Time off work?

How long were you advised by your surgeon to take off work? While I was doing research it seemed as though the general time was 3-4 weeks. Anyone know why it would be longer for the DS then it is for the VSG or RNY?

I was automatically given 6 weeks and I could have gone back to work after 2 weeks. My surgery was open.

However....I always say take what you can get and don't push right back to work. You may be fine dealing with the surgery but you also need time to learn your new guts!

Was 6 weeks your surgeons recommended time off or your jobs? We're you tired when u started back at work?

Company policy. Major abdominal surgery equals 6 weeks off. No, I wasn't particularly tired. I did get up and walk every hour or so. The only thing that really hurt was wearing a bra!

I took 8 weeks off. My surgeon recommended 4-6 minimum up to 8 weeks. I took all 8 and was glad I did. My recovery was picture perfect for an open procedure, but it really kicked my ass. My incision took only 2 weeks to heal, but it took another 2 weeks to get my head on straight. There was no chance of critical thinking for a good month. Shoot...even the pictures on the TV moved too fast for me to follow for a while. At around 6 weeks I was feeling more like myself, and I took the final 2 weeks to work out a routine strategy for work.

I would plan on 4 weeks, with the option to come back early or stay a little longer. Some do half-days until they build their energy for a full day. If your job requires critical thinking, take as much time off as you can muster. I know of one guy who lost his job because of a grave error he says he would never have made at any other time. He returned too early at 2 weeks for the judgement he needed on the job.

That's really good info, thanks! I do have a very mind involved job (I'm a medical coder) so I don't want to underestimate things. I have a really really hard time disappointing people tho and I'm the best coder so it will be hard on everyone else if I'm gone too long. I just want to plan the perfect medium. I wonder have any of u heard if there is less time required for a revision? I'll be a sleeve to ds. With the sleeve redone.

Its a major surgery either way. I think the brain fog is more from anesthesia than the procedure itself. They can live without you so you can recover. If productivity goes down, they will appreciate you that much more, but it will still get done.

I took three weeks as I couldn't stay off work any longer. It was really tough, I was so tired and felt terrible. It's more difficult than you think adjusting to the low calories and liquid diet. Thankfully it snowed a lot that year and I ended up working from my home. If you can take the time, take it. If your job is sedentary and you are not stressed at work, you may be able to go back earlier.

What do you do for work? My job is sedentary, but very mentally demanding. I could probably get away with just my straight work but I train others and I'm the expert in what I do so my boss often asks me questions. I'd hate to look at her blankly.

I'm an IT manager. Normally if I were sitting in my own office I would have been fine at 3 weeks. I was working on a special project across campus and was ultra stressed with no privacy or place to relax. I was pain free, just generally felt bad and was so so tired. After I was able to eat normal food I bounced back quickly.