Return to work for stressful job

I haven't received my surgery date as we are still waiting the results of my biopsy. I see my doc on Aug 1st for the results and surgery date. I am struggling with extreme daily pelvic and back pain now and think I will go off work right away. I have to get my paperwork filled out and was wondering about how long I would be off work after. I have an extremely stressful job as a manager of a large courier company. I don't do any lifting, but was wondering about how the stress would be if I return to work too early. Any thoughts on how long I should be off after? I will be having abdominal surgery so I know it won't be short.

I had a TAH BSO. I returned to work to a desk job with relatively moderate stress after 3 weeks. It was tough, tough tough. I could only handle part time for 4 more weeks. After that I returned to full time but no OT for several months.

If you are on your feet much, you may want to consider more time. And the more stress, the more time off you will also probably need. Ask your doctor about time off. One suggestion is to take 6 or 8 weeks, and if you can return earlier, so much the better.

Good luck to you.

I have a stressful job and I foolishly thought I would be able to come back to work after 2 weeks My surgeon said as long as I did no lifting however at 3 weeks my gp refused to sign me back to work because I was not emotionally ready to return to work and then I did 4-6 hour shifts...I tried an 8 hour day and paid for it so stuck with part shifts and no OT for two weeks more.

As marestail said plan for 6-8 weeks you can always go back earlier if you are ready

Good luck

Thanks ladies. I'm really nervous for this even though I know this is the best thing. My boss doesn't seem to get it. I have been home for two days now with extreme pain and he thinks I should be able to make it to work. I feel bad leaving my employees hanging, but I find it just too much, and I haven't even had my surgery yet. My boss has given me a couple of other projects he wants me to get done and I know it's because he knows I will be going off work soon. It's just not helping. Very frustrating and depressing all at the same time.

	Quote:
Originally Posted by stressed_woman I haven't received my surgery date as we are still waiting the results of my biopsy. I see my doc on Aug 1st for the results and surgery date. I am struggling with extreme daily pelvic and back pain now and think I will go off work right away. I have to get my paperwork filled out and was wondering about how long I would be off work after. I have an extremely stressful job as a manager of a large courier company. I don't do any lifting, but was wondering about how the stress would be if I return to work too early. Any thoughts on how long I should be off after? I will be having abdominal surgery so I know it won't be short.

stressed_woman there is such a wide variety of healing times for each person. I had my TLH / BSO June 18th and took 3-weeks off. I really should have asked for 4-weeks. I have a desk job and can work from home so was fortunate to be able to struggle through week for at work but it was exhausting just sitting upright in a chair for 8 hours. By week 5 post-op Iam feeling 80% back to normal. I turned the corner and I spent some time reading the post-op forum posts and you might want to check in there. you will see many stories that range from "feeling great at week 2" to "feeling tired still at week 5"... Depends on what kind of job you have and first and foremost what your Doctor has to say. Whatever inconvenience with pain, tiredness, sleep disruption, etc. you may have, just know that for me it has been well worth getting my life back. I was able to realize going through the surgery process and getting a pathology report back "Cancer Free" was a huge relief. I feel truly blessed. I encourage you to visit this website for the most awesome support, caring, and most of all INFORMATION from all the Sister's posts. We'll see you on the other side after your visit to the "Castle" and come home a true "Princess". good luck and I'll be watching for you to post when you are able. :friends:

	Quote:
Originally Posted by stressed_woman Thanks ladies. I'm really nervous for this even though I know this is the best thing. My boss doesn't seem to get it. I have been home for two days now with extreme pain and he thinks I should be able to make it to work. I feel bad leaving my employees hanging, but I find it just too much, and I haven't even had my surgery yet. My boss has given me a couple of other projects he wants me to get done and I know it's because he knows I will be going off work soon. It's just not helping. Very frustrating and depressing all at the same time.

stress_woman, When you actually visit your Doctor and have their written orders for when you can return to work - your Boss may finally have to acknowledge that you will be having a major surgical procedure. You must be given time to heal properly or you will overdo and set yourself back. You could be forced to ask for MORE time off if you push too hard too soon. I have never taken a medical leave in 38 years on the job and it was hard for me to accept I needed to disengage from work and just HEAL. If you don't the healing process slows down. I am sure they will miss you and things may not be as smooth with you gone but what the heck, hopefully they will realize your contribution and be oh so happy to have you back. Take care of yourself.

I'm nervous about the whole time off thing as well. I am planning four weeks, but I know they are hoping I will be back sooner. I am having LAVH, along with bladder sling, and I believe rectocele repair. I have no idea if the bladder sling and rectocele repair will add to my down time. I guess we just have to play it by ear, and see how we feel.
I'm also worried because with my last two surgeries, I had really bad depression during the recovery time.
So, I guess I'm just saying that I hear ya....hopefully we can just support each other!

Thanks everyone, I know I have been reading that recovery time varies per person. I just wasn't sure if the stress of a job could slow down my recovery. I have decided when I see my doc this week that I will ask for the most amount of time off like many of you recommended and if I can go back earlier then I will.