Question:
How did you get by financially during time from work
I was so hyped about starting the wls process but I have come to realized if I have surgery I will only have about 2 weeks paid leave and if I'm out more than that how can I manage with no income. This has really put a damper on my parade. Any suggestions — shae7755 (posted on September 5, 2003)
September 5, 2003
I'm going through this with PS. There's no way I can go without pay and I
won't have earned enough vac and sick for at least a year. So you have
short term disability? The last place I worked had that, the first week was
your time (sick or vac) and then the short term kicked in. Some places it's
two or three weeks. My current doesn't have that at all. How long will it
take you to earn up to four weeks? It takes a while to jump through all the
hoops so it may be another six months before you can do this. Best of luck.
— Sunny S.
September 5, 2003
I had short-term disability to use while I had mine. The job I have gives
up to 25 weeks of short-term disability after you've been on the job for 3
years, so it wasn't a problem to me. If you are having your surgery LAP,
you may be able to go back to work after 2 weeks. I probably could have,
but I was having some nausea problems that I wanted to be able to
"eat" in public before I returned. You will probably have a
restriction where you cannot lift for 6 weeks, so your stomach muscles can
heal and you won't get a hernia, so if you have an office job, that's not
an issue. The best thing to plan on is making sure you are as healthy as
possible prior to surgery. Then your recovery is shorter.
— Cathy S.
September 5, 2003
Like the previous poster said, disability with a short waiting period is
your only hope. I have income continuation insurance that kicks in after
all my sick leave is used which in my case would be a long time. However,
if I did not have any then it would kick in at 21 calendar days. This
would give me 75% of my income.
<p>It is possible to go back after 2 weeks but you do need to have a
contingency plan in case you have complications and are out a lot longer.
You won't need much money for food but the rest of the bills unofrtunately
won't go away.
— zoedogcbr
September 5, 2003
I have short term disability but it don't kick in until you are out 30
days. I do earn a total of 20 leave hours a week monthly which is not bad
but I'm already using time going back and fourth to the dr. Maybe I want
have to be out more than 2 weeks. I guess this is a sacrifice we must
endure
— shae7755
September 5, 2003
I had lap RNY, and so was able to go back to work within two weeks.
Depending on the type of surgery, and the work you do, you may not have to
be out long. Also, perhaps you could start back part time after a few
weeks so you have at least a little money coming in. Another thing to
consider is to put money away starting now to help you get over the time
ahead. I know it's hard to save, but if you know you REALLY need to,
you'll find a way to cut back some of your expenses to start a little fund.
(One thing I do is to put aside the money that I saved with coupons and
store discount cards and "two-fers" into a rainy day fund. It
adds up quicker than you'd think. I almost have enough to buy a new
refrigerator.)
— Vespa R.
September 5, 2003
How strenuous is your job? I went back after 10 days because I was contract
(no work = no pay). I probably should have waited two weeks. But week 3 I
felt like I hadn't even had surgery. Towards the end of that week I had
some muscle spasming or something that was unpleasant but bearable. The key
is to remember to get up and walk a few minutes out of every hour. Sitting
too long will make you STIFF!<p>I had lap rny on 5/10/2002.
— ctyst
September 5, 2003
Do you currently pay for mortgage (if you own) insurance or credit card
insurance? Since you will be out of work due to medical necessity,
insurance kicks in and pays those bills for you while you are disabled.
Otherwise, are you physically able to pick up a small part time job
strictly to save for the time that you will be off work from your primary
job? I also had short term disability which provided a large portion of my
income while I was out. I would take a thorough inventory of my expenses
and get rid of any unnecessary expenses and see what you can do about your
necessary expenses. Can you pay them ahead of time now while you are
working for the time that you will be out of work? Good luck to you.
— Yolanda J.
September 5, 2003
I had Open RNY on 8-7-03. I work in an office setting--I took two weeks
off, then went back 1/2 days for the 3rd week, and back to full days the
4th week. As the others said, check with your HR Dept to see if you have a
short term disability policy. If you have an employee stock purchase plan
that you participate in, perhaps you could consider cashing that out? Or,
can you take out a loan against your 401K? Can you borrow any accrued
vacation? Plan ahead--save and be as frugal as you can, so you have some
extra $$$$ for when you are off. Good luck to you! Audra :)
— jellybean0605
September 5, 2003
I had Lap RNY 5/6/03 and I was back at work exactly 13 days after surgery,
so I was out of work for less than 2 weeks. I was uncomfortable, but I
made it through. Each day got better.
— Dawn P.
September 5, 2003
I had lap surgery on a wednesday and went back to work on the following
monday. But, I work in an office where all I do is computer work. No
lifting
— tia S.
September 5, 2003
I thought of something else if you don't have short-term disability. With
the holidays coming up, perhaps you can do some weekend work or temporary
work and put that money aside. Cut back on expenses and put as much money
aside now as you can to prepare for a downtime. While you're doing this
part-time work, concentrate on getting yourself physically into the best
possible shape. I lost 41 lbs. before my LAP RNY and my doctor said it
definately helped. Educate yourself very, very well as to what to expect,
so you'll be prepared from day 1 as to how to get yourself back up and
functional. Find a protein drink now you can stomach. Start walking 1
mile a day now or more if you don't exercise. That will go very, very far
in your recovery. Walking is key in the first months after surgery to
keeping yourself from developing blood clots. YOU CAN DO THIS!
— Cathy S.
September 5, 2003
I am blessed to work for a company that pays for Short Term Disability. All
I had to do is use up my 5 personal days first and then STD kicked in and
paid me 100% of my salary for up to 6weeks, but I was back to work full
time after 3 weeks and have not missed a beat. Now I still have over a
week vacation time that I can use around the Holidays! It would even be
worth it to find out if your company offers Short Term Disability at a
premium per month! Best of luck to you! Open RNY -50lbs/10wks post op
— Beth K.
September 5, 2003
I had my open RNY in 2001 and was only off work 2 weeks. But, I just had a
total knee replacement and was off work a month - all unpaid leave except
for $160 a week Short Term Disability. I applied for and received
emergency food stamps because I was the sole income for my son and myself
and I went to the county welfare office and got emergency rent help - $450
a month on rent and $90 a month on my electric bill.
— Patty_Butler
September 5, 2003
I am self supporting with a small salary and large house payment. I have
short term disability but only after a week and then only at 60% of salary
- not nearly enough. I used all my vacation and personal time. Then I was
OUT of days. It kept me really following doc's orders and getting myself
healthy to know I HAD to go back to work. It was sort of an incentive,
even tho' a negative one. Even after open RNY, I was back in two weeks and
2 days! I decided sometimes I have to just step off a cliff and hope that
luck is in my pocket - and it was.
— Margaret G.
September 5, 2003
Well, I only had one week of leave and my job sucks because it carries
long-term but not short-term disability. I am fortunate enough that my job
has another department that has weekend hours so I worked in that
department and saved up enough to pay my bills while I'm out.
— Morna B.
September 5, 2003
Would your place of employment have any sort of light duty that you could
do until you are back up to speed?Sometimes, I think that if you know you
have to get yourself together, your recovery does go faster. Athough I had
lap RNY, I knew the person covering for me at work was pretty much a lazy
slob, so I was motivated to get back to work before I had too much of a
mess to clean up! Plus I knew I was going to Florida a month after surgery
with a high school marching band. Thank heavens I had no complications!
There seem to be a lot of good suggestions here. If you do have short term
disability, and it only pays a percentage, maybe you can supplement it with
vacation time to equal 100% of your earnings. Talk to your Human Resource
person. Best of luck, and I hope everything works out.
— koogy
September 5, 2003
I actually had to put my WLS journey on hold because I got sick this past
year and exhausted all my sick time. I'm up to one week banked (YEAH!) and
what I'm looking to do is schedule my surgery around my vacation time.
Maybe you can do the same? Work with your surgeon so it coincides with any
vacation or holiday time you have off- then use your two weeks leave?
— Fawn L.
September 6, 2003
I was in the same boat and put my surgery off for over a year because of
the financial burden to be out of work for more time than I had paid leave.
Then my dear mother came through for me-- and told me she would make up
the difference in my pay so that I could finally get my surgery!!! I know
that everyone doesn't have family with the financial means to do so or
inclination to do so. But, it is worth asking if your family is able to
help. It is truly a matter of life and death. I am pretty sure that my
mother wishes she had made the offer a year sooner so I would be even
further along on the weight loss journey by now.
— Wendy T.
September 8, 2003
Check out the following: Apply for Food Stamps, Aid to Dependent Children
- you can get fod through the WICK Program (you didn't say if you had
kids), apply for welfare - rent and utility assistance. If they won't help
call your utility companies yourself. Explain the situation to them (We had
to do this for an employee and it worked out well.) If you give them your
medical information you can delay your bills or do partial pay - they can
be very helpful if you work with them. Check with your local food pantry -
tell them what is going on. Contact your church or any local church - they
will always help people out. Check with your employer to see if you have
an Employee Assistance Program - ours gives monetary gifts, some hundreds
or thousands if necessary or you can get a no interest loan to be paid back
through payroll deduction once you return to full time work. Another
option may be that your co-workers can donate sick/vac days to you - this
happens where I work and some people that don't even know the person donate
a day just to help out. You might also want to try applying for a loan
through your bank or loan company and tell them you are going to
consolidate bills, then hang on to the money and use it as needed. Finally
you might want to try tapping into your retirement account(s). Do you have
an IRA or 401b? Some companies set them up so in case of a medical
necessity you can "borrow" from yourself and pay it back later
and not be penalized (taxes).
Good luck and don't give up there are resources out there - ask someone
close to you to help find the resources - two heads are better than one!
Good Luck with your surgery.
— Deborah F.
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