I am a Dentist and I don’t really know the expectations when I am supposed to return to work.....now I know I sot down a lot at work and mostly use my hands but how long should I wait and how long did some of you guys wait to return?

I work in a very sedentary, desk-job. I was off work for 6 days. At 6 days, I COULD work and I wasn't in pain, BUT...the fatigue was a major factor. I needed more frequent rest breaks. One day at lunch, I fell asleep for an hour and a half! For weeks afterward, I was still struggling with fatigue and every Thursday, I'd hit a breaking point. My husband joked that he could count on me falling asleep every Thursday night as soon as we sat down to watch TV.

My advice, take at least 2 weeks and consider more. If that's not feasible, return only part-time for a few weeks. As a dentist and a doctor, you need to be alert. You may be able to sit while you're performing your work and you may be able to take frequent breaks, but the fatigue will adversely affect your ability to concentrate.

I have a desk job and was only off 10 days. I had no pain or discomfort...so I was lucky I guess.

I took 6 weeks. Water and protein become your job for a while and it seriously takes all day to get what your suppose to in.

On 1/22/2020 at 2:42 PM, jlb8080 said:

I went back after a week. I do have a desk job but I wasn’t tired or anything at the end of the day.

I hope I am like you! I go in Tuesday for surgery and will be back at work the following Tuesday.

Take as long as you can off. Sitting down and bending at your waist may hurt your stomach. I think the max is 6 weeks.

I have been told the average is three to four weeks for the sleeve. Assuming no complications I am going to take a full five weeks off. I have access to short term disability, however since I am doing self-pay the short-term disability is not available and I have to use personal leave time (sick and/or vacation time).

Edited February 17, 20206 yr by VIN_IN_AL
typo

I had 6 weeks off (5 after the surgery), made up of annual leave and sick leave. It was great as I was pretty much back on normal foods when I went back.

14 hours ago, GinaFigz said:

I hope I am like you! I go in Tuesday for surgery and will be back at work the following Tuesday.

I also had the sleeve and was back at work in 10days. I have a desk job. No surgery complications and pain gas was resolved by day 7. I packed my vitamins and meds, liquids and was fine. I work 12 hr days, so I was ready for bed by 9pm. But not abnormally tired. Good luck.

The pain doesn’t last that long but I agree that the fatigue sure does. I was out for 3 weeks which was pretty much perfect, imho.

If I had to, I could have gone back after 2 weeks but the fatigue was definitely still strong at that point.

Best wishes!

On 1/23/2020 at 6:57 AM, JAKE H said:

I personally had my surgery on wednesday and was back to work on monday. (desk job) but i felt great and the more i stayed busy the easier it was for me. Everyone is different though!

Same here... Had SX on the Wednesday and back to work on Monday.

I was out 6 weeks bc of lifting restrictions, I’m a nurse so they said if I didn’t have to do lifting I could’ve returned in 4 weeks

9 hours ago, JB1 said:

I also had the sleeve and was back at work in 10days. I have a desk job. No surgery complications and pain gas was resolved by day 7. I packed my Vitamins and meds, liquids and was fine. I work 12 hr days, so I was ready for bed by 9pm. But not abnormally tired. Good luck.

Thank you for sharing! It's so reassuring!

I was out 1 week. Biggest issue was fatigue. I’m now 4 weeks post surgery & not having any issues during the day but so tired at night. The longer you can take the better.

I was working remote a few days after (desk job) and was back in the office after a week. I would think that you would need more than a week as a dentist. I felt pretty much healed up after 2 weeks, but energy level will be lower and you will be weaker for a while. I am at 4 weeks and still feel muscle weakness and need a nap every few days due to crappy sleep post surgery.