I'm having sleeve surgery on 08/2/17. I am wondering how long most people take off from...

It depends on many things - your pain tolerance, your job and how well you are tolerating liquids. I'm a desk jockey. I've had two kids by c-section and have a high pain tolerance. I have the ability to work from home, as well.

Surgery was Tuesday. Discharged Wednesday. Worked from home Friday for 6 hours. Went into the office for a full day Monday. Worked from home Tuesday, went into the office on Wednesday. I also, only get paid for the hours I work - so no workee, no paycheck. I working in a consultant-style capacity.

For me - I was fine. I have read of others here who needed 4 weeks partially due to the fact that there is lifting involved in their jobs. If you have the time, to be safe, schedule a week off. If nothing else it gives you some time to get used to your new routine.

Thank u all for your wonderful and helpful comments. I guess I'll play it by ear. My job is mainly a desk job. The only negative is I drive 11 1/2 hours to work and home. I'm doing ting down the days and so excited.

Even if it's not physically straining, if your job requires critical thinking, take off as much time as you can. It was four weeks before the pictures on the television weren't moving too fast, and six weeks before I started feeling like myself again. I returned 8 weeks later after my DS, and I'm glad I took my sweet time, because I hit the ground running and everyone thought I was tough as nails since I didn't need any coddling.

I took a full 6 weeks. Pain was nothing for me it was feeling sick that did me in. I used patches for supplements and they just didn't work for me. I couldn't get or keep my supplements, regular meds, or protein drinks down. I was going into depression and tired all the time.

I have a critical thinking job and work graveyard. Just being tired can make you mix up an address and before you know it someone's life is on the line and you made a huge mistake you have to answer for. I couldn't imagine going back to work at 4 weeks and being successful.

At 4 weeks I was able to get my meds down with SF applesauce and that was the turning point for me. Just taking my supplements was a huge help for me and over the next 2 weeks I was able to eat more variety of foods and not feel like I was dying and needed a nap every 6 hours.

I'm glad I took my own sweet time.

Hi Ladynole,

I was out of paid leave and I was supposed to be starting a new job in a new city when I finally got my surgery date! I told the new job that I was scheduled for surgery the month after they wanted me to start, but that I would be ready to start two weeks after that (so delayed my start of my new job by SIX WEEKS). At my existing job, I was worried about giving notice and them letting me go BEFORE my surgery which was to be covered by my employer based healthcare insurance. I gave written resignation one week prior to surgery, with my last day listed as the Friday before I was starting the new job. My boss asked me if I was just not going to come back after surgery and I told him I planned on being there at least the last week to make sure my work was tied up and my job well documented (I work in audit).

To make all of this work I asked a boat load of questions of my surgeon, and his staff. What was the common denominator among patients *****covered quickly and returned to work quickly? Here is gist of what I learned:

1. Patients who have had other surgeries prior tend to best predict their recovery (I'd had a mastectomy and two reconstruction surgeries in the previous five years- so I know how I recover).
2. Patients who are less anxious (personality wise) recover more smothly (I can be anxious so I worked with a therapist to improve my inner dialog- I kept mantras like "I can do this" and "This is manageable")
3. Patients who are up and moving the first day heal more quickly (I was up and walking as soon as I got to my room, still a little loopy from drugs - I actually don't remember this because I was that loopy but I was told that the surgeon was shocked to see me dragging my IV pole up the hallway when he stopped to check on me that afternoon, and the nurses told him I'd been up every hour for a lap around the floor)
4. Walk, sip, walk, sip, walk, sip walking and hydrating allow your gut to quickly recover it's natural rippling motion which helps YOU feel better.
5. Deep deep DEEEEEEP breaths for the first 48 hours (they may give you a toy thing to suck on to fully inflate your lungs) this helps flush the drugs out of your blood stream.
6. PROTEIN get it in. one little bite at a time. Bone broth, protein shakes, yogurt, what ever they let you have after the clear liquids stage, get it into your pouch because your body literally needs it to build the tissue that heals your wounds.

How I did it:

1. Informed about what was happening to my body, what I should expect for healing times - what could I do that would actually HURT me. Walking was GREAT, lifting was TERRIBLE. Steps were fine, go slowly, biggest worry was a fall (not hurting the surgery, hurting me and having MORE stress on my healing process).
2. Positive self talk "We can do this" when getting out of bed. "It's good pain" at the incision locations.
3. Ice packs on incisions from the moment I was conscious enough to ask for them.
4. Walking walking walking - every hour in the hospital and at home. Slow walking, in circles around my tiny living room, and the two bedrooms. I'd set the timer on the stove for 30 minutes and shuffle around the apt until it went off, then set it for an hour and go lay down or watch TV, then when it buzzed, another 30 minutes of shuffling around the apt.
5. By day five I was walking 3500 steps a day, then 5000 steps a day (slow easy pace) then by 21 days I was walking 7-10K steps a day.
6. Protein protein protein!

My surgery was on a Wednesday morning (first surgery) and I was at at work on Monday afternoon.

There are no guarantees but I needed to stack the deck in my favor. Work was fine. Yeah there were times when I wanted a nap, but I have a desk job and I could get through a work day fine. The deep breathing and fake, forced coughs in the hospital helped me get the drugs out of my system. I stopped using pain medication by the 5th day, and even then I was only using it at night after I left the hospital.

Good luck!

Good luck, tomorrow!!

Thank you