hello people:) it has been a while.i have a question that has been bothering my mind a while.If I have surgery in august (1-5) meaning the first days of august will i be able to go to work in septemer the 7th? i am a lawyer so it is not a physically demanding job. what do you think

You'll want another couple weeks (at least 7 total) before going back to work (also to factor in is time spent dilating)

Things to bear in mind during recovery:

It takes a lot out of you physically. You'll want to sleep more and get naps when you can.
Dilation will take a lot of your time up and break up your day. 5 + 10 + 15 minutes adds up to a lot more than 1/2 an hour.
Sitting for long periods of time may make you antsy.
Lifting anything even moderately heavy is not allowed, you just had a double hernia surgery!

Quote from: FlanKitty on January 12, 2010, 01:55:04 PM
You'll want another couple weeks (at least 7 total) before going back to work (also to factor in is time spent dilating)

Hi, is that 7 weeks including the surgery. I thinking of taking 2 months off work from the day before surgery. I don't get paid if I don't work so have funds enough to cover that. I could go to 3 months but don't really want to do that. My work is demanding on the legs as I'm standing all day but nothing heavy to lift.

Stardust


Stardust

i always thought it'll be 6 mths before you can really get back to work?

from what I've heard and from surgeon materials, 7 weeks is the usual amount to wait after surgery to resume work. (more for weight bearing work)

My surgeon says 3 weeks with the pillow/doughnut, so doubling that to allow the suture lines to heal and swelling to reduce would be the minimum, imho.

(that and because dilation eats away at whatever time one would otherwise have for anything else, waiting until that is one less a day will make work easier because there isn't disruption to sit on plastic for 15 min)

For most 6-8 weeks will be about right.  I've heard of one person going to work sooner, but for most 6-8 weeks is better.  I went to work after 6 weeks, but it was two more before I could really do a full 40 hours of work. It was months before I was back to even 80 percent, and I had a pretty quick recovery.  At least I amaized the Doctor.

Figure 10-12 weeks before moderate to heavier lifting. 

For me, I will probably be going back to work the week after I get back from Thailand.  Granted, my job is cake.  I sit in a pretty comfy chair and either sign people in or give out rock climbing shoes.

Officially though, Dr. Suporn say's 3 months (sooner if I declare myself fit for work).


On an off topic side note, I went back to work 10 days after my FFS - two days after Dr. Zukowski released me and was totally fine.

Quote from: Valerie Elizabeth on January 17, 2010, 01:28:56 AM
I sit in a pretty comfy chair ...

Immediately post-op, there is no such thing as a "comfy chair".

YMMV

i just realised that 3-4mths is really about the same you take for a maternity leave..hmm maybe i should fake pregnent and then get paid leaves for srs....hahahahha....

Hi Everyone

Just a couple of points of view.  It is surprising that I never saw this thread when I first joined Susan's, but then again I was new to the community.

In a recent post, Susan mentioned that past posts and threads need to be resurrected now and again so that new members can read what others have gone through in the past.  Hence in this vein, here are my brief thoughts on the matter of "recovery time".

I have discussed much of my post-operation experiences in my past posts.  Maybe I will collect all of it and put together a more coherent post in my blog?

When I heard about the recovery times mentioned by others, I do not recall what times were mentioned.  However, two thoughts stayed in my mind.  First, I wanted to beat others in recovery time and second I had to get back to work to pay the bills, so no choice in the matter there.

Was there pain?  Some, but it was nothing like what was being described at the time.  Hot showers on the lower back were the mainstay, with occasional painkillers, which I tried to avoid as "I did not want to become addicted", which was a common theme at the time among those who had surgery.  Whether that was true or not, I do not know.  So having read this far, I guess you are wondering how long my recovery period was?

Two Weeks and I was back at work.

Walking gingerly at first and then after the pain had passed into the background, I had spasms of pain or zaps that would shake or jolt my body now and again.  I guess this was my nerves healing?  I think this condition may have lasted less than a year.  This is the funny thing: I knew this was a sign of healing, yet I welcomed it.

Yeah, I know I'm very strange and peculiar, so put me away!

Best Wishes Always
Sarah B
Global Moderator