Back to work?

[gfromoh]

Trying to get an idea of when I can expect to return to work following surgery.  I am in sales, which requires me to be on the road at least half the time.  I do however, have the freedom to schedule myself in the office following my return to work.

Two questions:

1.  When can I expect to return to the office?
2.  When will I be able to drive?

[Pat Walter]

Hi

Welcome to Hip Talk.

Everything after surgery depends on 2 things - What your surgeon will allow and what your body will allow you to do. There is no crystal ball that will tell you ahead of time how quickly your body will heal.  We all heal at different rates.  Some people have returned to work in a week, but most take many weeks. You can see from the poll that everyone is different  http://surfacehippy.info/hiptalk/index.php?topic=1016.0

So no one can answer your question for you.  They can tell you what happened to them, but it does not mean your body will heal the same way.  I am sorry, but we are all individuals.  If you have had problems for a long time, then your muscles may take much longer to get back into shape.  If you are older, it might take longer.  If you are not in good physical shape - it could take longer.

So you will just have to be patient post op and see how things are going for you.  Also, you will need to get your surgeon's OK to return to work and driving.  If you don't have it and get into an acident - you could lose your insurance and have problems. 

Hope you hear about your progress.  When are you getting a resurfacing and who is your surgeon?

Pat

[gfromoh]

Thanks Pat.

I am scheduled for surgery on Dec. 21 with Dr. Brooks (of Cleveland, of course).  I feel very comfortable with my decision to have the surgery and confident in his ability.

I understand each of us responds differently to the trauma of surgery - I am simply looking for a "ballpark" on returning to work.

[Tarhoo2]

I was back at work (in the office) after 5 weeks, although I was doing a fair amount of work (3-4 hours per day) from home -- e-mail, etc. -- within a week.  I am in pretty good shape and had no serious complications.  My orthopaedist may be a bit on the conservative side, but I adhered to his protocols strictly.

Good luck!

[pamela1130]

Hi, I am 17 days post op and not ready to go back to work, though I do work from home (computer and phone work)  I feel I am not ready to drive yet, though it is surprizing what you can not do one day, you feel up to the next, so who knows?  I hopefully expect to be driving in about a week.   I am 55 years old and was in pretty good shape before the surgery as I did a lot of walking and swim aerobics.   If I had a sales job, right now, today, I could not do that. I would be too afraid, but thihs is just me.  Good Luck!!  Happy Healing.  Pam

[mpschrader]

I'm returning to teaching high school math next Monday.  I'll be 3 weeks post op.  I can spend as much time off of my feet as I need but I'm a little worried about mental fatigue.  I'll let you know how it goes.

Mark

[Tekka]

Hi,

If you can sit as much as you want, then you should be ok. I was back at work at 10 days but that was way to early and I would not advise that.

What you need to watch for is fatigue, you don't want to run yourself down and maybe pick up a cold. We all recover at different time lines, so just listen to your body and doze if you can.....i was always falling asleep in my math lesson, just kidding.

Best wishes

Terry

[mpschrader]

that's what I meant by "mental fatigue,"  I was talking about my students!

[Gav]

I was back behind my desk at work 10 days post op working part time. I started driving again perhaps 3 weeks post op, but not long distances. Went back to work full time, 6 weeks post op. Luckily I work in a family business, and as such my father was able to take me in to work!!!! Bless him!!

Unfortunately my car has bucket type seats which apply pressure to my incision, so I have been sitting on a pillow, and I still am now 8 weeks post op. It causes some discomfort, when I first get out even now.

[Barbara]

I had 8 weeks off after each surgery and needed every minute of it. In fact, I went back to an office job and it was another 4 months before I went back to my patient care position (I'm an RN) and that was way too soon. I have hurt myself a few times lifting and moving heavy patients. I wouldn't advocate going back to work too soon.
Everyone's different though. Good luck to everyone returning to work.

Barbara

[B.I.L.L.]

I am a self employed pool maintenence/repair guy. I was doing office work for a couple hours at a time after the 2nd week, but it was 7-8 months before I was back in the field carrying tools, bending over, squatting, in and out of the truck all day etc.  And I have just recently (13-1/2 months out) started getting through the days with no pain meds, it sounds like a long time but its pretty physical work. I'm sure everyone is different. I know Wayne-O's surgery was 2-3 months after mine and he was doing tile work while I was still gimping around, and he had 2 at once     I would guess 6 to 8 weeks at least before I'd want to spend any length of time driving, but that was my experience.  Knowing what I know now, I would have gotten into better shape before the surgery, (You might be in great shape now, I wasn't) My advice is to go in as light and strong as possible, Good Luck.