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How soon can you go back to work after gastric sleeve surgery?



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I had my sleeve on March 1st. I took last week off. I returned to work yesterday but working from home. Honestly, I would have been okay going into an office yesterday but it may have pushed it a little much. Today has been a great day. I am enjoying the comfort of working from home this week. I would say at least a week to a week & half to be on the safe side.

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I took two weeks off but honestly I could have went bk sooner. I just wasn’t sure how I’d be after.
I had surgery on a Monday and was already at the grocery store that Weekend. Everyone is diff. For me I was very fortunate to bounce back up pretty quick. Good luck to you and keep us posted!!

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I work in healthcare and have to lift patients. I am off 4 weeks due to lifting restrictions.

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Everyone is really different with how they recover post surgery & how they react to the very low food intake. One friend went back after a week no problem. Another took three weeks. I took 4 weeks & still struggled (low energy, low blood pressure) but I usually take longer to recover after being unwell so not totally unexpected.

Best advice is to allow a week but negotiate with your work to come back reduced hours if they’ll allow it or if they’ll give you another week at short notice if you need it.

Good luck with your surgery.

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I do not remember exactly how long it was for me because it was 4 and a half years ago and my memory is terrible haha. As far as I can remember though I took two weeks off of work but I would have been completely good to go back to work by the 4th or 5th day after my surgery. As other people have said though, it is different for everyone.

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I think this depends largely on the type of work you do. If you work in a relatively sedentary position, you'd be able to safely and comfortably return to work sooner than someone who is on their feet all day or doing heavy lifting.

I work in a sedentary position, in an office with no heavy lifting and I returned to work six days after having surgery. That being said, I was pretty fatigued and needed more frequent breaks in those 1st weeks after surgery. My boss let me work from home for the first week that I returned to work. I sat down on the couch for a lunch break and fell asleep! I slept for an hour and a half!

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I needed a month. I have a physical job though.

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About a week here also - I travelled for work about 2 weeks post-op and that was a little tough with being fatiqued towards the middle of the day. It was about a month before I felt like I was totally back to normal, but definitely very functional within a couple of days.

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as the others have said, it depends on how well your recovery goes and what kind of job you have. I had a pretty quick recovery and a desk job. I took three weeks off but could have gone back after two. Maybe even earlier, but I was pretty tired the first few weeks. I was kind of glad for that third week...

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    • BeanitoDiego

      Oh yeah, something I wanted to rant about, a billing dispute that cropped up 3 months ago.
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      https://www.cms.gov/nosurprises
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      Quick ending is that I don't have to pay that $7,000+. Advocate, advocate, advocate for yourself no matter how long it takes and learn more about this law if you are ever hit with a surprise bill.
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