When Did U Go Back to Work???

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#1 Post by **Graceful58** » Sun Dec 07, 2008 8:46 am

I'm curious how long everyone was off from work when they had their jaw surgery? I'm having lower and genio and I was thinking a week or two..but now I'm hearing many who had a to take a lot longer. How long were you out from work??? What surgery did you have??? If you went back early, any complications??? Thank you

#2 Post by **~danielle~** » Sun Dec 07, 2008 10:36 pm

I took just under 3 weeks off work after by BSSO (advancement) + genio. I took 2 weeks off school (had only morning classes at the time) and went back to my part-time cashier job less than a week after I was back in school. I personally would not have taken any less time off due to a number of reasons:

1) the surgery totally messed up my sleep schedule, so I couldnt fall asleep before about 2-3 am, which made getting up early for work/school hard
2) because of the liquid diet, it was hard to get the amount of food in to give me enough energy to last the day (or for that matter, 2
3) my swelling and bruising were pretty severe (even my surgeon was surprised

) so going out in public was kind of scary at first
4) because of the elastic bands I still had on, I still had a bit of a lisp when I spoke

I dont think that going back ealry would have had any kind of serious downfalls.. I may have needed an extra couple minutes on my breaks or shorter shifts than my usualy 8.5 hours at worst, oh and A LOT more concealer lol

#3 Post by **Emaciated** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 12:15 am

I took 4 weeks for an upper, lower, genio which was fine but I encourage more if possible. Sure if I had needed to I could've gone back after 3 I think but as it was I was still microwaving oatmeal and struggling to not be seen while I slurp down a liquid lunch of some sort. The whole thing is just such a pain in the ass, why put up with all that in the office? So much easier to not have to deal with looking presentable when you feel like hell, looking like you're a professional while you feel like some sort of frankenstein creature, and have still not gotten used to speaking properly, know what I mean? I vividly remember coming back to work and seeing the pile of **** sitting on my desk that had been accumulating while I was out and thinking to myself, "This is the LAST thing on my mind right now. I can't feel my freakin face, how the hell can I be expected to deal with this right now?"

Take as much time as you can, and if you have no time, just make the best of it I guess. Its just a job, don't let it overwhelm you.

Keep in mind too that once you're back at work, people think of you as "back to work," they don't think of you as "back to work but still recovering."

#4 Post by **Figamentation** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:19 am

The above is exactly why I actually felt FORTUNATE to get laid off at work not long before my surgery was scheduled. I am in sales and the thought of trying to communicate effectively with my jaw recovering was one of the reasons I had delayed getting it done for over a year. Now I can just relax at home and once my bands are removed I can begin looking for work again...meanwhile recovering without the pressures of work responsibilities, taking time away from work for the numerous follow up doctor visits, getting my daily caloric intake while spilling gobs of it on my suit, etc. Even though I had flexibility to work from home for a good amount of time, the fact that I don't have to make client visits and presentations during my recovery really set my mind at ease. I'm currently at day 19 or so since my surgery after upper and lower and while I could have conceivably been fine by now, I'm really grateful that I don't have to worry about it.

#5 Post by **Graceful58** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 12:35 pm

I'm in a bit of a different senario. I'm going through a divorce and I only work part time right now, not enough to pay the bills. I've been looking for full time employment for several months now and still haven't found a full time job. I continue to look for full time employment as I need full time pay to live as my savings is gone. I am now ready for surgery and have a date for Dec 31st...if I did get a job between now and Thursday, Dec 11th (when I go to the ortho to get my surgical wires on) I'd either put my surgery off for another 1 -2 months so that at least I could start my new job without having to ask them for time off...it's just a difficult time trying to decide when to get my surgery...thanks for your input on time off from work.

#6 Post by **Lushpulp** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 6:53 pm

I just had lower jaw surgery on Dec 9th and i'm taking off a little over 2 weeks. I'll be going back on Dec 26th.
Good luck finding a full time job!

#7 Post by **kaycee** » Sat Dec 13, 2008 6:51 am

Graceful,

I too had changed jobs a few months before my first surgery was scheduled. As part of the negotiations, I asked for four weeks of unpaid leave in exchange for starting my job four weeks earlier than budgeted. I work in the office of the school superintendent, so everything is budget based. And even though I had planned for four weeks off from work because I didn't know what to expect, I was ready to go back after two and a half weeks (even though I didn't.) The procedures I had were BSSO and LeForte I. The only problems I had were after speaking for long periods of time, my jaw muscles became very tired.

My second surgery was a redo of the BSSO and Leforte. I went back to work after ten days and felt fine, maybe just a little more tired at the end of the day. Of course, I went back to work Thanksgiving week, so it was a short week anyway.

I too am divorced with three teenage children, one of which has significant developmental delays. I could not have done any of it (two surgeries, work, go thru a divorce, etc.) without a lot of support from friends and family. I'm sure you have friends you can rely on for personal support and who are there for for you when you need them. Take care of yourself after surgery and you will back on your feet before you know it. Good luck.

kaycee

#8 Post by **Thathrill** » Sat Dec 20, 2008 6:18 pm

I was forced into a small window. Doctors said I had to have at least 2 weeks off. Unfortunately I had to be fully banded for 5 weeks so it was a bit frustrating. I recommend 3-4 weeks.

#9 Post by **Graceful58** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 8:27 am

Just an update. I had my surgery Dec 31st and went back to work on Jan 12th. So I had eleven days off before I went back to work. I was banded my first few days back to work and then had my two week follow up that Wednesday and the OS had me wearing just one band on each side during the day and banded tight at night. It helped tremendously to be able to talk freely and working a part time job to begin with worked out perfectly as I was dead tired by the time I got home.

#10 Post by **Skitters** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 10:29 am

Wow, I'm amazed at how fast some of you went back to work. I'm on day 6 and am no where NEAR feeling ready for work. The biggest problem is I can't sit upright without holding a rag to my face to catch the drool.

A problem I'm gonna have is my job itself. I deliver mail and my day consists of walking 15 miles with 5-15lbs of mail on my shoulder all day. I'm out in the cold (lately it's been steady in the teens) and snow (about 2 feet right now) and am really worried about going back.

Any suggestions about how long anyone thinks till I'll be ready to at least give it a half day?

My surgeon kept telling me a desk job would put me off a week (yeah right!!!!!I wouldn't even be ready for that by Monday) and he wants me off 2-3 wks considering what I do because of the weight lifting. Any opinions on that? ??????

#11 Post by **funkyrhodes** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 1:47 pm

Gosh, if it takes almost 2 weeks to recover from just the lower jaw surgery, how long will it take for both jaws? I'm getting mine done on a Friday, then I was going to take next week off, then come back the following Monday. It doesn't seem like that's possible. I'm sure my surgeon will be able to give me a better idea as to how much time I need.

#12 Post by **Emaciated** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 5:35 pm

funkyrhodes wrote:Gosh, if it takes almost 2 weeks to recover from just the lower jaw surgery, how long will it take for both jaws? I'm getting mine done on a Friday, then I was going to take next week off, then come back the following Monday. It doesn't seem like that's possible. I'm sure my surgeon will be able to give me a better idea as to how much time I need.

See my post above. I would definitely encourage taking more time if you can after both jaws.

#13 Post by **Esoteric** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 3:09 pm

My surgeon said that I WILL be taking off 4 weeks from work, no ifs ands or butts lol. So that's what I'll be doing. I plan to use one week of vaca and the rest will be FMLA. Of course my surgery is 8 months from now so with the way the economy is going I'm praying that I don't get laid off.

#14 Post by **FuzzyPants** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 11:08 pm

With your job I would definitely take at least three weeks off. I was back at work full time (in an office) after two weeks and was exhausted by the end of the day.

#15 Post by **funkyrhodes** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 11:28 pm

KarlClayLA wrote:
funkyrhodes wrote:Gosh, if it takes almost 2 weeks to recover from just the lower jaw surgery, how long will it take for both jaws? I'm getting mine done on a Friday, then I was going to take next week off, then come back the following Monday. It doesn't seem like that's possible. I'm sure my surgeon will be able to give me a better idea as to how much time I need.
See my post above. I would definitely encourage taking more time if you can after both jaws.

Dude, I think that is the call...there is no way I'll be OK to get back to work so soon. Thanks for the info!