balancing work

Hello Everyone I have been thinking about WLS and work. I was wondering how everyone does it. I am scared of having the surgery and missing work with complications. For instance what if I am back to work and I have a serious complication that requires me to miss a few days or maybe a week. How long will most employers put up with absenses. I work for Wells Fargo and we get 20 sick days/vacation days a year. Obviously I'm not going to miss work unless I have to, but I'm very nervous about missing a lot of work due to doctors appointments and complicatons and such. How do you guys balance this...also has anyone or does anyone used/know of a surgeon who had evening appointments available...like 4:00 pm or after? Thanks, I cant believe I am actually to the stage of surgeon shopping Amanda

The chances of having complications are minimal. Just make sure you don't go back to work too soon. My RNY was open and I was off 5 weeks. I did have an infection around the G tube so that knocked me back about 2 weeks in my recovery. Just be sure to follow your doc's eating instructions following surgery and don't pu**** Seems like the people who have the most problems post op with nausea and vomiting are the ones who push the issue with what they should or should not be eating. Iowa board people excepted! We seem to be pretty smart here compared to some on the main board. I work at Marsh and my boss is pretty understanding about leaving for appointments. When you work 5 days a week, there has to be some give and take. After all, our bodies break down and need to be fixed from time to time. A lot of the time, I am able to make up the time by taking a shorter lunch or coming in early. Don't worry needlessly about this. Of course, it does depend on the corporate climate in your department also. I haven't heard of anyone having evening hours. Just call around and check.

Dear Amanda, I was only out two weeks after a lap RNY. I have a desk job so that helped. I was tired but only left early on one day. I did have to miss work for appointments because my surgeon requires us to complete a full program that includes four meetings with the bariatric program at the hospital. But I just took those days as sick days. I did my surgery over the holidays when I had more days off. I think a lot of it comes down to the type of work you do, the number of people available to pick up the slack, and the immediate supervisor. Best of luck, Sally

I know that my company has FMLA. I got to take time off after surgery and with FMLA They had to keep my job for me. My job also offered short term disability were I got 6 weeks paid at 100% so I took all six weeks. For my appointments I just used my vacation time. The year I had my surgery in I didn't take a vacation so I had all my time and I got 6 weeks off after surgery so I didn't need an extra vacation. Hope everything works out for you. I don't think my surgeon had appointments at night but I do know there next information meeting is Thursday, November 16, 2006 at 6:00 p.m. or Saturday, December 9, 2006 10:00 a.m. It is at Mercy Capital. You might want to check it out. Good luck in your journey.

Hi Amanda! I am having surgery tomorrow on Halloween, and I am using FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act) and Short Term Disability. It is a good idea to check into FMLA with your company, I am sure they have it, it's supported by federal laws. Basically, FMLA guarantees your job for up to 12 weeks in one calendar year. For example, I start my FMLA Oct 31, 2006. So, any time I need to be off that relates to my surgery in any way is covered under that through Oct 30, 2007. Time used under FMLA cannot be used against you in any way, meaning that your absences at work simply don't count and you cannot be written up or lose your job for time missed due to the surgery. Call your Human Resources office and request copies of your companies policy on FMLA and Short Term Disability. You may or may not qualify for Short Term Disability based on your companies requirements, and not all businesses pay 100% of your wages while you are off work. Either way, good luck with your search for a surgeon and for information on maintaining your job. Please let me know if you have any other questions I might be able to help you with. Regards Melissa