HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

Returning to work pushing a mouse

Support Forums
>
Prostate Cancer
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 10/2/2015 11:20 PM (GMT 0)
I push a mouse for a living in the IT World and I have surgery coming up. How long do you think it will take before I feel like I can work? If needed I even can work from home and do my job.
Posted 10/2/2015 11:24 PM (GMT 0)
3 weeks. You might be able to do a few hours a day as soon as you've stopped the pain meds.

Andrew
Posted 10/3/2015 1:44 AM (GMT 0)
I went back to work on day 20, and in retrospect it was too early. I don't have a pure desk job, and I found myself overdoing too early and had to take a couple more days off.

Pay attention to what your body it telling you.
Posted 10/3/2015 2:18 AM (GMT 0)
I was working from home (limited hours) around the end of week 2, early week 3
Posted 10/3/2015 11:14 AM (GMT 0)
Take off as much time as you need.

.
Posted 10/3/2015 12:09 PM (GMT 0)
you could probably begin pushing a mouse right away. But really, is that what you would want to do?
Posted 10/3/2015 12:27 PM (GMT 0)
As evidenced by the large number of guys who check in here the day after their surgery, you will be able to push the mouse in 2 days. You might not be driving it correctly but you'll be capable of it.
Three weeks seems about right if there are no significant complications.

Statistically, you will likely be packing pee pads and worried about stress incontinence. That will be your limiting factor.

Now get busy and empty that prostate!
"You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone."

Do it like Al Capone voted: "Early and often."

Jeff (Who wishes someone had given him the same advice.)
Posted 10/3/2015 3:35 PM (GMT 0)
Working from home you can do within a week. Returning to your desk at work you should wait until the catheter has been removed. My doctor recommended me to return to normal life early, recovery is faster when things are back at the normal routines.
Posted 10/3/2015 5:14 PM (GMT 0)
The main thing for me was getting the catheter out. Went back to my driving job in 16 days.
Posted 10/3/2015 7:00 PM (GMT 0)
I found sitting a little uncomfortable. Dr. said, "feels like a pine cone up your butt?" when I went for Foley removal. Ha, Ha. That was a perfect description!

Now, no longer feels like that, but 45 minutes of sitting is about long enough. It's getting better daily. Drove a school bus for a couple of hours twice last week for the place I volunteer to pick up kids. That was okay even though the seat was pretty worn out on the 20 yr old bus. Like others said, you can probably go back fairly soon, but listen to your body. Expect to need a nap though. :)

Paul
Posted 10/3/2015 7:22 PM (GMT 0)
Naps won't be a problem. I take them at lunch already even before PC was found.
Posted 10/3/2015 10:20 PM (GMT 0)
I too work IT at a large medical school. I had daVinci robotic surgery at the age of 60 and it went fairly well. I could have easily gone back to week after the second week. In fact after 10 days when the catheter was removed, I could have gone back to work, but I had tons of sick days so I took it easy and stayed out longer.

Your body will tell you when your are ready to return to work. If you are in good shape you shouldn't have any problems returning to work. I remember the first month I was restricted to no more then 10 pounds of lifting (which I thought was way to strict.)

Nick
Posted 10/4/2015 5:30 AM (GMT 0)
I used to write and maintain compilers for one of the BUNCH in the 70s and 80s! I'm from a generation of the "green dragon book".

So don't worry, pushing a mouse is not stressful. Its what you think about what's happening that causes stress.

My take on this sort of question is to let the day unfold.

Unless monetary consideration forces you to go back early, I'd say just relax, go for walks and cultivate relationships.
.
Posted 10/4/2015 1:36 PM (GMT 0)
Generally speaking, I also push a mouse, and so thought no big deal. I went back to work on day 9, and it was a mistake. You just don't realize the value of resting in your recliner, catching naps, and being without stress until you pass on it. You only get one chance to heal, take more time that you think you need. There's plenty mouse pushers that can cover you during this important healing time.

Good luck with your recovery!
Posted 10/5/2015 12:56 PM (GMT 0)
I'm the CTO of a very small healthcare IT company, and I felt pressure from the company to be back at work quickly. The words were "take your time, let yourself heal", but the e-mails about things that needed to be done were much more urgent.

So, I had my surgery on a Monday, and I was working from home by Wednesday. I'm sure I wasn't at my best, but I was able to contribute just a few days later.

I just had another surgery - much more significant than the RALP. This time, I was in the hospital for 5 nights, coming home on a Sunday. I worked part-time from home the day after I came home, and simply worked as many hours as I could handle. By the second week I was back in the office. I'm still only 3 weeks post surgery and I'm in the office again.

But, I don't want to sound heroic here in any way. To be honest, I think it was dumb to push myself so hard both times, and I wish I'd had other options. If we were a bigger company, I probably would have used FMLA and taken six weeks this time around.

I believe that in both cases, my rush to return to work slowed down the healing process and allowed the pain from surgery to last longer than it might have.

So, my best advice is don't do what I did. If I had a more stable employment situation, I would have taken more time for each surgery.
Posted 10/5/2015 4:18 PM (GMT 0)
I was in I/T also.
Felt like I could work within two weeks but stayed away a month because I pursued second op.
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply