I need to have gallstones removed, will I need lots of time off ?

[thisfoofooisallmine]

It's the keyhole surgery which means I'll be back home 3 to 4 hours after surgery. How long will I need off ?

My neighbour had keyhole surgery and was off work for six weeks. She wasn't allowed to lift heavy things like shopping. Hope it goes okay.

Was off for two weeks after keyhole to remove gallbladder but could probably have gone back sooner.

They say 2weeks but I was doing absolutely everything, with no pain, by 10 days. The last thing was bending down to unload the dishwasher and I managed that by day 10.

the worst bit for me was trapped wind in my chest, I was ok after 4-5 days but possibly milked it for 7-8 days hope it goes well

God yes, the trapped wind was dreadful. The hospital gave me some minty gel stuff to drink and it was magic.

They'll give you a note for two weeks. The worst bit is all the trapped wind from the air pumped into your abdomen. They won't tell you anything about not doing any lifting for a gallbladder as the holes are so tiny - 3 are one or two stitches only, the one in your belly button is four.

The last niggling bit of pain turned out to be my stitches pulling - they come out after about 7 days. After they were out I was bored and completely back to normal and could have gone back to work but I promptly got a cold so I took the full 2 weeks.

I had two weeks initially, went back for another week as I was still in discomfort (ended up back in hospital again due to a minor complication the day after surgery which probably slowed my recovery) but my gp wanted me to have 2 weeks - and I wasn't complaining! So 4 weeks off in total.

I have 8 gall stones to remove ! I'm self-employed so I can't really afford the time off..I'll need to do a lots of saving :-( Is there any sort of benefit I can claim while being off sick ? Thank you for your answers !

dh was off for 3 weeks, it took about a week to recover from the op, but he was obviously really run down and ended up with a bad case of gout in his feet so was off an additional 2 weeks with that.

What are you self employed doing? If you're a gardener then you'll need more time off than if you're desk based.

A girl at my work just had this op. She thought she would be alright after 2 weeks but needed an extra week off.

I took two weeks off, but should've taken a third week really. I was so tired.

I was signed off two weeks prior to op as it flare up and I was in agony then signed off for 6 weeks afterwards. I was advised by hospital that I was not to lift anything heavy for 6 weeks and as I humph heavy case notes at work, I was off for the full 6 weeks. The gp surgery signed me off straight through and I probably could have been back earlier but to be honest I needed the time to get my energy and fitness level back. I was in a lot of pain for 2 weeks and wiped out for a few weeks after that. Even sitting in my office chair would have been very uncomfortable up to around 5 weeks.

I don't see the point in rushing back if there is pain and discomfort. There is loads of internal healing to be done and it takes time. The nurse discharging me said she thought everyone should at least have an overnight stay as even though it's routine it is still quite a major op in terms of recovery.

I had keyhole btw. Good luck and don't worry as it's well worth getting, I've never felt better.

Thank you for all your posts ! As I'm sure it's not going to be done overnight, I'll have plenty of time to save money.

You can claim some sick pay. I am self employed and got money when I was off after my husband died.

I had mine removed 18 months ago. Had it done at 5pm. Was at mcdonalds having a milkshake at 9pm and out dancing 4 days later. Two weeks off but as other poster said, I could have gone back sooner.

Had a gastric sleeve a few months ago and only had a week off

DH had this op by keyhole day surgery earlier this year. He was told he couldn't drive for 7 - 10 days and wasn't allowed to lift anything heavy for 6 weeks - in fact he was told no lifting at all for the 1st few days, including the kettle or hoovering like that would have been a problem for him

The GP signed him off work for 4 weeks, even though he has an office job, but he went back to work after 10 days, as he was fine - would have gone back sooner, but had a funeral to go to the day before he went back

How long you should take off very much depends on what type of work you do and your recovery will depend on how fit you are in the 1st place.

No, I was pretty much fine after a couple of days, went abroad in holiday after two weeks, all fine.

so it depends of the person, thank you everyone !!

Sorry op, I was off for 9 weeks