Recovery Time

I have searched the site but most of the answers were not recent or were not in our group and I wanted more recent and more local feedback. 

What was your recovery time?

How long before you went back to work?

How was driving?

How tired were you?  I see people talking about naps and still being very tired 3 plus weeks out. 

Looking for mostly feedback on office type jobs but any information is welcome. 

It seems that they say the average person is usually about 2 weeks then they go back to work.  I drive at least an hour one way to work and just trying to get some idea on how others managed. 

Recover time is a tricky question depending on possible complications, weight, mobility... and several other factors.  After 2days in hospital, I went home , took liquid Tylenol for pain twice over the next 2 days, then I was fine.  I drove after that no problem.  I was doing office work from home after being home 3days.

I was walking a lot, and resting a lot.  When I say I was OK...I don't mean 100% by any means.  I remained very tired for about 3mths (especially about 2 in the afternoon).  I have never been the napping type, but I really needed to lay down for a rest each day.  I would get exhausted quickly and easily.

If you are wondering if you should be ok with 2wks off work ...my answer is yes.  As for the driving....again everyone is different....I would say you need to wait and see how your energy level is.  Safety first when driving ...you will know if you feel alert enough to be behind the wheel.  You might want to have a plan B on standby ........just in case.

Thanks.  I realize that everyone will be different and it will depend on a lot of factors but I am just trying to get a feel for those who had no complications how they did in recovery.   Your information is helpful. Thanks

I had surgery on Wednesday. Home Friday no pain meds. Shopped at Costco Saturday and went to work Monday for a few hours. The first two weeks it is a job just trying to get your fluids, protein and vitamins in. I came home after lunch for a week because I work for myself so I can. I probably worked 5 hours a day which is pretty much what I do all the time. I felt fine but was in bed early every night. I was very lucky and still to this day have had zero complications and I'm coming up 3 years. 

In terms of my physical recovery I am pretty sure I could have gone to work from recovery. Driving myself and all. I however took 5 weeks. I did this because I knew I had to establish new habits and I did not think I could do that at work. I think for me that was the best approach. That being said I had saved some vacation time so there was no stress in doing that and my employer was very supportive.

i think one lesson I had to learn was what my priorities need to be. I will also say my priorities may not be the same as anyone else's. We are all individuals and what a recovery will look like is as individual as we we are.

good luck on your journey.

Everyone is different! They recommend 4 weeks but I took 13 weeks the full time I was covered for short term through unemployment. I wanted to make sure I took time for me. After any surgery you get tired quicker and a nap is a good thing gives you time to heal. I had no complications but still just took time for me. I was driving after 3 weeks because that is when I felt comfortable enough to do so.

I had surgery Nov 17 2015 and and took two full weeks off to recover.

I had my sister with me at home for 2 nights and had my son go to his Dad's for two nights.

This was to help my get into a routine.

I was off prescription pain-killers on the 20th of Nov. Took Tylenol for maybe 4 days following that.

I was driving the week after surgery.

I have had no complications so far (knock wood)

I made a plan to work fully from my home office starting Dec 2nd.

I worked full days and perhaps needed a couple of naps in that first two weeks.

I returned to the office for 2 days the week before Christmas.

Recovery for me was so easy, I was SO scared for recovery though.  I had surgery on Dec.16, released am of the 17th, horrible gas pain that whole day in hotel, drove home 8+hours on the 18th, and then went for a short walk at our local mall.  I went out shopping and walking everyday after too..moving helped tremendously for me.  

I had no extreme tiredness, I just went to bed early, about 9ish and slept straight through till 5am, luckily I was allowed my sleeping pills.  NO naps during the day.  Yes I did have the odd day where I tired easily, but nothing that just knocked me off my feet with exhaustion.  

I did stay off work for the full 6 weeks, but I have a taxing/tiring janitorial job.  Plus my employer let me with no pay cut, so why not!! Haha

I wish you the best throughout your journey.

Hi

Had my surgery Nov 16, no pain killers only tylenol for first three days, but those three first days were not pleasant

I stayed off for 7 weeks (went back Jan 4)

Energy great from 5 am to 7:30 pm, after 7:30 good luck in me staying awake

I have office job but as some have posted, learning to eat slowly and focusing on me, I chose to stay off work.

Only issue I have had returning to work is I have eaten to fast, vomited and had the foamies.  YUCK!

Also, temptations are an issue for me at work so I learned strategies to deal with what I would face.

I will tell you today has been a really tough day.  Lack of sleep, traveling from meeting to meeting, forgot my protein drink on my kitchen counter, well, I ate a piece of cinnabon at my next meeting.  So, I felt like crap because now I have a big lump in me and the guilt has been horrible.  First thing I did when I got home was put three of my protein drinks in my vehicle so that does not happen again.  Now I need to stop the guilt.

Could I have gone back after two weeks, yes.  However, you need to make sure you have a job that will allow you the time to eat and drink slowly.  I don't so I chose to be off.

Good luck

I had no complications and found recovery was easy.  I took liquid Tylenol for two days and that was it.  I was expecting a lot worse - more like recovery from a c-section, but I found this much better.  However, I have a very mentally draining job that needs my full attention when I'm there, so I took a full eight weeks.  While I felt fine after four weeks physically, I was exhausted and napped just about every afternoon.  I couldn't have had the focus or stamina to be at work.