How long did you have off work?

Thanks HW1

i asked my surgeon and he suggested 4 weeks, so went with 5 just to be safe. The thought of doing damage when carrying a patient or doing CPR scares the crap out of me. And so does passing out when doing these things. I am a single officer response so it's not like I can get my partner to do the lifting lol.
 I work in a small station so I think I will have plenty of time to eat and drink, but will have to be very conscious of it, especially the drinking side of things.
Another thing that worries me is dehydration from exertion. Some jobs I do can go for a couple of hours, and I can be sweating buckets... Not unusual to drink 2 litres on a job in middle of summer up in Townsville, how am I going to be able to consume that much to ensure dehydration doesn't occur?

My surgeons office says 2 weeks for less physical jobs, 4 weeks for physical jobs, and 6 weeks for nurses.  

I laughed at that, but then they said that nurses look after everyone else's heatlh but themselves, and they should take the time, focus on themselves, and then go back.   And I thought....yeah.  It's kinda true.

Hi all,

I've put in for 4 weeks off work because I have a very physical hospital job and I was feeling a bit guilty because it seemed decadent, but after reading this thread I'm actually relieved that I'll have a month off to recuperate and adjust before getting back into work!

I had 8 days off. Day of operation was on a Friday and I went back to work the next Saturday. I was tired and tender but coped. Everyone is different. I think if I stayed at home longer I would have felt sorry for myself, going back to work distracted me. Everyone at work knew I had surgery but I'm a secret sleever and I told them I didn't really want to talk about it. They were respectful of my decision and were still very supportive. I'm lucky.

Rominus wrote:

I am booked in for sleeve on July 17 and have booked in 5 weeks leave after the surgery, as I work in emergency services and have to do heavy lifting etc, I am even worried about that to be honest.  I have struggled this first week of optifast and with dizziness etc have considered taking time off beforehand as well, but will see how it settles this week now I am past the first stage.

Hi Rominus,

I too work in Health services.  Everyone I had spoke to pre op said 2 weeks was long enough BUT I took 3 weeks off due to heavy lifting and emergency situations which I might have to faced at work.  It was ok but I would probably recommend 4 weeks to make fully sure your are not put in any emergency situations that may cause extra stress on suture line on stomach.  I also had a large hernia repair at the same time.   
What I did find hard was remembering to sip sip all day and also stop to have the required fluids and food as I was still on puree food when I returned to work.
I am now 6 weeks post op and still have to remember to sip sip and eat something regular which can be very hard due to been busy at work and forget to stop and eat.  I am now on shreded and mashy foods.  So when driving around have a esky with yoghurt or cheese snack at hand all the time, finding this a bit easy.

I am booked in for sleeve on July 17 and have booked in 5 weeks leave after the surgery, as I work in emergency services and have to do heavy lifting etc, I am even worried about that to be honest.  I have struggled this first week of optifast and with dizziness etc have considered taking time off beforehand as well, but will see how it settles this week now I am past the first stage.

i had 5 days off work and that was plenty for me. i was itching to get back into things.
Plus my work was piling up for me.

I'm taking 2 weeks off, its been 5 days so far, I think I should be fine in another 9 days to get up in the morning and go do office work, I'm worried about getting tired during the day as I have been napping. But I don't think it would be painful at all to work again.

I took off 2 weeks and returned full time. I found I tired quickly but it was ok. I prepared my mini lunches in advance. I'm a counsellor.

I had surgery on the 26th of March,  the Thursday of second to last week of last term. I was in hospital a little longer, 5 nights, with severe nausea which didn't go away until the middle of the third week after surgery, and I had low blood pressure, head spins, vomiting etc. However, once that passed I have been great and will go back to work as scheduled tomorrow. So a total of 3 and a bit weeks off.  Had you asked me first week of the holidays when I was feeling so terrible, I thought I would have to take more time off, but as it turns out I don't need to.

I had my surgery on the 24th of mar and had 2weeks off planned. Went back to work today but felt like I had rushed it a bit too much and went home about halfway through the day. I think I went back a bit too soon for me but I would depend on how you feel

Sarah, I'm a teacher (was year 2 at time of sleeve but now Prep) and I had 3 weeks off. I would definitely say 3 weeks for what you do - and to be honest you will still find it a bit draining and have a few icky moments (but you should manage).

Best wishes,

I am a Kindy teacher so my days are very busy with little time for rest! I have scheduled in two weeks of leave from when I am discharged from hospital and I have let work know that I might need more time than this but From your responses I think it's best That I book in three weeks of leave straight up.

Hi All,

I was sleeved on March 7, and was discharged on March 11 so spent four days in hospital. I had 2 weeks approved sick leave till 23 March. Even though I was off all medication and sipping all liquids and thicker soups, I didnt quite feel ready to go back to work. I went to see my GP and got another medical certificate for the rest of the week. I haven't used it though, but instead negotiated with work to work from home for the week. I have found it to be a good compromise, getting back into the swing of things (I have an office job, so relatively easy to still work via email and phone).

My first day back at work (physically) will be Monday. I am looking forward to it, but also feeling concerned about getting overtired. Saw the dietician yesterday and have progressed on to mushy foods. Her advice has been to plan the first week back very well ensuring I have ample snacks and fluids to take me through the day.

R

I ended up with a prolonged recovery (which really didnt start until the internal stitch dissolved around 21 days) and then began my 2 weeks of trying to get food in and increase energy and medication issues. So I had to take 5 weeks off work. I still wasnt ready to return to work but had run out of sick leave.

Hopefully you dont need as long, but take as much as you can get and be kind to yourself!

You will need 2 weeks, mainly because you still feel tired until then

I was sleeved on Monday 23rd march, so last week of term,  then two weeks of holidays is my plan. 
I'm a drama teacher,  so moderately physical during the classes,  however I've just planned slightly more sedate tasks which i can amp up if i have the energy. 

You owe your time,  effort and energy to your self and your recovery.  Not to school.  Try not to feel guilty,  feel amazing for making the call. 

Xj

I initially took off 2 weeks (day 13 post op here) but called my boss today and added an extra week.  Still a bit tired and due to start puree so thought I would get used to that before i go back.

I've got my operation on Monday and then am taking week and first week off next term. I'm hoping 4 weeks to recover and have told staff I'll be teaching from my desk for the first week back. They're all good With that.

Hi i had 2 weeks off and went back to school. It was really hard and i wish i had three weeks off instead. The first week back i was falling asleep at 6.30pm and couldn't function. I managed to struggle in everyday but in my 2nd week back i had to take 2 days off as i was so exhausted. Take 3 if you can at least they know they need to cover for you.

SERIOUSLY, don't feel guilty!  I personally think my work has benefited from my sleeve.  They may not know it but they have!  My sleep apnea has gone for a start and I KNOW that was impacting on my work. I have much more energy and I am sure that I am more productive.  In the long term you will be healthier and happier (if you are as lucky as me) and that has to be of benefit to everyone.

I personally told my principal earlier in the year and booked the week off - I was going to take it as long service but one of the ladies in the office told me I was eligible to take it as sick leave so I did (and saved my long-service, yay!)  

I really think you should probably not tell them at this late stage, but I'd be planning to have the first week back off and preparing for that now without mentioning it - if nobody knows and you decide you feel well enough you can always change your mind.  BUT your recovery is more important and, to be frank, it's not exactly an easy recovery.  You will still be moving from liquid to puree around that time and this can be a challenge (not only does your energy level get super low due to the low calorie intake but you can have episodes of bringing up some of your food etc. until you get a feel for how much and what types of food work best for you - not to mention that you need to eat much slower so can't always do that in a lunch break with duty etc.).  Obviously it's up to you, but that's my advice.

Best wishes,

Thanks good thought
Feel guilty having time off but have to get over that

I think you should just see how you are travelling closer to the time and if you need to ask your GP for a week of sick leave then do it.  Everyone is different and I know some people on here are more than happy to get back to work within 2 weeks.  Don't panic yet!  BUT I'd start your planning now for first week of next term rather than waiting until you are post sleeve.  Maybe you can have a few things ready to go all set up at school before then end of term for just in case.

Ive only got 10 days from op to first day of term
Worried

I'm a teacher.  I had the 2 weeks school holidays plus an extra week off (so 3 in total) but whilst I did cope, I think that ideally I could have done with one more week off as my energy level was really low and a couple of times I got a bit nauseous (once I had to bring up some clear stuff in the middle of class time but thankfully nobody saw - not even the kids. Sorry if that's TMI!).