how much time off???

I am having an LAVH. My doctor has said that I may return to my desk job in 10 days to 2 weeks with no problems and barring any complications with my surgery. I would like to hear from others about how much time they need to recoup from an uncomplicated LAVH.

thanks
Angie

Hello Angie
I had my surgery on October 13th and returned back to work part time on October 25th.... I work in a very good team player office... We all look out for each other.... I worked 31 hours my first week back to work and 35 my second and full time from their on...... I absolutely did NO lifting of any sort.... I think the heaviest thing I had to lift was a stapler...... LOL LOL LOL..... I had a very easy recovery..... I hope this helps...

Rambi

I am having a LAVH on Monday. I also have an office job. My doctor told me two weeks off work, then two weeks part-time, back to work full time at four weeks. Today is my last day at work before heading to the castle! Having a very hard time concentrating!!

Angie,
I went back to work a little over two weeks after my surgery and did fine. I have a desk job -- hardly any physical activity required. For a few days, I worked 6-7 hours per day, and then returned to 8 hours per day. But you really won't know how you feel until AFTER the surgery. Some people recover quickly and others have complications, problems, etc. You just never know. Also, you don't want to "push it" and do too much, even if you feel O.K. Even with a LAVH, there are usually a lot of stitches inside, and there is a lot of healing that needs to go on inside of you. So, take it easy, but your doctor is probably correct (if maybe a little optimistic) about your recovery time. Good luck.

Barbara

Well in my case that I been schedule for a SAH, my doc. told me 4 to 5 weeks, to go back to work. But also depending in how I come out of the surgery. Wish I believed I will be fine.

Hi Angie,

I see we are having a LAVH on the same day. Hope all goes well for us both!! My DR wants me to take 4 weeks off work but I convinced her 3 weeks would be enough since I have a very flexible desk job. She wrote the time off order for 6 weeks just in case there are any complications. She told me a story about a patient of hers who felt so good and thus did too much. The patient ended up bleeding internally and ended up back in surgery with a long recovery. She reminded me that although we don't have alot of healing on the outside that our healing on the inside is the same as for an abdominal hysterectomy. I plan to take it very easy the first two weeks. Last year I had a LSO and I felt so good the second week I really over did it. I paid for it and had a slight set back. Won't do that this time!

Take Care

Pam

Everyone resonds differently to surgery. If you are feeling well it sounds doable. I had a TAH. When my GYN told me I needed surgery, I told him that I absolutely didn't have time for it and in the same breath asked how long before I could drive and how long before I returned to work. He knew what kind of work I do and how difficult it would be for me to be away for an extended period of time.

He said I could drive as soon as I could make all the driving movements comfortably without taking narcotics. My surgery was on Thursday, I was driving on Monday.

He said that if I felt well enough, I could probably go back to work for a few hours a day at 2 weeks and advance from there if I did no lifting, had no fatigue, pain or other problems. He also said he understood about feeling the need to go back to work, because he was back at 2 weeks after having major surgery to have vertebrae in his neck fused.

I went back to my work place for several hours of meetings a week after surgery (all I did was sit), back for a half day of real work 2 weeks after surgery and after a planned day off, back full time after that. I am up and down about a hundred times during my day and walk a lot at work (no lifting though). I needed no pain meds of any kind.

Everyone else thought I was crazy including my co-workers (the guys were in awe), and my primary care doctor, but I had no fatigue or pain and have had no problems at 10 months out. I'm on the extreme end of the scale, but I have no regrets, and I love my doc for understanding and letting me follow what my body was telling me.

Oh yeah, when we talked about it at a follow up, he attributed my ability to return to work so quickly to his exceptional surgical skills! Men and their egos!

hi angie........................
im having a TAH on may 23 and my gyn told me i would be out of work for 8-10 weeks.......luckily here in RHODE ISLAND we have a TEMPORARY DISIBILITY INSURANCE with the state that pays us for medical leave,,and in some cases u make more then ur take home net pay check from your job...there is no state or federal taxxes taken out and they also pay 30.00 per dependant up to age 18....i guess all physicians are differant in how much they give for recovery.........take as much as you need to ,and go slow and dont ruch back...best of luck to you on your surgery,,dana

I don't have a date yet but my doctor wrote on the back of my laparoscopy and hysteroscopy photos....LAVH-one night stay, two week recovery. I'm questioning that when I see him on the 29th. He told me three days to recover from these surgical procedures and I'm back to work tomorrow (day 5 after surgery). Not thrilled about it. I'm on my feet 7-8 hours a day, no chair in sight; occasional lifting. I think I'll have him write the order for 4-6 weeks and be a hero when I can go back to work earlier.

Keep us posted and good luck!

Lori

My doctor said most likely at least 6 weeks before I would be ready to go back to work full time, even if I feel pretty good after 2-3 weeks. He didn't rule out returning earlier and has signed off for earlier returns for some patients. He simply deemed it somewhat unlikely and wanted to make sure I set my (and my boss's) expectations realistically.

His reasoning is actually pretty sound when I pressed him about it (I tend to heal fairly quickly, so I was hoping for a prediction of 4 weeks or less). Although I may *feel* well, and might feel better in some ways than I have in a long time, I won't BE healed yet - in fact, I won't even be 50% healed. My body will still need most of the available energy to continue to heal inside, and for that, I'll need to rest. While I have a desk job, it's pretty intense mentally, the stress level can be pretty high, and it's not unusual at all for me to end up working 10-12 hours without realizing it on a busy day. Obviously, if I'm stressed and taxed mentally, I'm not resting, and my body is being hampered in the healing process.

Looking at it from that perspective, I have somewhat reluctantly come to the conclusion that it makes more sense to take the time off now and heal enough to not have to worry about most sorts of activities, stresses, etc when I go back, rather than forcing the issue and possibly setting myself up for a longer overall recovery time or problems down the road from delaying the healing.