Hello everyone! I am a high school teacher and am scheduled to have the sleeve my first day of spring break. I also took off the week following that. I understand that everyone heals and recovers differently and in their own time, however, I am wondering how quickly some of you were able to return to work (if your job isn’t too physically straining)?

@XtinaDoesIt I am an elementary school teacher in the Bronx but I am OOC- ENL! I am working in person but most of my students are remote - I am there for building duties and the few students that do come in. Most of my day I sit in a room and teach remotely anyway, and my building has an elevator. The week after break I want to stay at home to be safe but I’m hoping that the fact that I’ll mostly be in one spot and will have the elevator to get up and down weeks 3-4 will be good - if not, I’ll reassess and stay home for longer if needed!

Just saw my surgeon this afternoon to sign my consent papers and we spoke about spring break. I asked him again if I get sleeved on March 26th would I be able to return to school on April 5th and he was like "Yes, sure, absolutely." That made me feel so much better!

I'm scared but I have every confidence in his abilities and I'm excited to start my new chapter.

How is everyone else doing lately?

I am post-op day 2. This is definitely harder than I was expecting. My abdomen hurts quite a bit, especially when sitting up. I’m hoping this subsided by the end of the week...

Congrats @Jnfinney! It took about a week and half for it to subside for me. It got better once my gas got better. I'm a stomach sleeper and that part was the worst for me. I still get uncomfortable sometimes sleeping on my tummy.

@newyorklady20 sounds like you will be fine! It might actually be nice to have a reason to leave the house. I definitely slacked on my walking after surgery because I didn't have to leave the house.

On 3/16/2021 at 10:07 PM, Jnfinney said:

I am post-op day 2. This is definitely harder than I was expecting. My abdomen hurts quite a bit, especially when sitting up. I’m hoping this subsided by the end of the week...

How are you doing today?

I had my surgery this past Monday and plan to go back next Monday when spring break is over. I am able to function normally but feel weak. I just take it a little slower than usual.

@PuraVida37 I am still pretty sore, but it’s just the bigger incision that hurts. This is the one I assume they pulled my excess stomach out of. I’ve stopped taking dilaudid for pain and am just on Tylenol. I hate the way it feels like my incision is “stretching” or could pop open if I move the wrong way. I’ve attached a pic for reference. I’ve been sleeping the days away waiting for the incision pain to subside. I’ve also noticed that a lot of things don’t taste the same to me. I no longer enjoy popsicles, jello, and protein shakes. I’ve been living off of water, pedialyte, and skim milk. I’m just praying for this stage to pass quickly.

School district nurse here. Some people return after a week. Others two. Some like me take longer which is what I recommend. After surgery you will be tired, and that doesn’t magically go away because you go back to work. This is major surgery. If you can take more time, do it! I took 8 weeks, but 6 would have been great. 8was overkill.