I just started the process to get sleeved next year and I was wondering if any of you got denied for disability from work or used vacation time for surgery. My doctor recommends at least 2-3 weeks off from work and I heard that some company see bariatric surgery as cosmetic surgery. Please let me know how your time off was and if you dont mind mentioning what company you work for.

Thank you and good luck in your journey!

hi..

I will be using short term disability, based on the fact that a surgeon will say that I need surgery. The company is not allowed to ask why or what type. My company's policy is that I have to use one week of PTO for the first week before disability kicks in.

I was off 4 weeks. I used a few days sick time since std doesn't pay for the first 7 days, and the rest was std.

I didn't inquire about using disability for this, I just used 2 weeks vacation time. It would have been nice to stay home a bit longer cause that first week back was very tiresome and I had no energy. I didn't want to be bothered with the red tape of filing and having to go through the HR department for the disability.

Goodness, I never even thought to use my short-term disability for this. I used up all of my vacation. This is a good topic to bring up, as others may not have thought of this either.

Will be sleeved in two days but yes I am using disability.

I am taking 4 weeks off to make sure I am fully recovered.

I planned my sleeve around thanksgiving holiday to ensure a few extra days off with pay. I chose to use vacation time- not forced into anything. I think it should be between you and your employer whatever works best- I was able to carry over time from last year and not "use" all of it so I can still take a "vacation" in 2012..

Thank you so much for the response, I am so excited for surgery even though is so far away... I just started with my six month supervised program but I'm trying to learn and prepare as much as I can and this forum have been very helpful, thank u!

I was off for 6 weeks since my company does not allow you to come back to work with restrictions of any kind. I had to use all of my sick and personal time but did not have to use any of my vacation time. After that, short term disability kicked in. I t really was not much of a hassle as far as paperwork. I would recommend talking to someone in HR to see what your company's procedures are for applying for short term disability.

I was off a total of 3 1/2 weeks. I used disability from my company for the time away. No problems with getting it covered - the surgery was medically necessary - not cosmetic.

I also planned my surgery over Thanksgiving, I ended up using two sick days and two vacation days in addition to the paid holiday time off I had. I went back to work a week after surgery. I have a desk job, so it wasn't a huge deal for me.

so my Short term went through fine. I actually have been off for all of my PRE OP diet. and will probably take 4 weeks off to fully recover.

I work for Medtronic and my short term is through Hartford. Although I do work with people who have diabetes and are on the insulin pump so I have to be focused and not dizzy or weak, or out of it. but in any case I would ask about short term

I have my short term disability insurance thru MetLife in New York. My doctor wanted me to be off for four weeks but MetLife only approved me for two weeks; they didn't care what my doctor said. Unfortunately MetLife doesn't pre-approve the coverage, rather they wait until you're already "disabled" to determine what they will cover. In my case, they didn't make their evaluation until I was already out of work for 3.5 weeks. So, all in all, I got STD benefits for 2 weeks, then my company automatically ate into my vacation days for the remainder of the 4 weeks I was out. Further confusion: I live in New York, and the State decided I was eligible for 6 weeks of disability. What a mess: doctor said 4 weeks, state said 6 weeks, but MetLife only covered 2 weeks... Good luck!

Oh, and one more thing: according to my documented MetLife policy I should've been eligible for up to 13 weeks of disability, if necessary. Though, MetLife decided only 2 weeks were "necessary" in my case. Go figure!

i dont work, can my husband use his std to stay home to help me recover? Does anyone know?

Me-again,

If he has been at his job for at least one year and works full time, he should be able to take "Paid Family Leave". Under FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act) an employee can take up to 12 weeks per year (that don't have to be consecutive) to care for a newborn or sick immediate family member.

Here is the link to the FMLA website:

http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/