Hi everyone,

I will be having surgery in May (I don't have an exact date yet) and I want to ask something about recovery and working.....I have a little different situation than most in that I work from home. So since I work from home, mostly on the computer and conference calls I'm thinking I'll only need to take the time off while I'm in the hospital................I can either work from my desk or my recliner. ..........I also have a cordless headset so when I'm on conference calls I'm free to walk around the house. Thoughts?

Thanks in advance for your input!!

Kathy

I had surgery 33 days ago. I would recommend taking 10 -12 days off after surgery even if you work from home. When you come back from the hospital you will be in pain and your body is going to ask you for a bed. You wont have much energy to talk or focus on work. At least this was my experience and most people will tell you that the first two weeks is challenging. I was not able to take Oxycotone for more than 3 days therefore i managed my pain with tylenol. It was not as effective but i did not have an alternative due to my allergies. Also after surgery you will be on very limited food and Clear liquids for about 4 days. My brain felt very foggy with such low calorie intake. I also had a difficult time drinking Water which is very common after surgery and this made me very dehydrated. I did not start feeling some what back to myself until after 2 weeks from my surgery date. I was not able to focus on checking work email until 12 days after surgery for the reasons noted. You don't want to be in a position in which you feel ill and still have to keep up with work because that will cause much more stress on your body. After surgery the goal is recovery and your body and mind will need time to heal itself. Work will always be there.

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I agree with the post above -- well, maybe not 10-12 days but the vast majority of people do need several days to get over post-op exhaustion, brain fuzziness, and pain. Plus what mental and physical energy you do have, you'll be spending on figuring out how to get your liquid and protein in. This is major surgery and a whole life adjustment -- treat yourself well and give yourself some room for recovery and healing.

Everyone's recovery experience is different. I had a very easy recovery and never needed any pain meds. I have a physical, on my feet all day job and I went back after 7 days. , I was actually making phone calls, doing paperwork, ordering supplies and returning emails from home day 5 and 6. I was out shopping and sightseeing and walked two miles the day after surgery, traveled by plane day 3, drove myself home 5 hours and plowed my driveway when I got home day 4, got my nails done and ran errands day 6. So technically I could have worked from home that whole time. I was on liquid diet for the first 3 weeks, but just made sure I had protein shakes and other fluids to sip on all day in between appointments. I was meeting fluid and protein goals by day 5. I was tired when I got home from work for the first couple weeks, but working was very doable. I would have been bored to death sitting around "recovering" at home.

Thank you all for your input! I'm thinking (hoping) I'll have an easy time of it. I had a hysterectomy about 12 years ago and felt like I could have gone back to work the day I came home from the hospital....didn't because I was already approved for 6 weeks of short term disability...hahaha..but I certainly felt like I could have. However, I know just because you do well with one surgery it doesn't mean you'll do well with the next, but I'm going to go into it with the mindset that it'll go well.....and give my boss a heads-up that I may take a few days off with little notice.

@@kmorri - Dr Uchal!!!

I am a patient 10+ months post.

I didn't have a lot of post-op issues so I would say take a couple of days to recoup from surgery. I had surgery at St Vincents Southside on a Wednesday and could've been back at work on Monday. I was bored. Walking around the house was old by the following week. I came home Thursday and slept-in Friday until about 7am and was up and moving. I was graduated to pureed food on Saturday and had a scrambled egg with cheese and I haven't looked back.

I returned on the following Monday so I was 12 days post. I would take a l-o-n-g weekend or at least a week and see how you feel about 4-5 days out.

I also have a very mobile physical type job and I think the moving/walking at work made my recovery much better.

Agreed that everyone is different. For me, pain wasn't really an issue. I probably could have worked from home after coming home. You will be exhausted, so as long as you can push through that, it should be ok. Granted, everyone is different and there are always unforeseen complications, etc that can pop up

Totally agree that everyone's recovery is different. I initially took 2 weeks off, not knowing what to expect. I came home on day 3 and by day 5 I felt great. I never used any pain meds, I was walking 1/4 mile, and able to eat & drink nearly what my surgeon wanted me to. I tried to go back to work a week early and was denied (more for liability on their end). Had I worked from home I would have started back after 5 days.

My suggestion ... take it easy & listen to your body. You may find that you are able to work from your recliner and wont need much down time. Or you may need the 10-15 days to start feeling more like yourself & up to doing the day-to-day work regimen.

Good luck!

@@kmorri - Dr Uchal!!!

I am a patient 10+ months post.

I didn't have a lot of post-op issues so I would say take a couple of days to recoup from surgery. I had surgery at St Vincents Southside on a Wednesday and could've been back at work on Monday. I was bored. Walking around the house was old by the following week. I came home Thursday and slept-in Friday until about 7am and was up and moving. I was graduated to pureed food on Saturday and had a scrambled egg with cheese and I haven't looked back.

I returned on the following Monday so I was 12 days post. I would take a l-o-n-g weekend or at least a week and see how you feel about 4-5 days out.

I also have a very mobile physical type job and I think the moving/walking at work made my recovery much better.

Yay! same doc! So far I really like him. My surgery will be at Riverside. My date is not set yet but am being told it should be sometime in May. I think he only operates at Riverside on Mondays so I will probably end up scheduling the week off just in case. I'm thrilled I found someone who used the same doc!!!

You need to rest and at the same time keep moving around the most you can. Everyone is different so you may deal w fatigue or others issues. Be careful with sitting all day working and not getting the things done to properly heal from surgery. I had mine on 5/2015 and I dealt with slot of fatigue I was out for 6 weeks from work.

I am virtual and my set-up is the same as yours. I took two weeks off but probably could have gone back at one week if I had too. But the healing and and adjusting to the new diet will leave you exhausted. My brain was foggy during recovery. I served my company better by staying away until I was a 100%.

@@ocgirl15 Thanks! It's very obvious that everyone's experience is different but it's nice to hear from someone in my same situation. I don't have a surgery date yet but have been told it will be in May. My doctor does surgery at the hospital where I'll be on Mondays, so I will probably just schedule the week off and play by ear.