I'm having surgery in April and I was wondering what is the average time off work before you returned to work. I work in maintaince and it can be hard some times . Idon't want to stay out too long but I want to stay out long enough.

The personel lady where I work said I would be out at least 3 weeks she thought. Is that about right?

This question is asked a lot and I don't think there really is an average. It depends on how much lifting and bending you do, your recovery time and your tolerance to pain.

For me the port pain lasted around a month but it decreases every day so I would say that by week three it is very possible that you will be feeling a lot better. You may have some difficulty with heavy lifting or abdominal pain, mainly with the port incision but also since the port is sutured to the muscle wall it can be painful to use certain abdominal muscles. So adding a little light duty for a week or so may be helpful (again depending on how heavy your work is)

Hi there, I was out for three weeks, went back to work on a Monday but then I went to the hospital on Tuesday as I had severe pain in my chest - I had Costochondritis, this is an inflammation in the sternum area that feels like a heart attack (as it was in my case).

So if you just count the regular time and not the incident after I only needed three weeks, but I do not have a body stressful job.

Good luck to you and welcome!

I think that is a good amount of time, but it is so hard to say because everyone is so different. For me I had really, really bad back pain the first week and also had side stitch when I walked for the first month and I still get it from time to time 4months out.

I had my surgery on the friday and i was back to work on the tuesday.My job has not got alot of bending or moving so i was fine after 4 days.

Your surgeon should have some tips for you. As the other posters said, it depends on many different variables. Take as much time as you can; not only are you healing, but you most likely will have a very strict austere diet for the first couple of weeks, and that can make you a little "altered" mentally and physically. Doing hard labor while having broth is just wrong! LOL

Three weeks is probably a good guesstimate but your surgeon may be able to give you a better one based on his patients.

I have a desk job no heavy lifting or standing. I took two weeks off from work and I am so glad I did. By the time I was back at work, I was energized and ready to go.

I did not start feeling good from the surgery until day 7 post-op. That was the day I started to drive and go shopping.

Good luck!