Would you do this? I feel weird about it but everyone is saying to take advantage

[Itsthebluecrayon]

I am due to have some minor ish surgery in May. I’ve been told recovery can take up to two weeks but a lot of people feel fine within 48 hours and back at work/usual tasks within a few days.

Obviously I’ve no idea how it will go until it gets to that point but having mentioned it to friends and family, everyone has said oh I hope you’ll make the most of taking some leave and have some time to yourself (or variations on this).

I don’t know if part of this is I’m a single parent so I haven’t had a ‘day off’ for over 2.5 years now (and toddler age child) or whether this would be the attitude generally. I haven’t had time off sick in several years and I have huge anxiety about it. I mentioned it to my mum (she’s not going to be impartial I guess!) and she said it’s obvious I am not well rested and I should think seriously about taking this opportunity in one go… taking multiple sick leave creates alerts whereas one following one event would not.

I have been really surprised by these comments and it’s made me think twice about rushing back in to work. What would you do? How long would you take?

Take the two weeks.

Your body may well need the longer recovery, even if you feel you can go back quickly it may well be adrenaline. And the rest will benefit your recovery and your mental state if you're burnt out.

@LittleRedRidingHoody 4 weeks has been suggested!

Definitely take the full 2 weeks. You may be up and down and if you go back early thinking you're better, you'll regret it. You will get little (or no!) credit for going back early anyway. Employers look after themselves first and so should you.

Don't rush back to work.
Tell them you will be off for at least 2 weeks.

I wouldn't milk it but do take off the time you need to recover. Not just to get to the minimum level where you can just about drag yourself through the day and your home life suffers as a result but well recovered.

Agreed - recovering properly is really important, from anything. If you return to normal life as soon as you feel sort of ok it can lead to a much longer period of recovery, setbacks, etc.

Take the full amount of time. I had major surgery which was actually 3 things at once and each one would have had a 6 week recovery period. I stayed off for 12 weeks (despite my HT asking if I was coming in for pupils' review meetings and if not, as I going to submit reports!)

You won't be sure how you feel until you've had the surgery.

If 4 weeks has been suggested then only taking 2 weeks is a bonus for your work! As a PP has said, don't be a martyr and make sure that you are fully better. Hope the surgery goes well.

I was hardly ever absent from work for years, but after an operation, I decided to get signed off for as long as possible to fully rest and recover. I felt so much better for it, if I were you I would not hesitate to take all of the time off that you're entitled to.

Sorry I mean friends and family have said four weeks, two to recover and two to just re set

I was told 2-4 weeks for gallbladder removal - expected to be back in a week - had a 1% chance complication and was out for 7 weeks in total - the last week was just resting after my last drain was removed as I had been through so much - you just don't know how you will be so plan for the worst imo

Take the full time your doctor advises. You might feel ok ish after a couple of days but healing is fatiguing on the body and you need to rest to fully recover. Going back to work too soon may well set you back and if you have to go off sick again this will count as 2 absences, so could be an issue with your sickness record, especially if you catch flu or something in the next 12 months.

There are no medals or prizes for struggling into work against doctors advice.

I think in general in this country we’re very quick to rush back to work as soon as we’re just about capable, rather than taking a little longer and recovering fully. But it’s much healthier overall to take a little more time to ensure you’re fully recovered, than to push things too soon.

I had gallbladder surgery a couple of years ago. It was a keyhole operation and within a couple of days I was ‘up and about’, as in I could move pretty normally and wasn’t in terrible pain. I could probably have returned to work then and survived (I was on maternity leave so didn’t have to). However, it was actually about two weeks before I felt properly recovered, over the effects of the anaesthetic, completely free from pain, back to my usual energy levels etc. I could have coped with working before two weeks, but I was much more fit at the end of two weeks than I was at the end of two days.

So my advice would be to plan to take as much time as you need! You can play it by ear. You may find a week is enough before you’re bored and looking for something to do. Or you may really appreciate a longer rest and recovery.

There are no awards for pushing yourself to return to work too soon. Your health is the most important thing, and ‘fit enough’ isn’t the same as ‘fully recovered’. Prioritise yourself and don’t feel guilty about it.

Take the time. Two reasons:

• There is in my opinion no such thing as minor surgery. I mean I know there is technically, but all surgery is surgery and is to some extent traumatic for the body, and carries an element of the unknown. Our bodies need time to recover in ways that can be hard to imagine before the surgery, but become very apparent after. I don't say this to scare anybody, but the people I know who have had 'minor surgery' recently have struggled more (both mentally and physically) with recovery because their expectations were not realistic. Those who have had more major surgery know they need to write off a period of time as doing/achieving almost nothing, then anything they do manage is a bonus.
• As you do recover, your priority for where you will spend perhaps minimal physical energy etc. is on your child, from whom it is much harder to take 'sick leave' than your job.

So yes I completely agree with the poster - take the leave until you feel properly recovered, not just until you can just about drag yourself through the day but everything else suffers, or you risk setbacks.

Goodness! Take the two weeks. If you feel uncomfortable about it, you could explain to your employer what you have explained here. Unless they are a very bad employer, or short of employees to cover your role, I'm sure they would want to take enough leave to ensure that you don't come back at a time when you might relapse or feel overstretched, or perform your role less well.

I had surgery a few months ago and I was in bed for the first 48 hours and then I needed to go do a food shop but I did take a few weeks off. I was still in pain but ok to potter around as a mum but I couldn’t bend or lift anything so took as much time as I needed.

I wouldn't explain anything to the employer. Makes it look like you're making excuses and gives them scope to guilt you if they so choose.

You get signed off by the doctor, you tell your employer how long he doctor has signed you off for, you stay off untill your sick note expires. No further conversation on the matter.

I would take the leave that your doctor recommends and also allow for a slow return to work. Going back full time after a period of leave will be exhausting.

I have a colleague having a hip replacement and she seems to think she will be wfh within days. I keep telling her that her mind and body need time to heal, get on top of pain and rushing her recovery will only cause more issues later. Take the 2 weeks and rest.

I’m surprised by the responses here. OP’s doctor hasn’t said she will definitely need two weeks. The doctor said recovery times range from a few days up to two weeks. That sounds like most people probably won’t need the full fortnight.

It probably also depends on OP’s age. If she’s 62 she’s likely to need longer. If she’s 32, not so much.

Obviously this is a nice opportunity to take time off because work aren’t in a position to question what you tell them. But the UK has an enormous productivity problem, and attitudes like have been expressed above are probably part of the reason.

PP also haven’t asked what OP’s sick leave policy is. She might not get paid her full salary while off sick.

OP, I would be honest with work and tell them exactly what your doctor said - recovery times vary from a few days to a fortnight, and you can’t know in advance where you’ll sit in that range. Judge yourself how you feel after a few days. If you can feel you’re not recovered, email work to tell them you’ll probably be off for the full fortnight. If you’re feeling good, email to say you’ll be in tomorrow.

In my experience - keyhole surgery for gynae condition - it took the time they suggested and more, although they did say that some people recovered in a matter of days. I ended up off for 3 instead of 2 weeks and was quite floored by it. So I would say you need to see how it goes and how you personally react and feel.

I wouldn't do that. If it's up to two weeks to recover, take the two weeks. If you're up and about in 48 hours, that's great. If you need longer, you've got it.

Four weeks for something that takes up to two weeks feels like taking the piss and I couldn't be comfortable with that, and from what you've said, I suspect you wouldn't feel comfortable either. Operation recovery time tends to also be pretty public information, so it'd be easy to find out what it usually is. Of course if you doctor feels you need more, that's different, but it feels odd to try and plan to double your time off.

I've had surgery twice while working. The first time (keyhole abdominal surgery) I took the full time I was signed off for (four weeks) even though I felt pretty much OK after a week. The second time (polyp removed from inside my nose) I was signed off for two weeks and went back after four days because I was OK apart from a sore face. Turned out to be a mistake. I felt knackered, couldn't focus, I was in pain and generally I think it hindered my recovery. Next time I would definitely take the full time off, or at least most of it.

I'm the same - hate taking time off and even when I was hospitalised during pregnancy for a suspected clot, I was working from my hospital bed. I ended up burning out 2yrs later and got Glandular Fever and ended up in hospital with that too. The constant burnout of having a toddler, working 60hrs a week managing the UK side of an international business and renovating our home meant that my body had enough. I signed off as sick for the first time in years (previously I'd just work from home/my hospital bed and not actually take it off as sick). It was amazing and I really needed it. The time off helped me put things into perspective and realise that I can allow myself to be human. I would definitely take this opportunity to reset and recover properly, not just by the bare minimum.

Take the two-week medical leave without question.