Recovery Time post surgery

[Dawn]

I am considering surgery to remove the AN but am wondering about how long it took people to get back to work.  I have a somewhat physical job.  I am a Physical Therapist Assistant and I'm required to do a lot of bending and leaning over patients while I'm treating them.  I also do a lot of walking back and forth and instructed in exercises, while its not vigerous it is a lot of movement.  I have no idea about how long I would be out of work should I decide to go for surgery.  Any comments on recovery time would be great.  Thanks

[leapyrtwins]

Hi, Dawn and welcome to the forum.

As with most things AN, recovery post op is different for just about everyone.  Docs will tell you it's typically six weeks before you're back to work, but a lot depends on you and the side-effects you encounter.  The nature of your job, and what it involves, also is a factor.  Most of the things that prevent patients from going back to work for a time are balance issues, dizzyness, eye issues and fatigue.

IMO fatigue was the biggest factor that I encountered.  My docs warned me it would be extreme, but I didn't actually appreciate what they were telling me until I experienced it for myself.  The first time I took a shower I found I needed to lay down and take a nap    But things quickly progressed from there.

I'm an accountant (basically a desk job) and I returned to work 1/2 days two weeks post op and full days four weeks post op.  I didn't, however, return to driving until six weeks post op.  My mom came to stay with me post op and therefore I didn't really have to drive until six weeks because I had a built-in chauffeur.  Others on the forum returned to driving much sooner than I did.

Jan

[Jim Scott]

Hi, Dawn - and welcome to the site and forum. 

Jan ('leapyrtwins') pretty much summed up the situation.  The obvious answer to your request for a timeframe for going back to work is: 'it varies'.  Not much help, I know, but the only honest answer anyone can give you.  There are many factors involved with AN surgery that can complicate or extend the recovery time and some of those are simply not possible to know ahead of time.  As you can see from reading the posts on the forums here, everyone has a slightly different experience, making firm estimates of your ability to resume your job pretty much impossible.  The fact that you perform fairly physical work might be slightly problematic - but perhaps not.  To be prudent, I would estimate at least eight weeks for recovery and plan to return to work on a part-time bais (if possible).  If you experience a much faster recovery, you can always move up your return date or go right back to full time work.  I truly hope that will be the case. 

Jim

[chocolatetruffle]

hi dawn
welcome to the forum!  as mentioned, each person is different in terms of recovery time. it also depends on the nature of your work and your comfort level.  i went back to work after 12 weeks as i felt i needed the time to get comfortable working again in my environment and for me to perform at almost 100% level.  Even though i thought i was "ready", there were instances where my SSD would threw me a curve ball.  Key thing is listen to your body and let your body tell you when you are ready to go back to work.  hope this helps and good luck!

[Syl]

Dawn,

I was on medical leave for 2 full months after my surgery. I went back to work as sceduled, though I wasn't sure that I was ready. I was waking up every morning with a headache and wasn't sure how much that would interfere with my job. So I decided to start on the 1st wk with 4-hr days in the afternoon and take it from there. As it turns out, the 2nd wk I was back to full-time status. It was hard. By the end of the day, I was extrememly exhausted for about 5 wks. Some days were harder than others, but I found that getting back to work has helped me in my recovery. At the beginning I did take more breaks than usual, but I've managed amazingly well.

May I suggest that you begin with part-time days? And may I suggest that you spread your appts. out a little more to allow yourself some rest between appts?

Syl

[Keri]

I've been wondering about recovery too, now that my surgery is scheduled (translab).
What's IMO fatigue? Probably something obvious, but I can't figure it out!
Keri

[cindyj]

Hey Dawn,

As the others have stated, everyone recovers differently.  I am about 4 1/2 weeks out from surgery and don't think I would be ready to go back to work yet (I'm, thankfully not supposed to return til after the first of the year), especially if it were a physical job like you have.  I do feel good enough to get out and about, but not quite ready for work.  I've seen quite a few others say they were ready at six weeks or so - I know I continue to see big improvement with each week that passes.

Keri, "IMO fatigue" from Jan, is "in my opinion" fatigue   I didn't know what that was when I first joined the forum either.  And, she's right, IMO, fatigue was probably the worst thing for me - once I was over the nausea...

Good luck, you two and keep us posted,

Cindy

[Dawn]

Thank you all for your comments, at least I feel I will have some sort of idea about what the recovery is like. 

One other question.

How is the balance issues after surgery?

[Joef]

Thank you all for your comments, at least I feel I will have some sort of idea about what the recovery is like. 

One other question.

How is the balance issues after surgery?

Since your a PT .. which you might be a patient of after the surgery ... you will better understand what your patients feel lke !!

Balance issues, well of course everyone is a little different .. for me, I was much better AFTER surgery .. but not at first... I was on a walker the first 2 weeks! ... but today I kayak every chance I get  it can be a slow process...

[Dog Lover]

Hi Dawn,

Yes, I'd have to say that fatigue is the most frustrating thing for me, too. It rears it's ugly head just when you think all is well. The thing is...when I get really tired, then I feel wonky headed, although this is getting less and less the further out from surgery I get.

I'm an internet analyst, so a desk job, mostly on the computer. I went back to work 1/2 time from HOME at 6 weeks, and back to the office full time at 8 weeks. I have had a pretty good recovery, and let me tell you...it was tough. SOOO tired, especially by the end of the week. But, like another has said, I really think that going back to the office helped in my recovery. I also wasn't driving until about 5 weeks.

Balance issues are different for everyone. I never had any spinning dizziness...just the feeling of being unbalanced. The first couple days were the worse, but after the nausea went away (anesthesia related for me) things improved pretty quickly. Now after ALMOST 4 months post op, I still get an occasional feeling of light headedness, but that is slowly getting better each week, too. Thank God.

Cathy