medical extension?!

So the end of my 6 weeks of state disability is NEXT friday, im concerned that i am not physically ready to return to work yet. I had a vaginal delivery which only entitles me to the 6 weeks off, but i also did have a pretty extensive tear that went from front to back =(
I STILL have not healed completely, I seem to reopen the tear anytime i dont OD on stool softeners and i swell in the vaginal area anytime im on my feet for any longer then 15-20 minutes. The swelling is definitely uncomfy and can be quite painful, and its now, more than ever, that i really wish i could take some NSAIDS to help with the swelling/pain
Ive been told that breastfeeding can slow down the healing process too.
Anyway, im still using the donut to sit and i just cant imagine having to walk into work with donut in hand everyday.
Have any of you been successful in obtaining a medical extension for similar reasons? if so, did you have to ask your dr? I just dont know how to ask.

Thanks in advance,
Blanca

do you have fmla?

I have done medical extensions with both of my pregnancies, because let's face it- some idiot man decided six weeks was plenty long enough- but I won't get started on the stupidity of that- if men were having the babies I am sure it would be several years of time off! LOL! I do believe that you can be guaranteed by federal law up to 12 weeks unpaid per year for FMLA- it's a national law. As long as it is a medical reason, you should be able to ask about it. I had a lot of tearing too with my vagional delivery of my twins, and at six weeks I was still hobbling around too. Call your company's HR and find out how you do it, but it is a federal law guaranteed if you have been working at your company long enough- I'm not sure how many months. Good luck!

Carrie

As the pp's said you can take 12 weeks off with family medical leave act but 6 would be unpaid.  You may ask your dr if they give you a letter to submit to your HR department or short term disability company to request more time off.

Hey Blanca!

Since you are a Cali girl like me you should also be entitled to 6 more weeks off paid by EDD through the PFL (Paid family leave) program. Go onto the state's EDD website to check it out. It kicks in after your 6 week Dr note is up. In Cali I think we can have 24 weeks of protected leave from the time you went out on disability for your pregnancy - 12 weeks of FMLA and the 12 weeks of CFRA. I will be off from May - Nov. Part of the time will unpaid as EDD payments will stop - but only about a month will be unpaid.

Well since I just had wls last year I didn't qualify for fmla before taking off for the delivery
I missed too much work when I used my fmla for wls recovery..
And then used quite a bit of pdl before giving birth when I was so sick. So now I'm wondering how much time i really have before I have to go back before getting in any kind of trouble. I've seen girls get hired already far along in pregnancy, definitely not having worked the required hours for fmla, and they still get 3 months off, which leads me to believe that the company honors the states standard 6-8 week recovery time plus the 6 weeks bonding time whether u qualify for fmla or not and If u do qualify then u can stay home as long as 7 1/2 months (which is what the girls who DO qualify take).
Does that make sense? I'm gonna have to call my boss and maybe a union Rep to understand more clearly. Just can't imagine going back already...