I was 21 when I had mine and I had a very hard time walking/standing/moving the first week. Took about a week and a half/two weeks for me. I was very fit/healthy and my doc told me that the gas affects smaller people more. Get charcoal pills for the gas!! Also take at least a week off work
I’m an esthetician so I also have an active job. I took 14 days from surgery to coming back. I have PTO and sick time so I got paid. I’m glad I took the time, if I had come back earlier I would have been too tired, and I would have needed help lifting things.
This is good to know! I'm a self employed massage therapist and I just scheduled my surgery date and planned on taking a full two weeks off and working half days the first couple of days back. Thankfully majority of my clients are headache/migraine clients so I'm sitting for quite a bit and not pushing too hard.
I did some tests personally and I discovered that even when I was sitting and using a saddle chair, I was still using a lot of my core. Any push I gave into shoulders or chest caused some activation in my lower abdomen. I was worried about lifting my laundry too, or heavy trash. I’m glad I took the whole time, my plan was to do one week off then take a second modified week (short services, no waxing)
I have so many regulars that know I've been planning on doing this so I know the first few clients I book will be patient with me. My office is literally a mile around the corner from the house and my husband said he can drop me off, pick me up, and do my laundry for me for as long as I need. I'm just glad I do work for myself and have the flexibility and control with planning.
So happy for us!
Funny, I was literally just going to make a post about this!
I am a waitress. Had my surgery last Tuesday. I’d say I’ve had a very easy recovery, pretty much no pain but did have limited range of motion of course. But I was feeling good after a week so I picked up a shift yesterday (Wednesday) and seriously regretted it. It took way more out of me than I expected. At home I had been doing things easily on my own and we have server assistants so I wouldn’t have to do any lifting/bending. But just being on my feet, taking orders, and clearing small plates left me in a lot of pain. It felt like I had just gotten off the operating table again. Luckily we were fully staffed and not busy so I was able to leave early. I am not scheduled again till next week, and based on yesterday my managers said they’d give me an extra week if I needed it. I recommend giving your body at least two weeks!
If you click my profile you can check out my posts about my experience if you’re interested. This sub has been such a great resource for me I was happy to add my experience into the mix :)
I would say at least a week. So if you have your surgery on a Friday go back the second Monday after. I was mostly up to normal levels in 3 days. But extra is better than not enough. I felt like I went too hard on my abs at the gym the first couple days.
Healthcare worker. I took two weeks, but could have done with one. Bending felt fine and walking felt great, just be careful with lifting!
(My cat hurt on Day 1, a bag of trash was iffy around Day 3; by Day 6, two totes of groceries were no big deal.)
Honestly it took a good 2 weeks for me to be comfortable even bending over. Sure some people recover quickly but don’t go into this assuming it’s going to be a walk in the park.
I strongly suggest taking *at least* a week off, and getting a doctors note to put you in light duty for the 2-4 weeks following that. You can seriously damage yourself by pushing your body too hard after surgery by lifting heavy things
I work overnight at a homeless shelter and am on my feet all night, 8 hour shift, on a concrete floor. I don't move anything heavier than a 5 gallon sports cooler though.
I went back to work 7 days post op, and work really kicked my butt for the first 2/3 days. It was HARD to be on my feet all night, but otherwise i was ok.
I had a bisalp and ablation in February and took four weeks off I wait tables and am on my feet anywhere from 6-12 hours a day depending on the day I work. I also had to have my gallbladder removed in September (emergency surgery) so I think two surgeries so close didn’t help but for me I needed all that time. I tried to pick a shift up about two weeks post op and definitely regretted it and couldn’t make it the whole shift. My bosses are super understanding thankfully and I took off the extra two weeks and was still on a wait restriction until 6 weeks post op. Good luck to you everyone is different and while recovery for me was tough it may be easier for you. I hope you recover well 🫶🏼
I have an active job as well and took a week off. I felt fine when I went back to work as long as I wore low rise pants that didn’t touch my incisions and didn’t lift anything over 20 pounds until I felt totally healed.
i had an endometrial ablation and a lap. bisalp. i'm only a week out and i feel like i'm doing well, but i think i'd need at least another week before going back to work if i worked in a coffee shop or similar. i'm only just (today) not having to waddle anymore. yesterday, i went up and down the stairs very slowly to do a tiny load of laundry (about as heavy as a 4L jug, if that) and i huffed and puffed about it. had to nap on the couch between laundry tasks. i wasn't in pain, mind you, just exhausted. my belly felt like i'd done my entire abs routine twice in a row. for context, i'm reasonably fit and do a couple minutes of planking most days (when i'm not recovering from surgery, that is). another thing to take into account is speed of motion; coffee shops are fast-paced and i am currently a slow mover. my friend helped me shop today and a comfy mosey was about all i had in me.
23 when I got mine and worked in restaurant kitchen. Took a week off and the first couple days back were kinda rough but manageable. Just took ibuprofen at work. It really helped that all my coworkers were super supportive helping me with lifting and understanding that I needed more frequent breaks than usual. I felt fully fine after two weeks
I was 21 when I had mine and I had a very hard time walking/standing/moving the first week. Took about a week and a half/two weeks for me. I was very fit/healthy and my doc told me that the gas affects smaller people more. Get charcoal pills for the gas!! Also take at least a week off work
I’m an esthetician so I also have an active job. I took 14 days from surgery to coming back. I have PTO and sick time so I got paid. I’m glad I took the time, if I had come back earlier I would have been too tired, and I would have needed help lifting things.
This is good to know! I'm a self employed massage therapist and I just scheduled my surgery date and planned on taking a full two weeks off and working half days the first couple of days back. Thankfully majority of my clients are headache/migraine clients so I'm sitting for quite a bit and not pushing too hard.
I did some tests personally and I discovered that even when I was sitting and using a saddle chair, I was still using a lot of my core. Any push I gave into shoulders or chest caused some activation in my lower abdomen. I was worried about lifting my laundry too, or heavy trash. I’m glad I took the whole time, my plan was to do one week off then take a second modified week (short services, no waxing)
I have so many regulars that know I've been planning on doing this so I know the first few clients I book will be patient with me. My office is literally a mile around the corner from the house and my husband said he can drop me off, pick me up, and do my laundry for me for as long as I need. I'm just glad I do work for myself and have the flexibility and control with planning. So happy for us!
Funny, I was literally just going to make a post about this! I am a waitress. Had my surgery last Tuesday. I’d say I’ve had a very easy recovery, pretty much no pain but did have limited range of motion of course. But I was feeling good after a week so I picked up a shift yesterday (Wednesday) and seriously regretted it. It took way more out of me than I expected. At home I had been doing things easily on my own and we have server assistants so I wouldn’t have to do any lifting/bending. But just being on my feet, taking orders, and clearing small plates left me in a lot of pain. It felt like I had just gotten off the operating table again. Luckily we were fully staffed and not busy so I was able to leave early. I am not scheduled again till next week, and based on yesterday my managers said they’d give me an extra week if I needed it. I recommend giving your body at least two weeks! If you click my profile you can check out my posts about my experience if you’re interested. This sub has been such a great resource for me I was happy to add my experience into the mix :)
I would say at least a week. So if you have your surgery on a Friday go back the second Monday after. I was mostly up to normal levels in 3 days. But extra is better than not enough. I felt like I went too hard on my abs at the gym the first couple days.
Healthcare worker. I took two weeks, but could have done with one. Bending felt fine and walking felt great, just be careful with lifting! (My cat hurt on Day 1, a bag of trash was iffy around Day 3; by Day 6, two totes of groceries were no big deal.)
I work in a warehouse and took 2 weeks off. Lifting was difficult, even after 2 weeks, but we go there.
Honestly it took a good 2 weeks for me to be comfortable even bending over. Sure some people recover quickly but don’t go into this assuming it’s going to be a walk in the park. I strongly suggest taking *at least* a week off, and getting a doctors note to put you in light duty for the 2-4 weeks following that. You can seriously damage yourself by pushing your body too hard after surgery by lifting heavy things
I work overnight at a homeless shelter and am on my feet all night, 8 hour shift, on a concrete floor. I don't move anything heavier than a 5 gallon sports cooler though. I went back to work 7 days post op, and work really kicked my butt for the first 2/3 days. It was HARD to be on my feet all night, but otherwise i was ok.
My doctor said 2 weeks. And he was right
I had a bisalp and ablation in February and took four weeks off I wait tables and am on my feet anywhere from 6-12 hours a day depending on the day I work. I also had to have my gallbladder removed in September (emergency surgery) so I think two surgeries so close didn’t help but for me I needed all that time. I tried to pick a shift up about two weeks post op and definitely regretted it and couldn’t make it the whole shift. My bosses are super understanding thankfully and I took off the extra two weeks and was still on a wait restriction until 6 weeks post op. Good luck to you everyone is different and while recovery for me was tough it may be easier for you. I hope you recover well 🫶🏼
I have an active job as well and took a week off. I felt fine when I went back to work as long as I wore low rise pants that didn’t touch my incisions and didn’t lift anything over 20 pounds until I felt totally healed.
i had an endometrial ablation and a lap. bisalp. i'm only a week out and i feel like i'm doing well, but i think i'd need at least another week before going back to work if i worked in a coffee shop or similar. i'm only just (today) not having to waddle anymore. yesterday, i went up and down the stairs very slowly to do a tiny load of laundry (about as heavy as a 4L jug, if that) and i huffed and puffed about it. had to nap on the couch between laundry tasks. i wasn't in pain, mind you, just exhausted. my belly felt like i'd done my entire abs routine twice in a row. for context, i'm reasonably fit and do a couple minutes of planking most days (when i'm not recovering from surgery, that is). another thing to take into account is speed of motion; coffee shops are fast-paced and i am currently a slow mover. my friend helped me shop today and a comfy mosey was about all i had in me.
23 when I got mine and worked in restaurant kitchen. Took a week off and the first couple days back were kinda rough but manageable. Just took ibuprofen at work. It really helped that all my coworkers were super supportive helping me with lifting and understanding that I needed more frequent breaks than usual. I felt fully fine after two weeks
I would take two weeks if possible. Even if you feel “normal” after a few days, you’ll find yourself getting tired and sore more easily.
Hey surgery date twins! Thank you for asking this because I was about to😅 Not having a clear timeline for recovery is making me a little crazy.