dVH/RALH: How long should I plan to take off work?

I am a registered nurse working full time Mon-Fri in a family practice office. I have planned to take 4 weeks off work, but after reading some posts in the pre-op chat tonight, I get the feeling that may be unrealistic. I also own and run a lodge/bed and breakfast with my husband being the only other helper. We can have up to 17 guests at a time and summer is our busy season, so I have to take this into account as well.

I am scheduled to have a davinic hyst. on May 12 baring any complications, so I am looking for suggestions from those who have had either davinci or laporoscopic proceedures who are either nurses or work in a related field that would have them on their feet most of an 8 hour day and sitting in a straight chair at a computer for the time they are seated. For the B&B it involves cooking breakfast every morning, cleaning rooms, laundry, making bed, etc.(which is done before work as a nurse and after work and on weekends) And the rooms are not in the main lodge, they are located across the property so you must carry the cleaning supplies and linens to the individual buildings.

I appreciate any suggestions from those that have been there. I don't want to take unnecessary chances and end up doing damage I can avoid. Being a nurse makes it hard to be the patient, so I'm asking for advise from the patients. Thanks in advance.

Your Dr is the one who would be best to ask about how long you will be off work. My main advice is don't rush going back full time. At 4 weeks, you may only want to do half days or only one job. The computer work isn't too bad after 2 weeks, but still gets tiring.

Remember to have lots of loose fitting clothes. As weird as it sounds, the most comfy pants I had were maternity pants. They do a good job at handling the swelly belly.

Of course you need to do whatever your dr advises you...as for me had TLH on 4/11 returning to work full time this coming Monday (3 weeks post op) dr orders lifting nothing over 10lbs until I see her again at 5 weeks post op. So I don't think carrying items for the B&B is going to be a go and also the cleaning bending is pretty rough, I pulled weeds in my garden the other day had stomach pains for 2 days afterward.
Oh I work in a hospital pharmacy on feet and at computer none stop. Good luck to you and take it easy after surgery you as an rn know how things need to heal

I'm a nurse in a Mon-Fri OB/GYN clinic and I was instructed to take 6 weeks off. I had a TVH w/ a tvt-o sling almost 2 weeks ago, so I haven't been back to work yet, but if I'm feeling ok at 4-5 weeks I may go back for a few half days, but I've quickly learned that each day of recovery is different. I've only been out of the house twice so far, for an hour or two each time, and it's exhausting when I get back home. I seriously feel as if I've ran a marathon or something. I wish I had some advice for you, but I guess it's better for us to be conservative about our recovery times at first.

I haven't had my surgery yet, so I don't know how much help I will be. But I am having a dVH as well. My Dr told me that I could go back after two weeks if I had a desk job but since I have to lift heavy things several times a day, he is keeping me out for 4 weeks. Even then, I will have to get help with the heavier items (30-40 lbs). I imagine the work you do would require a minimum of 4 weeks, and maybe more. Can you go in for a 4 week check and determine if you are ready to go back from there?

AKNurse - is hiring a college student off for the summer to help with the B&B a possibility?

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Originally Posted by BeLove AKNurse - is hiring a college student off for the summer to help with the B&B a possibility?

Good call. I imagine you could even do a HS student who would probably work for lower wages?