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How long out of you or for Sleevers?



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I am wondering what the average amount of time that people took off from work for recuperation following sleeve surgery. I am having the surgery on a Thursday, and was hoping to go back to work on the Monday 10 days following. Is that unrealistic?? I work at a job where I’m sitting all day, but it’s very busy and stressful. 


The title was supposed to say “how long out of work.” I am new to this site and I can’t figure out how to edit the subject line.

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I would definitely wait. I’m 3 weeks out on Wednesday from sleeve surgery and I’m still exhausted and drained. I don’t even have energy to brush my hair. But I’ve also had complications with mine.

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Everyone is different, but 10 days seems a little brief. At 10 days will you still be on a liquid diet? I was able to take almost 6 weeks off due to my work schedule. Also, my work is very active and requires me to be on my feet each day and I typically put in 10,000 steps during an 8 hour shift. I think 4 weeks would have been the earliest I could have returned. Again, everyone is different so speak with your doctor. Best of luck!

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I'm hoping to take a short time off of work when I have my surgery. I can work from home so that's an option to be able to stay home but still earn a living.....

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Hi! I had surgery 7/13 and was scheduled to go back 7/27. My surgeon's office told me that I could go back after a week because I have a sitting job that is also stressful too but I definitely needed that extra week. I actually ended up taking off an additional week just to be safe. Hope this helps!

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I had my surgery on Thursday and am headed back (to my dining room table) tomorrow. :( So not even a week. I do feel like I will be able to handle it, albeit at a slower pace than usual!

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I had surgery last Wednesday and I'm headed back tomorrow for a half shift. I actually work in surgery, doing sleeves, so I think they just want me to come in to see how I'm doing. I told my boss that I've been woozy so hopefully I'll get through it unscathed!

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I took of 3 weeks. I'm working from home doing Telehealth. I am 5 days out and exhausted. No major complications (no major pain, no nausea, no vomitting, no reflux, incisions healing) but I am fatigued, my tongue is coated white Patches and some brown colors that mostly scrape off) from my chocolate Protein Shakes, chewing Multivitamins, etc.. I assume. If it doesn't clear I probably call doc in a few days. I shouldn't be dehydrated because I'm drinking fluids all day (64oz). Maybe I should do 64 Water plus the liquid meals. I walk around the house and get dizzy. Make sure to take enough time off because I am thinking I should have taken 6 weeks.

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I took off three weeks but could have gone back after two. I had a desk job, though. If you're on your feet a lot, you may need longer...

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Thanks for all your input. I have enough time to take off more than the 10 days, but it’s just hard because I enjoy the judge that I work with and if someone else fills in, it’s going to be a disaster, which will reflect on her. But maybe I should take extra time if only to show my supervisor the workload is too much lol. Since being back at work full-time, they didn’t give us any time to deal with the four months worth of backlog, and took away our supporting help so we are just swamped and buried all the time and it’s very stressful

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I scheduled 2 weeks off, but realistically I could have gone back after 1 week. Then again, my job is sedentary computer work, so less demanding than for many others.

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I had gastric bypass, but I went back to work 11 days after my surgery. I had surgery on a Thursday, took the whole next week off, and went back to work the following Monday (I am working from home most of the time now, but I usually have to go into the office once per week, so I went in on Monday and worked from home the rest of the week). I have a desk job and I was fine. I could have gone back the previous week if I really had to, but I was definitely better off taking the week off because it's a lot of work to get all the Protein and fluids when you can only drink an ounce at a time. By the time I went back to work, I was able to drink fluids at a reasonable pace and didn't have to pay so much attention to it. I sipped Water all day at work and had a Protein Shake for lunch and I was good.

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I purposely had my surgery in the summer which allowed me to recover in a month. But I remember asking my nurses how do other teachers do it? To which they replied, they take two weeks for Christmas Break or an additional week off during Thanksgiving/Spring Break so 14 days.

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I had VSG on a Monday (5/18) and back to my desk job on that Thursday. So just 3 days for me. I was fortunate to do it during COVID, so was able to work from home in T-shirt and shorts. Not sure I would have been ready to dress up and go into work that quickly.

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    • LeighaTR

      Four days post surgery. I am sipping as fast as I can and getting NO WHERE near the goal of 60 - 80 grams of protein or the 64 oz of liquids. I just feel FULL. I don't know if it can still be the gas build up (I would think by now that would be gone) but it is a struggle to drink. And so far I have not had the nausea or spasms and don't want to wander into that territory by pushing too hard with liquids. I about passed out today as it was my most "strenuous" day. Went from second story to basement for shower and I was sure I was going to pass out. Looking back on my last few days I have had a total of less than 1000 calories. Am I just not getting enough nourishment in me? Once again a friday where I can't get ahold of the doc until Monday rolls back around so I am hoping maybe someone here has some experience on how to keep energy going. I do have fibromyalgia too and that may be where some added fatigue comes into play. How did you all fair with the goals the week after surgery?
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    • Doughgurl

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      · 3 replies
      1. Phil Penn

        Good Luck this procedure is well worth it I am down to 249.6 lb please continue with the process..

      2. Selina333

        I'm in Houston so kind of near you and had the sleeve in Dec. Down 61 lbs. Feeling better. Was definitely worth it. I hope the everything is going well for you. Update us when you can!

      3. Doughgurl

        I am back home after my bypass surgery in Tiajuana. I'm post op day 4. Everything went great! I guess I'm one of the lucky ones who have not encountered much pain at all, no nausea thus far and I'm having no problem keeping down broths and water. Thank you for your well wishes. I cant wait to keep up this journey and have a chance at better health and simply better quality of life. I know there will be bumps in the road ahead, and everything won't be peaches and cream, but at least I have a great start so far. 😍

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    • Doughgurl

      Hey everyone. I'm new here so I thought I should introduce myself. I am 53y/o and am scheduled for Gastric Bypass on June 25th, 2025. I'm located in San Antonio, Texas. I will be having my surgery in Tiajuana Mexico. I've wanted this for years, but I always had insurance where bariatric procedures were excluded. Finally I am able to afford to pay out of pocket.  I can't wait to get started, and I hope I'm prepared for the initial period of "hell". I know what I have signed up for, but I'm sure the good to come will out way the temporary period of discomfort and feelings of regret. I'd love to find people to talk to who have been through the same procedure or experience before. So I look forward to meeting you all. Hope you have a great week!
      · 2 replies
      1. Selina333

        I'm so happy for you! You are about to change your life. I was so glad to get the sleeve done in Dec. I didn't have feelings of regret overall. And I'm down almost 60 lbs. I do feel a little sad at restaurants. I can barely eat half a kid's meal. I get adults meals often because kid ones don't have the same offerings at times. Then I feel obligated to eat on that until it's gone and that can be days. So the restaurant thing isn't great for me. All the rest is fine by me! I love feeling full with very little. I do wish I could drink when eating. And will sip at the end. Just a strong habit to stop. But I'm working on it! You will do fine! Just keep focused on your desire to be different. Not better or worse. But different. I am happy both ways but my low back doesn't like me that heavy. So I listened (also my feet!). LOL! Update us on your journey! I'm not far from you. I'm in Houston. Good luck and I hope it all goes smoothly! Would love to see pics of the town you go to for this. I've never been there. Neat you will be traveling for this! Enjoy the journey. Take it one day at a time. Sometimes a few hours at a time. Follow all recommendations as best you can. 💗

      2. Doughgurl

        Thank you so much for your well wishes. I am hoping that everything goes easy for me as well. We don't eat out much as it is, so it wont be too bad in that department. Thankfully. Also, I hear you regarding your back and feet!! I'd like to add knees to the list. Killing me as we speak! I'm only 5' so the weight has to go. Too short to carry all this weight. Menopause really did a doosey on me. (😶lol) My daughter also lives in Houston. with her Husband and my 5 grand-littles. I grew up in Beaumont, so I know Houston well, I will be sure to keep in touch and update you on my journey. I may need some advice in the future, or just motivation. Thank You so much for reaching out, I was hoping to connect with someone in the community. I really appreciate it. 💜

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. LeighaTR

        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

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