just wondering? if anyone knows

I am starting my journey i have had a few appts at my wls center and am going to be meeting with a baritrcian sp? on thurs as for surgery how long should i stay off work? i am starting a new job tomrrow and i was just curious?

Honestly, everyones recovery is different and a lot of it depends on your actual job. Are you planning on RNY, sleeve, lap band or something else? I had RNY and i am a teacher at a Dayschool/Preschool... i felt good enough to go back at least half days after 2 weeks but because my boss made me have a release from my doctor to lift more that 20 lbs (because of the kids) i had to take 5 weeks off... most people dont need that long but like i said there are a couple different factors involved in it. Good luck on your journey its a great one :)

-Courtney

 i was back to work and university 10 days after my RNY.  i worked 5 hrs  drawing floor plans n then school 4 to 5 hrs. i want feeling like 100% good. but i was able to do it. n feeling ok.
if you can take 2 weeks off it would be perfect.

I don't really have a traditional job, I have a private music studio out of my home.  I had my surgery 12/8/08 and was back "working" in January and to be quite honest, I needed all that time to recover.  I started exercising about 2 weeks out but I still got very fatigued.  Granted, this was 3rd surgery in a two year span for me, so my body was probably pretty stressed but it was what worked for me and what I  needed.  

I guess two weeks is the "norm" for most people but do listen to your body.  If you have a strenuous job where you are on your feet a lot, take some half days if you can to get back into it if you have to.  If you have a sit down job, it might be easier to jump back in.  

Good luck to you and congrats on your new job!

~Emily~  

I'm a registered nurse and my surgeon required that I take 4 weeks off. He said that with the type of work that I do, it just wouldn't be safe for me (or my patients) to go back any sooner than that. I thought he was crazy lol. After I had my surgery, I was SO GLAD he said 4 weeks! The first 3 weeks post-op was exhausting (and I had a large wound infection). I also work 12 hour shifts so that would have REALLY sucked.

It just depends on what type of work it is (sitting/standing), how much lifting is involved, and how long the shifts are. (But in all actuality, you won't know for sure until you've had the surgery.)

 I ended up starting a new job about a month after my surgery (2 days ago), and but I probably could have gone back a little sooner, although I was pretty happy to have the holiday break in there.  I teach 8th grade English and I'm the kind of teacher who is on my feet all day.  

If I had a desk job I would have been okay energy-wise after even a week or so, but for me, after surgery, the hardest thing was sitting upright in a chair for extended periods of time.  It's probably the way that my ab muscles are positioned when I sit in a chair.  Being on a couch with my feet up was way easier until about 3 weeks out.  I didn't even like to sit at the table to eat...

Also, depending on what you do, when I was on all protein drinks all the time, I felt a little foggy and had a hard time concentrating, probably because I was really carb deprived.

Just a few thoughts, hope they help!

-Gillian