anticipating postop-back to work?

[pedimed]

I recently was scheduled for for BAV replacement and aneurysm repair and was told 3-4 weeks off after surgery for an administrative type job.

Given that I, working as a nurse practitioner (32 years old), am on my feet most of the day, with children, I am curious when I should anticipate being able to perform physical exams-bending, kneeling etc with the kids after surgery?

I am curious, to those of you who work in health care, when did you return to work? Also, once back at work, what did you find difficult? Easy?

Thank you for any thoughts you may have on this? I will be having surgery in January in Boston and currently work in a pediatric hospital in Kansas City so will be flying back at some point (this is another point of contention).. and dont want to underestimate how much time I should be requesting off...

Again, thanks for sharing your experiences, this site has been so helpful to me since this progress has begun.

Best wishes to all

Lea

 

[Magic8Ball]

3-4 weeks by who?

I've just had the same and i'm taking 10+ weeks off, i work in IT and sit at a desk all day working on a computer so technically i'm already 'working' typing this reply.

Luckily i have insurance to cover this, if you don't i understand your wish to get back to work quickly but i would think 4-5 weeks would be more reasonable in order to allow the chest bone to heal at least.

Fitness wise i think you would be ok but if you are working with kids it would only take one of them to jump on you or fall over and you make a grab at them and your chest would be cracked again.

I'd think seriously before thinking about 2-3 week return timescale.

 

[sue943]

I was told three months after mine - and even then my cardiologist thought it fine if I never worked again and my GP was concerned that I was even trhinking of more than part time - and I used to sit all day at a computer.

 

[pedimed]

postop time frame

postop time frame

Thank you for writing back...

I was told 3-4 weeks for a position that is administrative in nature (the surgeon's answer) I was aiming to request 5-8 weeks off but curiuos what people's experiences have been with this... with of course the understanding that we are all going to have variation in how we recover..

I should have enough insurance coverage for taking up to 8-10 weeks if necessary, including PTO and short term disability and/or medical leave pay... I have to look into this a bit deeper...

Did you both feel that what was suggested for your recover was accurate once the time came??

Thanks again,

Leah

 

[kodi]

I work part time as an office manager. When I left before surgery I told the owner I'd be gone at least eight weeks. It was eight weeks this past Monday. I think I could have gone back after six but didn't want to and now I'm debating whether I will at all or wait until the New Year.
I had a very easy recovery with no complications and like I said, six weeks sitting in an office would have worked. With your job, I'd really think you'd need extra time off, unless they could put you into some admin position until you were well healed.

 

[catwoman]

Lea:

My cardio told me that physicians go back (part-time) @ 3-4 weeks -- because they're self-employed. He said because I have a desk job that I might be able to go back @ 3-4 weeks.
Surgeon thought otherwise. He said 7 weeks. Period. I didn't argue it.

I went back part-time for 4 weeks (20 hours/week) and then went full time.
I went on STD 2 weeks pre-op. STD covered 60% of my salary while I was out, even the 20 hours/week when I went back part-time. My sick time picked up the rest. Because of the STD rules, I couldn't just work longer and longer days; I had to turn in reports to the company at least 1 week ahead of pay periods. So, it was just easier to go back at half-time.

I had no complications post-op, but because my heart was enlarged pre-op, it took much longer for me to recover, and I was glad to lounge for 7 weeks.

It was a big adjustment going back to work -- even part-time! When you're convalescing, you do things at your own pace. Wake up without an alarm, get dressed for the day when you feel like it, schedule your walking when you want, take naps, etc. -- vs. getting up to an alarm, showering/getting dressed, driving to work, parking your car, walking to your office, etc., doing your job (walking to colleague's desks, going to meetings, etc., etc.), driving home, perhaps stopping off at a grocery store to pick up a few things, get home, fix dinner, clean up, deal with the children, etc., etc.

So, going back to work part-time does help you ease back into "normal" life.

You may want to tentatively plan to take 8-10 weeks and reassess your condition at 6 and consider going back part-time for several weeks.

 

[WayneGM]

I have a desk job (although I think I spend most of my time sitting in meetings) and was advised by my Card to plan to be off 10 - 12 weeks. I actually went the full 12 weeks as I had complications at week 3. Even with the full 12 weeks it was tough going back to work, especially as I have a fairly long train commute, so I eased into it starting with 2 days a week, then 3, etc. However, I have a good short term disability plan at work. It's the first time I'd ever been off like this in 30 working years, so took full advantage. My advice....don't rush it if you don't have to.

 

[MikeHeim]

I went back at 10 weeks to a (mostly) desk job and I couldn't believe how much those first few days took out of me. Of course, I felt like I had a never ending stream of people in my office asking how I was doing, so I never got much of a chance to rest. I had no idea that talking could take so much out of a person!

My recommendation would be to take as much time as you can, both personally and financially. I was lucky in that my company has an excellent disability plan and I was able to get 100% of my pay for the entire time I was out. If that wasn't the case, I certainly would have pushed to go back sooner - regardless of how I felt.

 

[Bradley White]

Of course everyone recovers at their own pace, but after my first surgery about 6 years ago, when I was 17, I was back at high school half-days after three weeks and back full time after 4 weeks.
I remember feeling completely recovered by the time Christmas came around (3 months post-op) and played on the varisty tennis team that spring. Maybe I healed quickly though because it was my first surgery and I was very young and fit.

Have my second surgery in 8 days (dec 7th) and am anticipating a slightly more lengthy recovery, but believe that I will be ready to come back to Notre Dame (where I am graduate student) in mid-January. I guess it's hard to predict and seems to vary person to person. My advice would be to request the longer amount of time off, then come back early if you are feeling up to it...

Best Wishes,

Brad

 

[maka]

It is said that the sternum takes about 6 weeks to heal, so I believe it'll be wise to wait at least that much. I'm retired, but I don't think I could have gone back to work for at least 10 weeks, and taking it very easy at that.

 

[Mike C]

I would plan on more, like double that time, if you can go back earlierm,great but i think it is a little unrealistic of a recovery period.

 

[Magic8Ball]

Did you both feel that what was suggested for your recover was accurate once the time came??

Can't say, i'm only 10 days post op but i feel great and to be honest i think after the first 4-6 weeks of chest bone healing i'm going to be on a 4-6 week holiday and be having a ball....but i've paid for my insurance and i'm going to use it....no-one will remember at work if you are a hero and come back early....they will just give you work

I could always have complications over the comming weeks which will spoil my dasterdly plans and mean i actually need this full period of recovery but the fact is i can take 10-12 weeks off (in fact the policy will cover me staying off until i'm 65) so i'm going to milk it for everything its worth and spend some quality time with the kids over the summer, something i never get to do normally.

Seriously, if you have cover for 8-10 weeks then use every bloody day of it.

 

[AlonnolA]

My 2 cents

My 2 cents

Take off at least 8 weeks (my surgeon suggested 3 months but I didn't listen).
Hope to be well enough to start showing up at the office at 3-4 weeks, but don't expect to spend a full day.
Increase your time as you can, as long as the bosses recognize you may not feel well some days, and need to leave on short notice.

My surgeon said it was OK to go back to a desk job as soon as I felt well enough, as long as I had the flexibility to set my own hours for a while. So I did the above, and it seems to be working. I'm 7 weeks out and nearly full time, but I agree with the sentiment that once you're off from work doing your own thing, it's nice to ease back into the grind slowly.

 

[Adrienne]

Milk it for all it's worth

Milk it for all it's worth

Although I took early retirement 5 years ago, if I had been working last year when I had my surgery, I would have milked it for all it's worth!!!!

 

[bvdr]

I had my mitral valve replacement via the heartport procedure so I did not have a split sternum. I worked many years though as an ER RN and know well what is involved with working with peds. Even without sternum issues I don't think I would have mentally been able to go back into nursing at even 6 weeks. I don't know if it was the extended time in surgery or what but I was mentally foggy for a while. At the time I remember being relieved that I would not have to make the assessments and decisions in the ER when I did not have the confidence in my ability to do it well. You may not have that problem but I think you should factor it in and arrange for at least 8 weeks and hopefully you will run into a trouble free recovery and be able to return earlier.

 

[tobagotwo]

Insurors and corporations routinely accept 6-8 weeks off for OHS as a standard for short-term disability. Of course, if you have a problem crop up, it could be longer.

Certainly, people from this site have gone back sooner, but unless you're self-employed, what's the point of risking your recovery? Your chance of picking up airborne illnesses or causing arrhythmias is increased. Your resistance and your physical reserves are low. You won't be rewarded by anyone if you cause yourself suffering or setbacks.

It's a mistake to think that a sedentary job doesn't cause significant, sometimes damaging stress and workload fatigue.

Best wishes,

 

[perkicar]

time off after surgery?

time off after surgery?

I'm a nurse on a bone marrow transplant unit. I had surgery mid-may, was off until the second week of July, when I came back on "light duty" doing mostly unit secretary type work and chart checking, and built up my time worked until I could do the full 12 hours again. I also had some complications (like a pericardial effusion that we watched and let resolve on it's own) so I was still having fluid retention and SOA when I first came back. After a couple of weeks I started doing admissions, helping other nurses with baths, etc, and by the beginning of August I was back full time. My co-workers were protective of me for a long time, though LOL. I like to string my days together and at first, I didn't do that because I was just exhausted after 1 12 hour day. But now I can work 5 days in a row and just be "normally" tired.
Carolyn

 

[SumoRunner]

I'm a software engineer, so my job is all about sitting in front of a monitor. I thought I was ready after 4 weeks and asked my cardio if I should go back. He said wait until 6 wks even if you feel as good as you say. The company (GE) didn't especially care. I was covered at full pay, so the only thing I was worried about was being bored and I was.