Minor heavy lifting 2-3 wks post op?

[seeking_relief]

I plan on having glandular excision, very little lipo, (im very lean, 6'0, 145 lbs), surgery for my puffy nipple gyne. What i was really concerned about was how my, occasional lifting and seldom manual labor job, will affect me after my surgery. I can definately take off a week, maybe 2 weeks if im lucky, but im worried about giving my employer a doctors note in fear of confidentiality of coworkers finding out about my surgery. Im a salesman at a lumberyard, im at the sales desk quite a bit, but at times, maybe 10 times a day, ill have to lift bags of concrete, plywood, lumber, etc. when helping people. If i lift items like this occasionaly, during the 2nd week post-op, is it really going to have a bad effect with the final contour of my chest? Is this kind of lifting probaly going to leave me with indentions on my pecs because of manipulating healing muscles while recovering? Will this kind of lifting during the 2nd week rip the stitches out and leave a terrible bad scar or stretch out the aereola region of my chest? Someone please help me out and maybe inform me on your lifting experiences maybe during your 2nd or 3rd week post op? What were you most capable of doing at work during this time of recovery? 

[RyanMace]

I went back to work after 6 days. I had just glandular excision though. I'm now 2 weeks post-op, and barely have any pain at all. It's just sore when I touch the area.

[MSJ108]

My doc told me I can lift after 3 weeks. I am going to go back after 3 weeks but go very light.

[seeking_relief]

Thanks for the info guys. The whole lifting thing just really has me worried, im to the point where i may just quit both of my jobs right before i have the surgery and take a complete 4 week break from the whole work thing, until i feel that lifting is no longer a problem, then find a new job. Im just going to have to really run a tight budget with my money during that month of unemployment while im recovering. So MSJ108, during like the 3rd week of post-op your still going to lift, just really light duty lifting at work? I guess the kind of lifting i do at work i personally in a healthy state wouldnt consider heavy lifting really, nothing more then 60-70 lbs a few times a day, but during recovery, i guess that would be considered heavy lifting? I just hope i can maybe have a lifting-free job by the time i have surgery, so i wont even have to worry about it. I plan on making this surgery a one time thing, with no following revision surgeries, i just can't afford going under the knife for a 2nd time  .  So im going to do everything i can and follow every one of the doctor's instructions for recovery to make sure i get the best results down the road. Really nervous, but very hopeful it all works out. 

[MSJ108]

You live the US? You should be able to get a medical leave of some sort...

[MSJ108]

I am already doing light lifting (20 lbs) around the house. I plan on lifting heavier weights in the gym (but go lighter than usual) after week 3.

[MSJ108]

GET A DOC'S NOTE BROTHER!! You do not have to quit!


Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993
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See also: Parental leave
The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (Pub.L. 103-3, enacted February 5, 1993) is a United States labor law allowing an employee to take unpaid leave due to a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform his job or to care for a sick family member or to care for a new son or daughter (including by birth, adoption or foster care). The bill, authored by Chris Dodd,[1] was among the first signed into law by President Bill Clinton in his first term, fulfilling a campaign promise.

Contents [hide]
1 Provisions
2 History
3 Controversy
4 References
5 External links
 


[edit] Provisions
The law recognizes the growing needs of balancing family, work, and obligations and promises numerous protections to workers. Some of these protections include:

Twelve (12) work weeks of leave per twelve (12) months for various reasons such as
Caring for the birth, adoption, or foster care placement issues
Caring for a sick child, spouse or parent
Being physically unable to perform one's job
Restoration to the same position upon return to work. If the same position is unavailable, the employer must provide the worker with a position that is substantially equal in pay, benefits, and responsibility.
Protection of employee benefits even while on leave. An employee is entitled to reinstatement of all benefits to which the employee was entitled before going on leave.
Protection of the employee to not have their rights under the Act interfered with or denied by an employer.
Protection of the employee from retaliation by an employer for exercising rights under the Act.
Generally, the Act ensures that all workers are able to take extended leaves of absence from work to handle family issues or illness without fear of being terminated from their jobs by their employers or being forced into a lower job upon their return.

The leave guaranteed by the act is unpaid, and is available to those working for employers with 50 or more employees within a 75 mile radius. In addition, an employee must have worked for the company at least 12 months and 1,250 hours in those 12 months.

The act also applies to all U.S. government employees and state employees. In 2003, the Supreme Court of the United States, in a 6-3 decision written by Chief Justice Rehnquist, upheld FMLA coverage for state employees in Nevada Department of Human Resources v. Hibbs. The state of Nevada had unsuccessfully challenged the provisions under the Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution.

The U.S. Code cite is 29 U.S.C. sec. 2601.

[almostpau]

I am almost 3 weeks post op with excision only, went back to work within 2 weeks and just started lifting again.  You shouldn't quit work.  You could request FMLA (mentioned above) and use leave (if you have it) or request LWOP (leave without pay), but still have your job back when you return.

My work involves repetitive lifting up to 100lbs, usually around 50lbs and I was able to handle it fairly well.  Just took my time and used my legs more than my arms for support.  For working out, I started with legs and will slowly move on to other muscles (light weight, high reps) and I am avoiding my chest muscles until the swelling goes down (right side is perfect, left side has some swelling and bruising).  Just doing cardio makes me feel a whole lot better while I wait it out to return to lifting normal again.

[seeking_relief]

I think i can pretty much cover the leaving part from work, one of my friends from work just took off 2 weeks unpaid leave just because he felt like it and needed a break. I'll just plan on taking off 2 full weeks, n try to schedule the very first day of my 2 week leave for my surgery, that way i get in the most recovery time during my leave. And hopefully upon return to work in the beginning of the 3rd week post-op ill be capable of lifting an average amount of weight. Im not really concerned about the pain aspect of lifting, i have a high pain tolerance, no big deal, im just worried about the heavy lifting effecting the final contour of my chest n messing with the final result of my surgery. This surgery is a huge deal to me, and if im going through it, and heavy lifting shortly after is going to effect the physical shaping of the surgery, it worries me a lot. Maybe im just worrying too much? I hope im just overeacting and things will go fine.

[seeking_relief]

Thanks for the research too MSJ108. I am from the US, and have an idea how i can get leave from work. I will take leave from work, and i just hope that when i do come back that i recover well enough that some kind of heavy lifting at work wont effect me too much. 

[MSJ108]

Thanks for the research too MSJ108. I am from the US, and have an idea how i can get leave from work. I will take leave from work, and i just hope that when i do come back that i recover well enough that some kind of heavy lifting at work wont effect me too much. 

You got it ... good luck!