HOW LONG UNTIL GOING BACK TO WORK AFTER SURGERY

My doctor said I should be off work 3 to 6 weeks.  I have a desk job too but it involves quite a bit of critical thinking and I was having trouble thinking one week out.  I think it was because I was eating almost no carbs.  I wasn't trying to I was just focused on water and protein.  During week two my brain started functioning again but I was tired.  I slept a lot.  

For me these weeks were also about learning what I could eat and I didn't want to shift my focus to work.  When I had my 3 week check-up and asked my doctor about returning to work he said he wanted me to stay off work one more week and then if I wanted to go back to work I could but he suggested I do so half-time for two weeks and then I could go back full-time.  I ended up staying out completely for five weeks then did half-time for one week and I'll start full-time this Monday.

I should say that I had enough sick leave to cover all of my hours so I didn't go without pay.  Maybe it was the fact that I had missed so little work up to this point that I didnt feel like I needed to rush back. I also filed FMLA paperwork so my time away was protected and I knew I wasn't going to get any flack for it.   

Bottom line, one week was not nearly enough for me.  Good luck and take care.  -M

 I have a desk job also and started back 8 days after surgery, part-time. I am slowly increasing my hours each week. My problem is the thinking part. At first, it was a bit harder to get the protein in so it was much harder to think and focus. 

I still find I get exhausted really easily at 10 days out. Each day that passes, I get stronger and have more energy. I wish I didn't have the stress of having to think about working though. There are a lot of different things going on in my head and my body.