Going back to work

[Wondr1]

I’m 6 weeks post kidney transplant. I’ve been given 8 weeks to return to work from my doctor. I was surprised at the limited time I had. I never really talked about going back till 12 weeks through my FMLA, but he thinks 8 weeks is enough. I work in a clinic with over 30 people and I’m concerned with me being immunocompromised. No one wears masks and no one has to be tested for Covid. Can anyone out there tell me. How long was it before you went back to work. I’m still very fatigued, not sleeping well and have all sorts of stomach issues.

[Tolmezzo]

Oh my God! Normally you should have at least 6 month and come back at work only if your condition are allowing that. Is not a decision a doctor can make based on statistics. Rgs

[Wondr1 in reply to Tolmezzo]

I agree. Thank you Tolmezzo for your reply. My transplant coordinator said she would look into it. I’m hoping I can get the full 12 weeks.

[ShyeLoverDoctor]

You are most immune compromised first three months. See if you can put it off until then.

I felt like crap for four months. Fortunately I don’t work. I had friends take me to all my appointments.

[Wondr1 in reply to ShyeLoverDoctor]

You are blessed to have good friends. Thanks for your reply. Hopefully they’ll amend it.

[Sinigang]

you are highly immunocompromised 3-6 months post transplant.. I don’t know what your Doctor is thinking. I only took my hubby on 5 months post transplant in a restaurant weekday at lunch where barely customers are there.

As per the instructions you try not to go out on weekends when everyone is out .

And when he has appt. With transplant team.

That’s the only time he goes out ..

And that is 5 months now .

I won’t go back to work yet unless you can work remotely or be in the office most of the time .

Better to be safe .. it’s a long long process to recovery. These anti rejection meds does horrible things on your body .

High blood pressure , increase blood sugar .

I din’t allow any family members visit him the first 5 months

Jus t now .5 months 2 weeks..

[Wondr1 in reply to Sinigang]

They made it so emergent to stay away from being in crowded places due to being compromised. I only go to my doctors appointment. Thank you so much for your reply.

[Ahmad_92]

It is different from one to another,For me i started 2 weeks after but work from home, 6 weeks i return to office,

But in the second week it was very hard on me, i needed a lot of sleep, headache was hard on me from immunsuppress

For you if you feel you can and you are able, just go and take care of your hygiene and wear mask try to keep 1 meter between you and others, generally in my country i notice covid and flu start to decrease in april and may.

At the end if you are able you will feel way better when you get back to your Normal life

[Wondr1 in reply to Ahmad_92]

Thank you so much for your reply. I agree with getting back to normal. I’m going bonkers being home. I’m guessing we’ll see what happens with the FMLA amendment. I thought I’d be totally ready in 6 weeks but they’ve put me on another anti rejection med, with my Cellcept and my anti rejection infusions and it’s kicking my butt to say the least. Hopefully I’ll be off the Cellcept soon. They are still checking my levels on the new anti rejection med, Evrolimus.

[littlelinda50]

You are suppose to be able to collect social security for 1 year after a transplant to recover. I didn't go back to work for 9 months but left because of covid. Honestly I wouldn't worry to much about covid just wear a mask if you are concerned. I do understand you being concerned. I am just now trying to go back to work after 4 years but I had some issues and surgeries to do. I also decided to go back to college. Talk to your doctor and tell him how your feeling. You can get more time off be persistent. Good luck

[Wondr1 in reply to littlelinda50]

I wasn’t aware until recently I was supposed to apply for Medicare as a secondary and SSI. My transplant coordinator is not very helpful. Luckily I spoke with my case manager on my insurance from work and he told me to apply.

[littlelinda50 in reply to Wondr1]

Yeah I couldn't get SSI they said I didn't work enough quarters. I never applied for Medicare but I did for Medicaid. My coordinator's have not been great. Good luck and only go back to work when you feel ready.

[Redbone55]

Good Morning! I agree with everyone that replied to your post. I believe that you know your body and how you feel each and everyday. For me I went back to work 3 years after my transplant, there were good days and bad days. I had some concerns as well for I work in an environment with Disabilities and Special Needs Residents, However I do work in my office most of the time, I do have to go on the Wings at least 3 to 4 times a day if not more. When I am out of my office I definitely practice safety precautions (wear a mask, wash and sanitize my hands when I get back to my office) so I definitely understand your hesitation and fear. I do have to say that since I have been back to work, I feel like there is more normalcy in my life again and not being in bondage by my circumstances. YOU have to feel confident enough to get back out there NO-ONE can make that decision for you. SOME TIMES WE HAVE TO WALK BY FAITH. BE BLESSED 🙏 AND STAY SAFE!

[Wondr1 in reply to Redbone55]

Thank you Redbone55 for your reply. I totally agree I can use some normalcy in my life. Thank you for your blessings!

[Oceansideup]

Talk to your doctor about your symptoms. Your concerns are valid and make complete sense. If you are not feeling up to returning to work yet and you still have FMLA, I can’t imagine how your doc would not be supportive of needing more recovery time…

You did not say exactly what your proximity was to others at your workplace. Your doc should be able to tell you how to best protect yourself given you are still so early in your recovery.

I did not have to return to work post transplant because I am retired. But if I had to work in an office where I could not isolate from others, I would want an air purifier at my desk, mask daily and eat lunch in my car.

Best of luck to you as you advocate for yourself. It’s one of the most important parts of recovery.

[Wondr1 in reply to Oceansideup]

Thank you Oceansideup for your reply. I’ve not even seen the doctor who did my FMLA. I’ve seen 2 providers and my last provider said no also for an extension. My transplant social worker is supposedly working on it. I agree advocating for oneself is very important. Hopefully everything will be OK. Thanks again!

[Oceansideup in reply to Wondr1]

So glad you reached out to your transplant social worker.

I would think your transplant team should be able to advocate for extended time given how you are doing. After all, they are the medical experts closely monitoring your recovery so I would think they would have the final word on a return to work recommendation.

You may have to make multiple calls to the social worker and/or other transplant team members until you get a solid response. Don’t be afraid to ask questions like, “I’m so glad you’re helping me on this but just to be clear, what happens next? How long will this take? Is there anything else I can do to help?” You will find clear communication and persistence to be essential.

(In my experience sometimes balls got dropped for various reasons. I would call back if I didn’t hear anything within a reasonable time to make sure people were following through, whether it was an insurance or prescription problem - there was always something to sort out)…

Best of luck and let us know how things work out!

[Ar2D2]

hi. I went back to work 3 months (12 weeks) after my tx 2 years ago. I am a teacher. I did wear a mask. I probably could have stayed home another month as wasn’t 100% yet even tho kidney was working well, had med side effects, etc

Also consider that you will have a lot of follow up Dr appts during that time, so it could be difficult to get time off if you are back to work too soon. I was discharged after 4 days but had appts 2-3 X/week for first 2 months

As a kid I went back to school about 8 weeks afterwards but I was 13 and healed much faster that time around!

Best of luck.

[Wondr1 in reply to Ar2D2]

Thank you Ar2D2 for your reply. I’m hoping I’ll get the extension for 12 weeks. I’m so wanting to get back to normalcy but I’m not physically ready. The fatigue is terrible and my new anti rejection is kicking my butt to say the least. If I can get another 4 weeks; I think I can do it. I do miss working. Thank you so much!

[LavenderRabbit]

I went back to work at 6 weeks. I did wear a mask. My transplant was 3 years ago.

[Alfredmynewkidney]

I had my transplant in 2020 during covid. I wanted to go back to work at 8 weeks. But since COVID was new I was out for 12 weeks. I work in a hospital 12 hour night shifts. Definitely needed extra rest on my days off. But I was happy to get back to work. Unfortunately bills don't wait

[Parkerbarker]

Is your soctor crazy? 3months started back and that was for just half days twice a week for a month then back to parttime.

[wheezoids21 in reply to Parkerbarker]

Same here Parkerbarker. At 8 months.now and only just feeling up to life...and barely, at that. It has been a real struggle physically and mentally.