Hi everyone,
I am having vaginoplasty with Dr. McGinn on February 7th. I have made it clear to my employer that I will need 6 weeks off after surgery. However, I am wondering if there is any chance I can reduce that time off. I work from home on a software project. My workload right now is pretty light, and I can somewhat set my own schedule as long as I meet deadlines and answer messages promptly. I expect to basically be able to work from bed for as long as I need to following my time off after surgery. Given those circumstances, is there any chance I might be able to return to work at four weeks instead of six weeks?
I've recall one software developer saying she started worked while still in hospital.
From what I've read it might work at home if you can work in bed, ie laptop on a bed table.
You won't want to go back to the office physically for six weeks. But, yeah, working on a computer at home after two weeks should be quite doable, as long as you're not spending eight hours a day sitting on a chair (even with a donut).
I was back to work full time after 5 weeks. I flew to Chicago from LA for a few days during week 4 and I was fine. It all depends on how well you heal and how well you handle pain/discomfort.
I went back to work (in an office, mostly desk job) at 4 weeks and did fine. I would think that working from home and in bed should make it even easier, and 4 weeks ought to be quite doable, barring complications or an otherwise difficult recovery. The biggest issues with working for me were sitting in a chair and the dilation schedule (which eased up after 4 weeks). Neither would have been much of a problem if I could work from home. Good luck!
6 week? thats not enough after 6 week you will still have to do 3 dilatation per day. At 3 dilatation per day the routine is the following :
- 5 minutes with #2 size, 10 minute with #3 , 15 minute with #4
- vaginal douche
- Sit bath of 10 minute
- Drying for 15-20 min
Thats 1 hour each time
This need to be repeated 3 time per day. How will you do that with work? Your boss will give you an hour to do it? After the 3rd month is completed, you will have to do 2 dilatation per day. This is when you should start working again.
Edit: Just saw you are working from home. I am 23 days post op , i can sit on a chair and stay on my computer as long as i want. It depends on how fast you heal. So yes possible in your case
Archlord: The schedule also depends on the surgeon (though I think McGinn's dilation schedule is the most frequent). With that said, I did manage just fine on Brassard's schedule, and I even had one week (4 working days) of 4x-daily dilation; I had to go home at lunch, and it was inconvenient as heck, but it was doable. However, Brassard did only require twice-daily sitz baths back when I was there.
I was also lucky in that my job let me take vacation time and sick time for that first 4 weeks, but that was pushing it in terms of their lenience; after that, I would have had to take unpaid leave. There's no way I could have managed 2 months without a paycheck, and as it was, I would have been perfectly fine in terms of physical effort and aftercare schedule by 5 weeks (that first week *was* tough).
With a laptop laying down, I see no reason why you couldn't work after a week or two. Between dilation and naps, you might have a difficult time putting a full 8 hours in but you could be productive. I was using an ASCII terminal in the office at 3 weeks and I was mighty uncomfortable. I had to constantly shift positions to reduce the pain. Had there been a way to lay down, there wouldn't have been a problem.
I'd allow for six. Work from home if you can (I'll be doing that from week 5ish). I'm almost at three weeks and while I feel good (great in fact) I wouldn't want the hassle of commuting and working in an office for 7-8 hours just yet. Sitting for too long becomes uncomfortable. As noted above there is also your initial routine of baths and dilations, whatever your doc recommends (each is different), which really eats into your day. Another issue might be how much you trust your bladder at four weeks. So far, mine is going good but every now and then has a little unwelcome surprise for me...!
I went back to work 3 weeks 6 days after surgery. I e-mailed my boss and HR requesting to come back a week prior at 3 weeks but they did not respond. I dilate twice a day in my office with a #2 and #3 dilator. I had to get clearance from employee health to dilate in my office. I use chuck so there will be no mess.
I It was not recommended to douche or sit bath by my doctor.
Normally Dr. McGinn requires 5 dilations per day week 1-9, 3 dilations week 10-24 then once a day.
My bladder was fine from after the catheter was removed. One issue is pads ( regular Always) at my current 4 weeks 4 days it gets a little irritating on my labia majora but I walk 1.3 miles to and 1.3 miles from my car at work plus all the other walking. I used maxi pads for week 2 and 3.
I work 10 hours a day and commute 2 to 2.5 hours a day in my car. I was really tired at the end of each day going home this week.
It can be done for sure. I didn't have any bathes mixed in mine, but I still was very drained when I started a couple days shy of 4 weeks. 4 dilations a day doesn't leave much time for anything else to be done. Hugs
Mariah
February 7th is my birthday. I only hear [emoji101] good things bout McGin ... my gf vagina look like a beautiful porn star ⭐️ vagina. It's flawless [emoji85][emoji85][emoji85]
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