Question:
How long should I be off ?

I am scheduled for a hernia repair and TT on June 8th. How long should I schedule to be off work. Originally thought 6 weeks. However, this morning I have discovered that my boss needs me to plan a 3 day workshop that will occur the first day I am back to work. The last workshop I planned and worked last week totally wore me out and I am in pretty good shape. I had my Gastric by pass in December of 2002 and have lost 200 pds. Currently I way 185 and wear a 12-14. I love my life and am very excited about the TT. However, am worried about coming back to fast to work following surgery and also worried that we could lose a multi-million dollar deal if I am not here to plan the workshop. All responses good or bad are welcome. Molly 8)    — Molly F. (posted on April 23, 2004)

April 23, 2004
I don't know about your hernia repair - is it in your abdomen or esophogus? I haven't had my TT yet as I am still in the early loosing stages (4 mos out) - anyway a friend of mine went through the process and had her TT and BL at the same time and was back to work in 3 weeks time! If you are a fast healer it sounds like you should be okay with 6 weeks. You might want to ask your doctor about wearing some type of support around your abdomen if you are going to be up and down a lot during that time. I wish you luck!
   — Tracy S.

April 23, 2004
I was off work 4 weeks. But, after returning to work, I developed a blood pocket, and had to have a drain put back in - so was 'working' and had the drain for another 8 weeks.
   — star .

April 24, 2004
I had a lower body lift on Feb 23rd. I was totally off 2 weeks and slowly started working the 3rd week, but was very tired and wrung out that I didn't even work some every day. It wasn't till I was 4 weeks PO that I felt like myself again. My surgery was very extensive - removed 19 lbs of skin, lipo'd the outer thighs. I was in surgery over 10 hours, lost almost 5 units of blood and had low blood pressure problems the first 24-36 hours after surgery. The day after surgery I wasn't sure if I'd be leaving the hospital within a week much less a day or two. I had surgery Monday morning and didn't go home until late Thursday evening. I had a unit of blood I had donated transfused at the end of surgery and then ended up getting two more units the next morning. It wasn't until I got the blood that I wanted to live. <p>I have had a ton a fluid problems and just had my 9th drain removed that week. It still was producing too much, 50-60cc's, but he decided it was time to get all drains out and try and force my body to deal with absorbing the fluid. I came out of surgery with 5 drains and had then for just over 3 weeks. He removed them all because he was concerned of developing an infection. I made it 3 days before the first drain was put in, then about 4 days till a 2nd drain was added. The first one stopped working (plugged up as fluid was building up again) pretty quickly so it was removed and 3 days after drain #2 went in a 3rd one was put in. The 3rd one stayed about 10 days. At that point it was plugged and stopped working so this time the doc did a more extensive procedure and put in a "normal/real" drain. The kind I came out of surgery with. He had to do more cutting than the other kind but it wasn't too bad. It worked great for 2 weeks when it was removed. I suspect I will have to be tapped and fluid removed for the next few weeks as I'm getting quite a nice little fluid pouch as I write. <p>Even though I have had major fluid/drain issues I still went back to work. Just had to wear more casual clothes for a while when I had the 5 drains. Once I was down to 1 or 2 I could work them into clothes with no problem. So just because you might have some problems doesn't mean you won't be able to work. My biggest problem is that the PS I used is 1 hr away so anytime I go to see him it's a 1/2 day off. That's been the biggest issue with all the drain stuff. Fortunately my employeer hasn't said anything. It's not like I have a choice in the matter. Except the last two weeks, I have had to see the doc twice a week since surgery, so it's been an inconvenience. Especially the first couple of weeks when I wasn't supposed to drive. I always had to depend on others to truck me up there and back. <p>I would recommend planning on going back at 4 weeks but working part time so you can ease into the long day. Then you can get started on your workshop and not be panicing 3 days before. I did the part time thing after my WLS also and it worked great. I would work mornings and then sleep in the afternoon. I found after my LBL that I had to get horizontal after about 3 hours. The swelling was very noticeable and painful if it was even just a little. So basically I would work for 3 hours, go home and sleep/rest for about 2 hours and then come back and work 2+ hours. I did that for about 2+ weeks. It was probably 6 weeks before I was making it all day without resting part way through. <p>My mom had a hernia repaired 3-1/2 weeks before we went on a huge Alaska trip. She was a little more tired than normal but other than that she did fine and she was 78. A hernia repair and TT should be way less extensive than the LBL I had, so your recovery will hopefully be smoother and quicker.
   — zoedogcbr