Return to work after how long for you

Hello All,

My DR told me I could return to work 2 weeks after TLH. I am at day 13 post-op and there is no way. My stitches still feel raw, I am still very painfully sore, have the tearing nerve pain in lower left abdomen and cannot remain standing long. I have extended my leave another week to be out for 3 weeks. I still do not feel this is enough time. I feel like I need at least 2 more weeks to be healed enough to go back to work. Just getting cleaned up, driving there, and walking a very long walk to my desk is 200 % impossible for me now. Once I am there I do not need to move, I will be sitting all day. I would like to know how long it took for you all to return to work. If your job requires physical activity I assume you would be limited to what you could do or take longer to return. Can you state your typical physical activity and when you returned, any issues etc....

Hi back,
Sorry to hear that you aren't feeling well and have had so much discomfort.
I am going back to work monday which is two weeks off total for me for my LSH. The only thing I am worried about is having enough energy to get through the whole day so it may be half days for a while. I am restricted to lifting anything more than 5 pounds for a month and I can say that if I had to I definitely could not lift anything that heavy.
Although my surgery was mainly prophylactic and sounds like yours was for some serious issues which may be why you feel worse. I hope it gets better for you.

Heather

Sorry to hear you are feeling so bad. I had my surgery on 1/30 and went back in two weeks. It was okay but very tiring.

i had TVH on the 13th and plan to go back to work on monday the 2nd? I am having trouble staying home with DH who is home with a bad knee. Just once I would like to be sick all by myself!

Doc said 2-3 weeks but it was up to me. I am in week four and start back tomorrow.....will probably only do a few days a week at first since I tire easily.....

I was out for 7 1/2 weeks with my TVH. There's no way I would have been able to go back in just a couple of weeks. A friend of mine just had her TLH 2 weeks ago with the same doctor, and will be out for another 4-5. I guess it just depends on the doctor, and what your job is. If your unsure, I would definatley say something to your doc. I'm sure they wouldn't want to take the chance if your not ready. You do know your body better than anyone else.

My dr told me to stay off work 4-6 weeks. I have a desk job so I really expected to be back by 4 weeks. I returned to work today (5 weeks after TAH) and only lasted 2 1/2 hours. I started having sharp pains in addition to my usual soreness. I had actually only planned to stay for 3 hours so I almost reached my goal. But I came home and slept for 3 hours and am in quite a bit of pain this evening. I'm going back tomorrow and will just stay as long as possible.

My advice is to rest as long as possible. You really need to let your body heal, especially with the complications you had. Part of my problems (which resulted in the need for surgery) were because I didn't rest and heal after my second c-section and ended up with a lot of scar tissue and adhesions. Don't be afraid to tell your dr if you don't feel like you're ready to go back to work. Good luck

It will be 2 weeks this Wednesday since my TAH/BSO. Dr. told me I could go back part-time when I felt good enough. Spring Break is this week so I am thinking of returning a week from today. I have a desk job so maybe it won't be so bad. I told my employer 4 weeks upfront. If I see it is too much for me then I will take the remaining time off.

Take as much time as your employer will allow. Your body will tell you if it is too much

I had an abdominal hyst.
I have a desk job, but it's a very high stress job.
I find it VERY uncomfortable to sit for long, and because of that, plus the stress of my profession, I will be going back to work after 6-7 weeks.

I had a TAH/BSO on the 3/11/08 and will not return to my desk job until 4/28/08. Lucky for me my boss is my biggest supporter!