How long off work?

[Tingrinteacher]

Hello there,

I had my treatment plan posted through today, which details length of treatment and an outline of what I'm having done.

It states "you will then be admitted to hospital for an operation on each jaw to be carried out under the same anaesthetic and you are likely to be in hospital for two or three days. You will need two or three weeks off work after this time to recover".

I am having double jaw surgery and I am a full time teacher in a secondary school. When I had my four wisdom teeth taken out I had a massive face for about 10 days-2 weeks (hooray for very pale skin and ginger hair...!) Does this seem like a reasonable amount of time to be off work? As far as I was aware, I would have my mouth banded almost shut for 4 weeks?

Please let me know your experiences,

Gem xxx

[midnight]

I had double jaw surgery, was banded shut for 10 days and had 4 weeks off work. From what i've read, most UK people only seem to be banded shut for a week or so. It's the liquid diet that lasts almost a month.

They would have given me up to 6 weeks off but I was so bored that I wanted to go back! I'm still swollen now, 7 1/2 weeks after surgery, and the remaining of the swelling will probably take a few more months to go.

Obviously as a school teacher you would be talking a lot more and standing on your feet more than I would in my job and I'm sure that your consultant will take this into account when they sign you off work. My original sick note was for 2 weeks and then they gave me another one after that. If you're not fit for work, then your consultant or GP will sign you off. I assume the letter is probably just a standard thing they send out. I doubt they would sign you off just because you are still swollen but your energy levels etc... will take a while to fully recover! Talk to your consultant when you next see them. I felt nearly back to normal other than my swelling by 4 weeks but some people will take a lot longer than that to recover so how long you are actually off for will depend on you as an individual.

[Tingrinteacher]

Did you have double jaw surgery too? It's lovely to see your timings-I though my Ortho was taking the mick when he said my surgery would be 13 months after my braces were put on. (They would be 12, but they won't do my op just before Christmas!)

Are you also based in the UK? My schools is about to turn into an academy, and they may change the sickness pay and conditions, so im trying to get as much info sorted out before then. I am more worried about my year 11 students needing me together though their exams..!

Do you get yor sick notes off your doctor or your ornognathic surgeon?

How was your surgery? 7 1/2 weeks later can you honestly say it was worth it? Thank you for your reply. Xxx

[midnight]

Yes I had double jaw surgery. I'm in the UK and my surgery was at University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire. My jaw surgery was about 12 1/2 months after I had my braces put on. My surgery was originally scheduled for 14th December but it got moved to 28th December so I still got to eat a proper Christmas dinner

I was unlucky as I had only been working for my current employer for 4 months so didn't get my normal pay, only Statutory Sick Pay whilst I was off I decided I didn't want to delay my surgery though as I've been waiting for so many years!

Now that they use those 'fit notes' rather than 'sick notes' there's two options on them (sorry if you already know this but I hadn't got a clue!). The first option is: 'you are not fit for work'. The second option is 'you may be fit for working taking account of the following advice" - "If available and with your employer's agreement, you may benefit from: a phased return to work, amended duties, altered hours or workplace adaptations". I doubt you would want to go back at all for a couple of weeks but if after that you feel like you could do a couple of hours (i.e. just to look after your year 11s) you could always discuss the possibility of a phased return or altered hours.

I got my first sick note from the hospital ward when I was discharged but I did have to ask about this. They would only give me a sick note for 2 weeks though as they said the consultant would have to see me after that (the consultant found this very odd when I told him!) If you've got someone that will be visiting you at the hospital get them to ask the doctors or nurses about it for you if you want one straight away as you probably won't be able to speak enough to ask yourself if you are banded shut!

Otherwise I wouldn't have got one until my first appointment with the consultant post-op which is normally a week after but with bank holidays etc.. was slightly longer for me. I had to go and see my GP 2 days post-op after a mess-up with the antibiotics they gave me and I asked him about extending my sick note and they would have also happily done it for me too but said I should ask my consultant first as I would be seeing him before my first sick note expired. Anyway in the end the consultant provided me with my second sick note and asked what date I wanted it to lol. I said I wanted to go back to work at 4 weeks and he asked what kind of job I did etc.. (I only do a part-time office job) and said 4 weeks should be fine then. At this point you could always ask about one of the other return to work options. Your GP should be able to do it too though if it's easier for you to go and see them.

The surgery itself was ok. It took 4 1/2 hours and I wasn't in any pain when I woke up. I didn't like being banded shut with the wafer though as it was a very strange feeling and you trying to make yourself understood is pretty much impossible! Once they took the wafer out after the 10 days I was still banded but people could understand what I was saying. I also hated the hospital stay and left as soon as I could! I have some numbness but they reckon that most of the feeling should come back and to be honest I could live with the numbness forever without it annoying me too much. There was a lot of swelling and bruising and it took about 3 weeks before it started to go down considerably (although it peaked at around day 4). I'm still swollen now but they do say it can take months for it to go completely. There was no pain after the surgery or even in the weeks after it. It's uncomfortable and the diet can be very depressing so I have had my ups and downs. Liquid diets definitely aren't fun and you will lose weight! I've started to get ear ache in recent weeks which I think may be related but that's it. I still haven't decided whether it was worth it to be honest but I guess I haven't really experience the benefits yet. I still can't chew anything that's not mushy and with the swelling I can't tell whether I prefer the way I look now or not! I imagine that in the long run I will be very happy to have had the surgery though. I posted a picture of the difference in bite on my thread here: http://www.archwired.com/phpbb2/viewtop ... 23#p417323 I'm now wearing elastics all the time but hopefully it won't be too much longer before my braces come off!

I think everyone's experience of surgery will be very different but if you have any more questions feel free to ask

[Lc1987]

Hey,

I'm in the UK also, based up north. I'm having my meeting with the surgeon on the 28th of this month. I've been told the waiting list is around a month so i presume I will be having the op in April?

When are you scheduled to have it done? Be nice to know others going through it at the same time.

I'm having double jaw surgery, I've got deep and crossbite. I won't know exactly what they are planning for me till i have the meeting though.

x


(a bit about me...I'm 25, female, live in northwest uk and work freelance in media)

[HelenUK]

Hi,
I was off work for 4 weeks, banded shut for 2. Going back to work was hard and tiring, but quickly became easier. I had surgery 1 week before christmas day! The initial estimate for total treatment time was 18-24 months, with surgery after 12-18 months. My treatment ended up taking a lot longer than that, but I'm hoping to get my braces off soon.

[yellowhat]

Hi,

Tingrinteacher- I'm also a teacher so interested in recovery times. When is your surgery planned for?

Midnight- your teeth look amazing


YH

[troubledpatient0115]

I did not have double jaw surgery, but I had lower. I was not banded shut until 1 week post op, and then it only lasted for a week. I had surgery on a Tuesday, spent that night in the hospital, and returned to work the next Monday. I did not take off enough time AT ALL. I was exhausted and pushing myself to my limit every day. My suggestion is that you take of as much as your employer will allow and as much as you can afford to be gone. You won't be sorry; the more time you take the better. You will heal faster if you are more rested. I have had 3 surgeries now and multiple infections. I wonder sometimes if I had rested properly if I would have avoided all of that.

Good luck!

[Dolphinbite]

This is very helpful! I need to talk to my doctor. I was planning on taking 2 weeks off, but maybe I need more. Thanks!