How long were you off after Band surgery?

Hi everyone,

 

 I'm so full of questions , How long were you off work after surgery? I know alot say it's out patient but ive had out patient surgery before and was down for 2 weeks.

2 weeks

2 Weeks but felt like I couldv'e gone back to work after 1.   I felt so great with no problems..


You know something,  I also had so many questions about the whole weight loss surgery and My Docs office recommended that I picked up the book called "WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY For DUMMIES by Kurian, Thompson, and Davidson and let me tell you I had ALL my questions answered and learned so much more about the whole process.  I purchased it off AMAZON.COM and I got a used book and it was like new and cheap.  So this book may come in handy for you too!  I still go back and look through it even though I am just about 3 weeks out because I still have questions and it tells you EVERYHTING!!!!

Hope this is of help to you
Good Luck
Pam

We are all here for you anytime!!!!!!

I'll try and look the book up, thanks. A friend of mine had RNY last year , trust me i ask her everything LOL  although im not considering RNY.

 

I hope that's the same for me Pam, ive had out patient before but i know what it's like having surgery. Hoping that i dont have to miss that much work because its a new job and i dont know when my surgery will be.

I know how you feel.  I didn't want to be out of work either but you know you have to take care of yourself and put yourself first when you have surgery because you can't ru****  I think if you explain it to your boss HOPEFULLY they will understand ..
Pam

I always need to preface these responses by reminding readers that everyone is different. Answers for this depends on a lot of factors, such as type of surgery (even if laparoscopic, depends on how many incisions); the Doctor; your pain tolerance, if other procedures needed to be done (ex. hernia repair), etc.  

 

Now since you don’t work with me, for me I could have been back to work the next day. However I took two full weeks, and the third week I went in a few hours at a time until I could do a complete 8 hours (I did 2 hours increments each day).

 

I always suggest, if possible, take at least two full weeks for various reasons (1) in case something happens, you will be home and hopefully someone around you will know what to do and/or who to contact. At work, most people are ignorant with any type of surgery aftercare. I’ve know some medical professionals who are ignorant to bariatric procedures and/or aftercare. And some folks want to keep their decision a secret. So if, GOD FORBID, those folks collapse at work – who’s gonna know what’s going on? (2) It takes that long, sometime longer, for the body to recover and dispel the anesthesia. (3) MOST IMPORTANTLY: you need to get into a rhythm of what to eat/drink, and when. If you’re like me, you probably never ate breakfast or lunch; drank lots of coffee; had “snack" here or there, came home and ate big, blah-blah-blah. Well, now you will need to get onto a schedule of when to have your breakfast, then protein drink, then lunch, then protein drink, then dinner AND getting your recommended amount of non-carbonated/caffeine free liquids; and not drinking before/during/after meals. It’s a lot to get used to – and try compounding WORK along with it. JEEZE !!  TAKE TWO WEEKS to get used to all this, then “add" work back into the schedule. The taking in liquids is really important, especially starting off. TO THIS DAY, I set up a recurring OUTLOOK CALENDAR reminder to “drink" – each time that reminder goes off, I “snooze it" for 10 minutes and when it pops up again I know it’s time to sip some non-carbonated/caffeine free liquids. This way it keeps me hydrated during the day, and I know by the end of work I have met, or come very close to meeting, my daily requirement of non-carbonated/caffeine free liquids.

 

Hope this wasn’t more than you wanted to know.

 

Good luck, and know we’re here for you

Awww, Thanks Tom and Pam for the advice. talking about hernia repair , oh i know too much about that, last year in january i had hernia repair and ended up with an infection that kept me off work longer than i thought. I had the mesh removed and an internal infection where the doctors left my wound open until it closed from the inside out. It was hell! I had a home nurse to come out every day and pack it and took 2 months off of work. I hope i never go through that again. But if anyone knows about surgery it's me ,had 3 last year to repair one hernia, 2 lap and the last was open. I will be asking in advance so i know i will e ale to get off at least 2 weeks of work or at least try to go back part time and take it one day at a time.

Valerie

I had my band surgery, and hernia repair on Tuesday and went back to work the following Monday.  That being said I tend to push myself... overall I felt good, but I did tire out easy.

The amount of time off does depend on your job. I have a desk job so was able to go back fairly quickly (7-10 days after surgery). If you have a job where you are on your feet or lifting you may need more time. My daughter was off for one week then had a lifting restriction for another 2 weeks.