Officially applied for time off work...now I'm afraid!

I work as a bedside nurse, and I am planning on taking the full six weeks off post surgery so I can fully heal.  I don't have enough sick time built up to take the entire six weeks, so I will be splitting it up: three weeks vacation time, and three weeks sick time.  My vacation has already been approved, so today I finally got up the courage to talk to my manager and apply for my three weeks sick time.

I am nervous as heck what her reaction will be.  I told her I am having surgery.  She did not ask (nor did I tell her) what the surgery was for.  I have only told one or two people from work that I will be having WLS, but I know that once I start to lose weight the gossip mill will be in full swing and everyone will find out I had surgery.  I am worried what my manager will think about me using sick time for a technically "elective" surgery.  Whether she finds out before or after the surgery, I am not worried about getting the time off, I know that surgery is surgery and she will have to approve the time off.  I am worried about how she will treat me afterwards, especially when it comes to things such as promotions, vacation requests, etc.  My manager and I are definitely not what you would call friendly.  Professional, but not close.

Have any of you had a difficult time with your managers after taking sick time from work for your surgery?  Each time I think about it, my stomach gets tied in knots!

You're really stressing yourself for no reason. If they notice and say anything just say thanks I've been working hard, period. Trust me they pretty much could care less one way or the other. Just let it go, don't give them that much importance in your head.

I can only tell you from my own personal experience and I realize everyone is different but I was back to work as a pre-k teacher at one week and back on then tennis court at two weeks (I played one set and took breaks but was definitely feeling well enough to play). My sister was back to work in two weeks as well.

Can you arrange to go back to  work sooner if you are up to it?  About a year after reaching goal I ended up having plastics to remove the excess skin and I definitely needed a longer recovery period. I would hate for you to use all your time off if you don't need to. 

Good luck with your surgery!

Jen

They will arrange for someone to cover me while I have my time off, so unfortunately if I am feeling pretty good at three/four weeks post op, I won't be able to say, "Cancel that person!  I am coming back!" :)

It's funny, I am 98 days away from surgery and I am already planning what kind of plastics I can do!  lol  My brain works oddly for some reason though and I wouldn't consider using my sick time for plastics...but I think if I plan my vacation hours just right, and maybe do a few shift swaps, I should be able to have enough time to recover from that.  The thought of the pain and recovery after a lower body/arm lift gives me the willies!

I understand.  I used to work in a hospital.  I had to take a lot time off due to severe migraines.  The sentiment was not as professional as one might think considering the management are in the medical profession.  You are entitled to your recovery time.  Don't worry about what what everyone else thinks.  You are doing this to better your health and life.  Focus on you.  Good luck.

Thanks for your well wishes.  I went through a ridiculously difficult custody case a few years ago.  Without getting into the details it involved almost weekly court appearances, restraining orders, police involvement, and a couple attempted abductions...and a ton of tears.  Needless to say, unfortunately my absentee-ism was higher than the norm (still within my union-allotted time, but higher than average) and that didn't go over too well with my manager.  Things have settled down over the past year, but I still get leery every time I have to take time off work.  I am sorry about your migraines.  I am so thankful that is one thing I do not have to deal with, they can be absolutely awful!

The hell with what everyone else thinks. You're doing this for you. Your opinion is the important one. Just do it and know that we've all got your back. 

I don't consider WLS to be elective. It's going to improve your quality of life, and allow you to live longer. If you had a tumor you would likely have it removed, if you had appendicitis you would have your appendix removed...those are choices you make to allow yourself to live a healthy, pain free life, WLS is the same thing in my opinion. 

Good luck with your employer, hopefully she understands this is necessary and supports your decision.

One thing to remember is that almost every surgery is elective surgery, it just means that it's not urgent/an emergency. Knee replacements are elective. Just because WLS is elective, doesn't mean it's cosmetic surgery. It's medically necessary. If your manager is professional, she will understand that people have surgeries/get pregnant/go on medical leave for any number of reasons. Part of being a manager is dealing with that sort of thing. 

You're completely right...even knee surgery is elective surgery, and I don't think anyone would think twice about booking off sick for that!  I suppose the stigma of WLS really runs deep.