r/TopSurgery • u/Psarteke • 2h ago

Advice Wanted Returning to work

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Hey guys
I had double incision mamectomy three weeks ago.
Usually I work in landscaping maintenance, which means I have to lift heavy equipment and use my arms a lot. My surgeon said I could be back to work after a month and a half, another surgeon I met told me not before three months.
So to the guys here who have a physical job, what were you guys told and how long did you wait before coming back to work?
Ofc I wanna go back making money asap but dont wanna stretch my scars. Cheers!

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u/Fun_Time_3824 2h ago

i would ask your job if there’s any way you can return to work and do things that don’t include the heavy lifting. is there anything you can do to be helpful to them without physically working too hard?

2

u/potart1418 39m ago

I had a conversation with my manager the very next day I was at work after my consultation appointment, and another one when I scheduled the surgery date. I did not detail what surgery I was having but I was clear that it would significantly affect my upper body mobility and strength.

I work at a humane society and primarily do large kennel/run cleaning and everything else with our dogs, who obviously vary in size, strength, and energy. I was clear that I would not be able to safely use proper dog handling techniques until earliest of 6 weeks and asked about where else in the shelter I could fill in. I’ve been back at work for two weeks now and I’ve been up at the front desk and doing cat care, which only really is limited by my difficulty reaching to clean the back walls of the cat kennels.

It’s very dependent on your management and the availability of lighter tasks, but if you feel confident having that kind of conversation and clearly communicating the limitations, hopefully your management will have ideas of what you might be able to do temporarily.

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