Return to work

[kamoore67 0]

I had RNY on 12/28 and am not taking my post op pain meds, feel great and ready to go back to work. How much time did everyone take off work after your surgery?

[lizonaplane 1,613]

I took two weeks off, but I worked from home for another 4 weeks. I normally travel for work, so I had to not travel because of the lifting.

[Tony B - NJ 644]

4 hours ago, kamoore67 said:

I had RNY on 12/28 and am not taking my post op pain meds, feel great and ready to go back to work. How much time did everyone take off work after your surgery?

6 days then right back to work.

[catwoman7 11,239]

I took off three weeks but could have gone back after two.

[Splenda 257]

I had RNY in August and have a desk job. Here was my timeline.

I had my surgery on Monday. Left the hospital on a Wednesday. I did some very minor work (respond to emails, etc) on Friday at home.

The entire next week, I worked mornings from home, just a few hours so I didn't fall too far behind (I had worked with my boss to get ahead of schedule prior to the surgery).

Two weeks to the day after my surgery, I went back to the office. My only issue was some minor stomach discomfort from sitting and wearing dress pants (I am/was a big guy and wear them around my waist/stomach). My boss said I could temporarily wear sweatpants at my desk, with the understanding I would change back to dress pants if I had a meeting to go to. That lasted about a week or two before I was fully back to normal.

[Sleeve_Me_Alone 656]

I had VSG on Tuesday, was back to work Monday. But I have a desk job and work from home full time, so no commute, no having to huff around a building, no dealing with other humans. And, even then, the first week or so I took a nap after work every single day. The pain was extremely minimal, but the fatigue and exhaustion was pretty intense. By 2 weeks post-op I felt mostly normal, or normal enough to make it through the day without a catnap.

[BumblePhee 3]

I definitely thought I’d be back to work sooner than I was as I have a desk job and work from home. I had my surgery on Tuesday, was discharged Wednesday and tried to work on Saturday, but only ended up doing a half shift.

[ClareLynn 153]

I had a loop duodenal switch (SADI) and took off 5 weeks as the surgeon recommended. I was really bad off and in/out of the ER the first two weeks. Later I’ve been dealing with other things like gallbladder pain, trouble swallowing… let’s just say I was so thankful I took the time off. I would have been in pain trying to sit in the office all day and needed a lot of time to push fluids and food.

Hell it’s still hard 7 weeks out to work and take proper care of myself.

Y’all who took off just a few days amaze me.

[RouxEnGravy 3]

1/5. Going back tomorrow. I'm not going to say I feel terrific because I don't. I feel worse than I did the last couple of days, actually. Fatigue didn't hit until yesterday afternoon. But I have to get out of the house.

[Tony B - NJ 644]

On 1/4/2022 at 12:53 PM, Sleeve_Me_Alone said:

I had VSG on Tuesday, was back to work Monday. But I have a desk job and work from home full time, so no commute, no having to huff around a building, no dealing with other humans. And, even then, the first week or so I took a nap after work every single day. The pain was extremely minimal, but the fatigue and exhaustion was pretty intense. By 2 weeks post-op I felt mostly normal, or normal enough to make it through the day without a catnap.

I had a very similar experience but I did go into the office around the same time as you did. I think it actually helped me recover because I was walking around and staying active. It is sometimes easy to settle in and get too comfortable at home.

[Fl_Dad 38]

I was lucky. I had banked a ton of leave. I stayed out for 1 month.