Back To Work...help!

[miajnt]

I am scheduled to return to work in 3 weeks and Im nervous about how I will do. Feeling better at home when you can sit and rest at any time is different then running constantly at work.Anyone who has made it back to work have any tips or advice for me??

[hholmes13]

Hi miajnt, I've just been back to work for the past few weeks after being off since the beginning of May. My biggest piece of advice is to pace yourself and take breaks if you need it. Are you working with a doctor for your return to work? I've been working closely with a doctor in occupational med at work to help me get back. She had me start with 4 hr days every other day. I did that for a few weeks then went up to 4 hrs per day. Last week I moved up to 6 hrs per day. I'm allowed to try and go a full 8 hrs this week. I still have restricted duty with limited amounts of standing/walking around. The doctor said once I can tolerate full days at work okay we'll remove those restrictions. I'm really glad we did it this way. The only issue I'm worried about is things in my lab are kind of nuts right now. We're in crisis mode to get some grants funded and I find myself trying to help out more than I probably should. I was starting to feel lousy by the end of last week. I'm hoping I can keep it up. I've been feeling pretty well overall lately and want to keep that going.

Good luck! Don't try to do too much at once. I hope your boss/coworkers are understanding and don't try to push you too hard too fast. Really listen to your body and give yourself a chance to adjust. I know I've been napping more again since I've been working longer hours. It's hard to adjust being out and about so much. I hope it goes well for you!