Post-Op Recovery Time

I've read that recovery time can be anywhere from 2 - 4 weeks and I've heard that it can be 4 - 6 weeks.  I've heard some people have issues and recovery takes longer and I've heard some people say they were back to work 3 days after RNY.

I know that it is different for everyone ... BUT ...

How long after surgery before you were "back to work" ready?

Did you do anything special, before hand, to prepare your body for surgery?

Did you have a routine that helped with healing after surgery?

One of my incisions got infected and I wasn't able to eat very well so I took an extra week off, which meant I didn't go back for 3 weeks. When I finally did go back on my 4th week I was still quite fatigued. I used (and often still do now at 9 weeks out) my lunch hour to take a nap in my car.

First, my job is mostly sitting with some up and about but nothing like a hospital nurse or retail worker.  I went back to work after one week with no issues, but that is just me,  I'm at my two week apt now and have had no issues so far!  I believe I'm odd, when I asked most said two weeks min.  I could have taken more time ijust felt like getting back in mygroove.  I know it's still early for me and complications may still happen, so I'm crossing my fingers. :). 

As of today I am one week post op and I went back to work yesterday.

I'm tired and I am taking it easy. I mostly sit at a desk all day and input paperwork, but I'm surviving. I didn't do anything special before or after surgery. I just rested as much as I could. I also had complications from surgery and had to stay in the hospital for 3 days as opposed to the 1 day original told to me.

 Thanks!  That puts it into perspective.  

I have the two weeks post surgery booked off with vacation time but reserved 2 weeks unpaid sick-leave.  Hoping I don't have to use it.

I took 6 weeks off work and I'm SO GLAD I DID!  For the first 2 weeks I'm glad I pretty much stayed in bed.  I had surgery on a thursday and went home sunday afternoon.  I was supposed to go home Saturday, but I had a high fever and a very low blood pressure so they kept me longer. After two weeks I was able to stand up straight.  At 2 weeks I felt pretty good, not great, but enough to be a bit active, walking and whatnot.  By week 3 I started to have lots of nausea and vomiting anything that wasn't liquid.  It got so bad that at 4 weeks I was dry heaving after drinking water.  I went back to the hospital for 5 days.  I had a stricture.  It was the worst hospital stay of my life (not that I've had many).  After I got out of the hospital I had 11 days to recover before starting work again.  I needed it. 

I just started work again on Monday, and I feel like it was the right time.  Don't push or ru**** don't overdo it, and don't think for one second that because you're taking vacation days that any of it should be spent out and about doing "vacation" activities. I pushed myself to the limit and ended up paying for it! 

Take your time and let your body heal.  This is MAJOR surgery, and folks that have an easy recover are VERY LUCKY.  I know I didn't.

All that being said, I wish you all the luck in the world, and I wish you a VERY SPEEDY RECOVERY! :) 

 Thanks - and thank you for the advice.  It would be easier if my work offered short term benifits, Ahh well.

 I do not work outside of the home, so I cannot properly answer this question, but I can tell you that the more I walked, the better I felt. If I did work, I would have been ready to go back a week later. I was in the gym a week later. It has been three weeks, and I honestly do not feel like I had surgery. The only thing that reminds me is that I eat less and I cannot swim for another week. Just remember to walk as much as you can as soon as you can and you will heal faster. Best of luck to you!

 
Thanks!

I eliminated caffeine from my life pre-op so I wouldn't have withdrawals. I eliminated all the white starches and carbs from my life so I woulnd't be craving them (they say carbs crave carbs, andd it's true) I learned to drink before and thirty minutes after a meal, but not with the meal. Since I had learned that, I didn't have to feel a deprivation when I was physically low. I taught myself to chew my mouthful with care and for longer than seemed necessary prior to swallowing. I began to supplement and use protein shakes prior to surgery, keepign my protein upwards of 100 g before surgery in hopes my hair wouldn't fall out. In short I tried to make as many changes as possible before surgery, so that I would only have to worry about surgery when I had it. I think this helped me tremendously.

I had an allergic reaction to my steristrips and got hivves and it even progressed to where my airway was closing off (slow-motion anaphylaxis?). Ended up on steroids to counteract the rampant allergic reaction since antihistamines didn't stop it. If it wasn't for the head to knees (not lower, and that was weird) hives and uncontrollable itching, I would have been capable of returning to work on day 7 postop (we were on spring vacation before then, so there was no work to go back to before anyway). As it is I returned to work on day 14, with my hives mostly gone and only a small rash on my belly that was itchy. It was tiring, and for the next six weeks I came home for a looong nap after work, but I was back full time on day 14. My left side ached in a muscular kind of way. I was also on full liquids for the first week back at work, and then five weeks of mushies, but my docs "mushy plan" was so non-mushy that I had no issues with it.

I was VERY cautious about eating though. I never had food that was going to be questionable. I tried new things after work or on the weekend, and kept to known foods while working. I didn't want to have to run to the restroom in the middle of my work day because that's not really possible in the realm of being a teacher. You just don't leave the kids and run off to the restroom.