the surgery and recovery. I took 4 weeks off. I drive a school bus. I am SO glad I did not go back any sooner. Everything was SO different when it came to eating. Getting in the protein took time for me to figured out.

I have NEVER regretted taking the extra time off!!!

It is major surgery, even though I didn't have pain or nausea I decided to give my body time to recover.

I am 55 years old, weighed 247 at surgery, and my BMI was 43 - my surgery was my birthday present to myself. I returned to work 2 weeks after surgery. My job is sedentary and I don't do any lifting. I felt pretty good - but I purposely scheduled surgery three weeks before Christmas since it's the least busiest time of the year for me.

I started on mushies the Saturday before I returned to work so I'd be ready for it during the work week. I was so busy during work that I often forgot to eat on time.

Truly - it's all about planning. Good luck!