How long did you take to return to work?

I see a lot of posts that talk about losing 50 lbs (or more) before returning to work.  From what I've read it seems that 1-2 weeks off should be sufficiant, however, I'm wondering if others chose to take extra time to help them transistion to the new "you" or if I'm wrong in my research.  If you did take longer was it covered by STD?  Or did you use up you vacation time?  I'm still in the "planing stage" and once I get through the six month behavior/diet modification for the insurance, and the 2 month work up, I'll only have a small window of time I'd be able to take off of work.  I'm starting to wonder if I need to delay this until I would have longer to take off at work.

 1 to 3 weeks is normal. You should not need more than 3 unless you lay bricks or work in a warehouse or dig ditches.

I had only planned on taking off 2 weeks, but ended up taking 3 because I was still struggling with nausea and getting enough fluids in. I had an open RNY, hiatal hernia repair and sub-total gastrectomy.

I took off 10 days but was allowed to work from home for the rest of the month so basically didn't go back to the office until September.

Company policies on paid time off for medical can vary widely.  I took 5 weeks off because that was what my doctor's note said.  I had an allergic reaction to my pain meds so I spent 1 week taking benedryl and sleeping.  But I used that time to get the new eating process down.  First week was clear liquids then 2 weeks of full liquids then 2 weeks of soft foods.  It was better being at home learning my new eating habits.

My employer requires 40 hours of PTO (vacation) to be used first then it goes into STD, I was paid the entire 5 weeks.  But a woman in a lower position was told she could only have 4 weeks off and would have to take the 5th week if she wanted more than that as PTO.  So she took week 1 and week 5 as PTO.  When she asked why I got more time off than her they explained it was because I was a director and she wasn't.  Then I got yelled at for discussing it with her.  My reply was that I did not realize it took Directorslonger  to heal from the same surgery.  People don't heal faster/slower due to their job title.  It was the most bizarre thing I ever heard. 

Most people seem to take two to four weeks, but it depends on what kind of work you do and how your recovery is.  I had complications and ended up being off for almost three months.  Since I work part time as a feelance writer, I did not have STD or vacation time.  I just lost a few months pay.

Hi, I am 4 weeks post-op today. My surgeon filled out my leave paperwork and put down 4-6 weeks.  My job approved me for the 6 weeks.  I had to use leave for the first week and then my STD kicked in.  I have been using this time to get used to the new way of eating and having to progress thru the food stages: liquids, pureed, soft foods ( what I am on now) and then will go to reg diet the week I go back to work.  I work on a computer for 10 hrs a day.  I am down 20 lbs since the surgery and am very thankful that I have this 6 weeks to get used to my new life before I go back to my stressful job.  Good Luck to you.. it is all worth it!

I'm a nurse and work 36hrs a week so I am required to use 36hrs of PTO then get paid at 100% for the remaining time I'm out of work.  My surgeon is giving me 8wks off as I was told I can't lift over 10lbs for 8 wks and as a nurse there is a lot of pulling/lifting of patients and my work days are 13hrs so they figure I need the extra time.

I'm thankful for the extra time as I really want to get my eating down to a good schedule.  I don't really get set break times or lunches, so I have to squeeze them in when I can and be able to snack and eat meals through the day.  Should have it down pretty well after 2 months.

I work at home, so I didn't feel like I would need that much time off. I had an open RNY and took about a week off.

I'm retired, but I went back to my volunteer "job" one week to the day after surgery...spent 5 hours there with no problems.