loading and unloading trucks by hand. Very fast paced and some of it is fairly heavy. I am wondering how long I will have to take work off for the surgery. I would really like to keep this job and I think they may allow me a few weeks off. My wife seems to think I will never be able to go back to lifting stuff after this surgery.

Any of you have any experience to share that may help me decide whether to go through with this?

After you recover you can do what you did before, probably better.

Giving the proper recovery time is the trick. I wouldn't do crunches our even full push-ups until about a year out, but some guys aren't that careful. I was babying my surgery area. Also, I was 64 and don't heal as fast.

Thanks. I am 65. I think my supervisor will let me take off for a month or maybe even six weeks. Not sure and just wanted to know what or how much time to ask for.

Unless they are a small company, they have to give you as much unpaid leave as you need (up to 12 weeks) under FMLA. Whether they give paid leave or not should be governed by their standard benefits package. You should talk to your surgeon about how much time he/she thinks you will need given your job requirements. For heavy lifting and fast paced work I would guess your surgeon will recommend at least four weeks off.

Well the way i see it is your company will have the new and improved version of you and each and every month it will get better Win/win. I do think it is important because of the demands of your work style to get a doctors excuss and heal properly before returning to work. Becareful and be smart on your healhty journey!

I do similar work loading and unloading feed trucks. I had my surgery back on December the 4th and was released to go back to full active duty on the 3rd of January. really depend on what your doc thinks. good luck and take care

Your doctor will give you the information you need. It is going to be similar as for any major abdominal surgery, likely 6-12 weeks, somewhere in there. And Bufflehead is right, you are protected by law FMLA up to 12 weeks (unpaid of course, unless you have sick leave to help cover it).

After your surgery, this will be a great job to help you build muscle. You might want to hit the gym and do some lifting at that point, too, as it will help you adjust to the new load. The more muscle you have, the faster you will lose. We will want pix showing how buff you are in a few months.

You'll want to check on your employer's policies on FMLA. I used FMLA but had to have been working for the company for a certain amount of time before it applied.

You have to work for the company for a minimum of one year to use FMLA...so if this is a new job, that won't help you... but ask about options!

I'm just over 4 weeks out, dr said most recovery time is 3weeks but because of occupation as a cop he had me out for 4 weeks