How long after Lap RNY til I can . . .

I was like Paul, had the surgery on Friday and went home on Sunday. Drove Wednasday and went to work the following Monday. I could have gone to work by Wednesday but I already had it set up for Monday. Follow the diet your dr. sets up drink alot of fluids and exercise then you've done your part. Good Luck

I, also, had my lap RNY on a Monday afternoon and was home on Thursday afternoon.  I was out of work for two weeks, and it really could have been three, or at least a few more days.  I drove after about a week, as I did not use much pain medication.  I refrained from heavy lifting for 6 weeks, but the snow up here made it rough getting to my vehicles, and I HAD to do some shoveling, or I would still be snowed in. Good luck...

I had the same instructions as Russ. No driving until I was off pain meds. My doc said no lifting of more than 10 lbs for two weeks. Anything after the two week mark was up to me and my tolerance. As Russ already stated, you are going to get tired easily for the first few weeks after your surgery until your body adjusts to the lower calories etc. For me, this was the "what the hell did I get myself into" phase! I was worried that was how I was going to spend the rest of my life. (thankfully that was not the case) When you see the guys around here referring to all the energy they have since surgery, IMHO I doubt most if any are referring to the few weeks immediately following surgery.

By orders, unlimited lifting and activty after 2 weeks. 20 lb limit until that time. One wee****il I could drive. In practice, I pushed it a bit. I was on my bicycle 5 days out for a slow and short ride around the 'hood. I found out quickly I had no stamina for that, but I had enough that I never found my limit for walking (2 miles 4 days out). I had surgery on Monday, and felt good enough to go to work at my desk job (I didn't) that Friday; I stayed home the full 2 weeks. Also, it took a full month for my stamina to come back to pre-op levels. You're going to feel like crap for a couple of weeks. Listen to what the doc says. If you still  want to pu**** you do so at your own risk. My doc didn't care that I tried the bike ride, but a whole bunch of other people collectively had a small herd of calves over it...

Bob, I'm still pre-op as well, but in the seminar, my Dr. said that it seems the time required to get back to work is directly related to the available number of paid days off... He says that self-employed folks always seem to make the fastest recoveries...   He really is a pretty funny guy. So - no real information from me, just thought I would throw that out there.  Best of luck on the quickest possible return to full functionality! John

It depends on a lot of things.  Depends on if your surgery is done open or laparoscopic.  Depends on your overall health.  Also depends on your preop weight and mobility.  I usually tell my patients that they will be back to 90% about 3 weeks after surgery.  The type of work he described should not be a problem for you.  Most of my RNY patients are back to work in two weeks. Some take 4 weeks. Most importantly is to figure out where you are going to keep your protein drinks and fluids while you are headed out to the field or in the field.  Purchasing a small cooler that you can keep in your truck packed with ice, protein drinks and fluid will make sure you will get fatigue or worse after surgery.

As you say always talk to your doctor about the specifics and follow his/her instructions to the T.

Good luck to you and good health.

Dr. Dirk Rodriguez

Deaconess Hospital

Cincinnati, OH

Any information given in this message is general and not intended to address specific medical concerns. Always seek advice from your bariatric surgeon or personal doctor.

 

Thanks again, Doc!

Hi Bob, I took 2 weeks off, only because it was the end of the year and I had already planned on taking 2 weeks, could have went back after 1. I am mainly a desk jockey. Doc told me I couldn't drive while on pain meds and until I had my staples out. I was off pain meds after a couple of days and had my staples out after 8 days.  I asked him about riding my motorcycle at my 3 week follow up and got the OK then.  I guess I am another poster boy because I haven't had any problems, I didnt really have the weakness that Russ talked about. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't running marithons or any thing. I went back to full days, matter of fact I didn't even tell any one at work that I had WLS. Most people still don't know. No big secret just didn't think it was any of  their business.  pan head

Thanks Panhead - man I hope my WLS and recovery goes as good as yours did!  By the way, we have in mind to ride the bikes up your way in the next couple of years. Maybe ride the Blue Ridge Pky. Give me a shout at [email protected] sometime. Bob