How long did you take off work (desk job) after OHS?

[chaidell]

Greetings,

I am due for a bileaflet Mitral Valve Repair (God willing) via OHS on November 13/13. My Surgery is being performed by Dr. Alexander Justicz in Atlanta. At first I thought Minimally invasive surgery was possible, but unfortunately, due to the complexity of my repair, OHS seems to be the only way to give me the highest probability of repair. So, with that being said, I am now wondering how much time off on avg would I need? I'm hoping after 3 weeks, I could get back to work.....and being near the end of the year, it'll be slower and a lot less stressfull.

About me:

35 year old Male
Mostly Assymptomatic (started taking Atenolol 25mg a few months ago due to my first anxiety/pulpitation episode)
mild left vetrical enlargement
normal ejection fraction
5'11" 160lbs good physical shape

Aside from my initial question, I would welcome any info on my particular surgery, or if you have heard of my Surgeon, etc.

Thanks in advanced!

 

[-andrew-]

Re: How long did you take off work (desk job) after OHS?

Hi Chaidell,

I'm at 5 weeks after after OHS and have been working part time for a week now (three days a week) and planning to start back full time in another week. I have a desk job too. I felt like I could have gone back earlier, but with two kids at home, I would have struggled to find the time to fit in all the walking and other exercise which the docs strongly encourage for rehab. Personally, I think if I had gone back full time at three weeks and managed to fit in the exercise, I'd have coped but would been cream crackered.

Good luck with it all!

 

[Ola Thoresen]

I am 36 and had 8 weeks off, but I probably could have started at least part time a few weeks earlier.
But I guess health care and the fact that you get 100% pay while you are on sick leave here in Norway, makes it easier to follow the doctors advice and not rush it.

 

[scott.eitman]

at 34, I was paid 100% from work while off, so I took the full 6 weeks.

at 46, I was not paid except for PTO, so I was back at it at 4 weeks. I did get a ride to and from work and had a place to nap. I continued napping for 4 more weeks while at work.

 

[Sten Osis]

Re: How long did you take off work (desk job) after OHS?

I returned to work 3 weeks after for half-days. At 6 weeks I was back full time. I have a desk job.

 

[chaidell]

So it is possible! Thanks for all the feedback, it is much appreciated!

 

[ski girl]

I was back part time after two weeks, full time three weeks post op. I was bored to tears after one week at home!

 

[Protimenow]

Perhaps your desk job will enable you to log in from home, and you'll be able to do some of your work when you feel up to it. When I had my OHS, the typewriter was just being invented, and the ride to work in horse and buggy would have been much too stressful. (Well, maybe it wasn't quite THAT long ago). If I recall, I took 6 or 8 weeks and jumped in with both feet, taking a flight from Los Angeles to San Francisco, renting a car, and driving to some vendors for meetings, then flying back the same day. At the end of my time off, I was very ready to go back to work.

But - in answer to your question - if your job can be done at home, and you feel strong enough, it may even be possible to do some of the work at home. The stress, however, is something that you might consider before you propose this to your employer.

 

[big_L]

My surgeon gave me 6 weeks off. My job (Manufacturing Chemist) is a mix of desk and standing. Some days, I may spend 7 hours on my feet and walk miles. Other days, I sit all day long. I didn't feel that 6 weeks was enough and my PCP just extended it three more weeks.

 

[epstns]

I guess that you can tell from the responses that we are all different. We also have different jobs and react differently to them. I was quite a bit older when I had my aortic valve replaced (63 at the time). I have an office job that can be highly stressful. For the first couple of weeks at home, I did check email for work. Then after the second week, I was mentally up to some light work from home. I was cleared to drive, and to go back to work part-time at 5+ weeks. I worked 4 hours/day at first, then increased to 6, and hit full-time (9 to 10 hours/day) by 8 weeks. It all depends on what you can tolerate, how well you heal, whether you need to drive, and even how your surgeon feels about it. My surgeon pretty much would have allowed full-time office work at 5 weeks, but with the complications I had, I wasn't really ready at that point.

So, to summarize, it can be done but you won't know if it will work that way for you until you get to that time point.

 

[Jkm7]

<snip>

So, to summarize, it can be done but you won't know if it will work that way for you until you get to that time point.

Exactly.
We are all different. We all heal at our own pace and our stamina and tolerance are so varied.
Listen to your body. It will tell you what you are ready to do and what is pushing too much. The investment in healing well first time around is so worth the reward.

Best Wishes.

 

[yotphix]

This is not exactly relevant to your specific question, but might be helpful for you to know. My job was the opposite of a desk job, with lots and lots of vigorous exercise and heavy lifting. My surgeon asked me not to go back for six months, to give my heart a chance to remodel adequately. When I did go back at six months, I was able, but less than I had been. Parts of it still really made my chest sore. It was more like 8 or 9 months before I started to feel as capable as I had been. A year later I was stronger, faster and had more endurance in every way.
The biggest issue I'd bet you'll have if you go back early is the fatigue that you may feel. Also, consider the drive if you commute by car.

 

[rvrkumar]

I am back to work couple of weeks after surgery. I was 36 at surgery and have a desk job too. I felt bored couple of weeks after, so returned to work from home couple of weeks after surgery.

 

[carolinemc]

But if you work on the computer, you will be back at four weeks(would recommend) and then go part time for a couple of weeks(depending on what the doctor says on your back to work release that you take back to work). If you do work on the computer, you will stiff at times, hunch over the keyboard, you have to loosen up slowly. I did that for eight months, the muscles have to heal. Do not rush anything, take time to heal. Be careful and follow doctor's orders. Hugs for you today.

 

[iedude]

At 3 weeks I started answering emails and doing light work ( spreadsheets etc ) from at home. At 6 weeks I went back to the office part time and at 8 practically full time.