HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

Returning to work after Ralp

Support Forums
>
Prostate Cancer
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 7/13/2010 2:15 PM (GMT 0)
Hi All,

I know this is a hard  question to answer but I'm looking for other people's experiences.  My husband is having ralp 8/9 and has put in for a two week leave-he has a lot more sick leave saved up but is hoping to go back to work then.  He's in excellent health, exercises daily, eats very well ect ect.  He's a very active person who hates sitting around.  He has an office job, but I don't think he has any idea that he's just not going to bounce back immediately.  Can some of you who've had the same treatment tell me how long it was before you went back and your experiences-maybe reading them will give him a more realistic idea.  I know everyone is different, but a sampling of a few different people would really help.

Thanks ,

Renee

Posted 7/13/2010 2:21 PM (GMT 0)
I missed 8 working days but could have retured to my office job a little sooner.
Posted 7/13/2010 2:21 PM (GMT 0)
Hi - I had the robotic surgery on Dec 15, 2009, and returned to work Jan 4, 2010 - 20 days off. I too have mostly an office job (Professor), but did have to be on feet for teaching that week. Other than being a bit tired, I was fine. I had the catheter in for two weeks, however, due to leakage detected at the urethra-bladder reconstruction after one week. I would not have been comfortable going back to work with a leg bag. I think having a two week goal is admirable, although it might be ambitious.
Posted 7/13/2010 3:01 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks Steve and Profman-after reading your replies I'm feeling a bit more positive about his plans-which we all know can go out the window! Anyway, I hope he will do as well as you both have.

thanks,

Renee
Posted 7/13/2010 3:06 PM (GMT 0)
My doc told me to take 2 weeks from work. I work from home and i have desk job.
Looking back I should have taken 1 week more. Remember, the injury does not show outside, but lot is damaged inside to recover.
The full recovery takes many month and rest for first few weeks set the tone.
Posted 7/13/2010 3:12 PM (GMT 0)
I had DaVinci in October '09.
Because I normally work from home, I was actually working short days the next week.
However, because of a driving prohibition and weight lift limits, I could not have returned to the office for at least a month, and even then could not have carried more than a laptop.

My doctor suggested planning for 5-7 weeks out of the office.

In reality, because it took 3+ months to get any type of continence back, I could not have worked in a public place, limits and suggestions aside.
Posted 7/13/2010 3:15 PM (GMT 0)
Renee,

I had my surgery on June 1.

I work at home, mostly doing work on a computer.

I was back full time in a week. But I did not do any lifting over 5 pounds and every couple of hours I would lay down for 15 minutes. I also would stand up and walk around for a minute or two every 30-45 minutes. I also used an extra seat cushion for a couple of weeks that helped.

Sitting around doing nothing, stresses me out + I love my job so I was very anxious to get back to work. It worked out fine.

Dan
Posted 7/13/2010 3:15 PM (GMT 0)
Inluding the surgery, I was off work 13 working days  - my biggest challenge was the incontinence and managing it while at work.  Not ashamed to say I had a full Depends "diaper" with a pad inside and there were times when even the double protection nearly failed.  But, I was fine otherwise, a bit tired and so forth.

Posted 7/13/2010 3:31 PM (GMT 0)
   I went back after 3 weeks. Things went quite well. NO LIFTING! Try to sit more than stand at first, and void often.

Best of luck,

steve

Posted 7/13/2010 4:08 PM (GMT 0)
I took 2 weeks off and then slowly worked my way back into the swing of things. And I too exercised regularly. But if your husband goes back to work and then feels he needs more time, hopefully he will listen to his body. Good luck and keep us posted on the surgery.

Michael

Posted 7/13/2010 5:37 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks, guys, for the replies. You all seem to do pretty well, which is encouraging, but I quess we'll just have to see how the incontinence issue goes. His surgeon has done over 3500 ralp, which I'm hoping helps, but I realize every case is different. Anyway, I'll be watching that he doesn't lift anything, rests and will make sure that he takes more time off if he needs it. Again, thanks!

Renee
Posted 7/13/2010 5:51 PM (GMT 0)
Renee,

I just had surgery 5 days ago.... I took 8 weeks (maybe extreme) just to be on the safe side. I can always go back sooner depending on how I feel. My job can at times be a little more strenuous.
Posted 7/13/2010 5:57 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Vam,

I've been following your recovery thread-it's been very helpful to me. Thanks.


Renee
Posted 7/13/2010 6:30 PM (GMT 0)

I have an office job and I took 2 and half weeks off.  I probably could have gone back sooner - I was actually working from my blackberry the day after surgery and spent an hour or so a day answering emails but stayed out of the office for the 2.5 weeks. 

It seems like everyone is different so your husband's body will probably let him know when he's ready to go back. 

Posted 7/13/2010 7:42 PM (GMT 0)
I had open surgery and was off a total of 10 working days. When I look at that I realize I am a bit of a workaholic.
Posted 7/13/2010 8:06 PM (GMT 0)
I had my catheter in for 2 weeks. I sure wasn't going anywhere with that thing. Also for the first couple of weeks I was pretty tired and took 2 naps a day. I'd vote for 3 weeks, if possible. Even using several pads a day, I was good after 3 weeks.
Posted 7/13/2010 8:43 PM (GMT 0)
I'm a professor. We had about 3 1/2 weeks left in the term, so I took that time off. We then had a 2-week break.

That worked out fine. I could have returned a bit sooner.

Mel

Posted 7/13/2010 9:45 PM (GMT 0)
My doctor, and several friend who had had the surgery said it would be six weeks, and I was away from the office for six weeks and glad I had every one of them.

I could have gone back earlier --- but this is major stuff and I wanted to give my body the best chance possible to heal.

Sheldon AKA Sleepless
Posted 7/13/2010 10:15 PM (GMT 0)
I was out of work for 2 weeks. I have an office job so physical ability was not an issue. My only problem was severe incontinence that sometimes would overwhelm the pad I was wearing. It's about 180 paces from my desk to the men's room.

Wishing you the best of luck,
Bob
Posted 7/14/2010 1:36 AM (GMT 0)

I was off of work for 3 weeks (desk job mostly).  I then worked  some short days to get back to thinking about it.  Someone in good shape and antsy could get back to work in two weeks if they had to.  Just take the time off if he needs it!  I was crawling around in my attic at 3 1/2 weeks.  I wouldn't suggest anyone do that.  Not unless you really need that TV antenna installed.

Best wishes for successful surgery for your husband,

Dan

Posted 7/14/2010 4:42 AM (GMT 0)
Part of going back to work has to do with the "facilities" or "WC" at the workplace.
One issue I have is the folks who occupy the thrones as newspaper consumption stations.

At best I have to drop trou to pee, but better if seated (I have the "wide area" spray that some complain about). In an environment where people like to read the whole WSJ on the pot, it made the office a very hostile environment, as they occupy the stalls at 100% for hours.

After the first trip home in wet pants down to the knees, I decided working at the office was not good.
Posted 7/14/2010 6:52 AM (GMT 0)
Renee (& husband)

The posts so far suggest that going back to work, when it's an office job, is not too complicated when it comes to being able to do the work. (I work at home and was starting to do stuff again within a couple of days of surgery).
It is jobs that invovle a lot of physical activity like lifting (but even walking standing and driving) that are harder to go back to sooner.

What needs to be addressed has more to do with the practical side of being able to get to the bathroom in time. I think we have all had near misses, leaks or even floods, so perhaps working out an alternative arrangement for emergencies might be worth it. Does he have his own office? Can he, for instance, lock the door and use an empty bottle?
And the journey to and from the office is another aspect many of us have had to rethink. In the past a forty-five minute drive with the odd delay for heavy traffic etc was not a problem, but after surgery the location of restrooms along the way will be something that will need to be checked. For those that commute by train running to catch a train may be a thing of the past, so you have to allow an extra couple of minutes to get to the station in time etc.

It will I imagine also be useful to keep a bag at work with a change of clothes.

And as his recovery progresses week by week his routine may also have to be adapted as he learns from his experiences.

But for now concentrate on other stuff before surgery.

Alf
Posted 7/14/2010 12:32 PM (GMT 0)
My husband also has a desk job and a 7 mile commute to his office. After surgery, he stayed home for one full week, then started working from home a couple of hours a day. By the second week, he was back in the office full-time. However, he has admitted that he should have taken a little more time to recuperate before jumping into work with both feet. Remember, what you will see on the outside after surgery is nothing compared to what's been done on the inside. And even though the catheter was out 9 days after surgery, he experienced stress incontinence for a few weeks which caused anxiety driving to work (as short as the commute was) as well as during the day (he was running to the bathroom every 15 or 20 minutes for a while).

And the after effects of being under general anesthesia for a long time (in my husband's case, his surgery took almost 5 hours) takes its toll.
Posted 7/14/2010 1:32 PM (GMT 0)
Once again, thanks for your experiences. And , yes, Alf-he has his own office-the idea of using a bottle just might work-he's been doing this for months working on our sailboat in the boatyard so that he doesn't have to use the creepy boatyard bathroom! His drive is only 5 minutes and the place he works is very flexible, so he really can take off extra time if he needs to. Don't think his idea of going back to work in 2 weeks is driven by his desire to get back to work - I just think that he hasn't really considered the recuperation--especially, the incontinence issue. He's the type of person who don't worry too much about future events and hasn't really been thinking that much about his surgery and beyond. He actually told me that days go by that he doesn't even think about his pc- which I find amazing! I plan on having him read all of your replies; I think it will be very helpful to him to see how you've all done-which seems to be pretty well.

Thanks,

Renee
Posted 7/14/2010 3:01 PM (GMT 0)
I had open surgery, and was on a catheter for over 2 months after surgery. So I am not a good example. It took me about 3 full months before I felt even vaugely healed up enough to consider being able to work. But I was not an exercise/go to the gym/sporty kind of guy, not a lazy slob, more like a fresh slice of white bread.

Good luck to your husband. Important thing to remember: He needs to learn to listen to his body after surgery, walk when able, but not to overdo the exercise part, take stool softeners daily, learn patience if he hasn't already, and be prepared for possible twists and turns.

He must remember, robotic or not, he is still under a very invasive, major, and complex surgery, and all his plumbing is going through a major change and re-routing. He needs to be totally compliant to his surgeons post surgery instructions. And yes, if he needs pain meds, encourage him to take them, toughing it out is a silly notion, and does nothing but retard the healing process.

david in sc
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply