Returning to Work After Procedure

[CannonScott]

Is it realistic to return to work the day after?  Im scheduled for an FUT with Diep in June. I cant take time off during summer months but it was his first available (I booked in October so its not as though I waited until the last minute, i thought booking a few months in advance would be plenty) i was hoping he'd have cancellations before My work gets hectic but it doesn't look promising. His next available date is January 2020. WTF 

Edited January 18, 2019 by CannonScott

[purple18]

You probably could at a sedentary, clean job.  I wouldn't want to try it with any physical activity or something where you could get dirty/infected.  With FUT you will have staples and a wound back there for 10-14 days, though mine were much easier to cover up immediately after surgery than I thought.  You obviously have time to grow out and prepare for that part.

Can you at least get a Friday appointment?  Even having those extra couple days to get through the most acute part of the process will have you safer and looking much closer to "normal" to others.

[Mick50]

13 minutes ago, CannonScott said:

Is it realistic to return to work the day after?  Im scheduled for an FUT with Diep in June. I cant take time off during summer months but it was his first available (I booked in October so its not as though I waited until the last minute, i thought booking a few months in advance would be plenty) i was hoping he'd have cancellations before My work gets hectic but it doesn't look promising. Im thinking about cancdlling or rescheduling for September when i can take time off even though that will delay things. Thoughts?

No it's not realistic to return to work the day after surgery   

[TrixGlendevon]

7 hours ago, CannonScott said:

Is it realistic to return to work the day after?  Im scheduled for an FUT with Diep in June. I cant take time off during summer months but it was his first available (I booked in October so its not as though I waited until the last minute, i thought booking a few months in advance would be plenty) i was hoping he'd have cancellations before My work gets hectic but it doesn't look promising. Im thinking about cancdlling or rescheduling for September when i can take time off even though that will delay things. Thoughts?

No and also the advice of the weekend above is poor advice because the swelling would start on the Sunday or the Monday so you would be riding out the swelling in the middle of the office with staples in the back of your head. Postpone it to September and then take two weeks off.

[baldlivesmatter]

No

[Al - Moderator]

No. Keep in mind that you can not even wash your hair properly for the first few days.

 

[Shampoo]

My "worst" day on both larger surgeries was the afternoon of the day following surgery. I am not sure about FUE post-op, but with FUT I felt like shit the afternoon of the next day after surgery. I was at the hotel and took some pain meds and sleep medicine and was basically fine the following day when I flew home. Of course every patient and size of surgery is different, but I agree with the others that there is no way I could have returned to work the day after surgery. I always took a week off, but I suppose if absolutely necessary I could have returned to desk job work 3-4 days after surgery.

[Melvin- Admin]

You need at the minimum a week and even after a week, people will notice. Unless, you’re totally honest with co-workers don’t even try it. Two weeks I found to be enough time. 

[CannonScott]

I hear you all. Of course taking time off is ideal. Im booked for 6/24. Diep'snext available is Jan 2020. Next fucking year....... because its only 1500 grafts his staff says. I guess if i were a bigger case (also read paying more money), i would get in sooner. $7500 is apparently nit enought. That is really a turn off and im thinking if forfeitting the deposit and trying another surgeon. I am open to suggestions!!!!

[purple18]

1 hour ago, CannonScott said:

I hear you all. Of course taking time off is ideal. Im booked for 6/24. Diep'snext available is Jan 2020. Next fucking year....... because its only 1500 grafts his staff says. I guess if i were a bigger case (also read paying more money), i would get in sooner. $7500 is apparently nit enought. That is really a turn off and im thinking if forfeitting the deposit and trying another surgeon. I am open to suggestions!!!!

This is what I would do.  There's lots of qualified surgeons who can do a great job that can get you in sooner than that.  Find a surgeon who has a time that works better for you.  Having a low stress recovery period where you can take great care of your fresh grafts and feel socially and physically comfortable probably means more than having famous name surgeon XYZ that was talked about in an Internet forum.

When I suggested you could work the next day, I certainly didn't recommend it.  I'm saying you could do a desk job and not get seriously ill or destroy your transplant.  You would still stick out like a surgery patient to all your co-workers and probably be quite fatigued or under the influence of meds.  Your hair will be all gunked up or shaved off and you will likely have a visible wound.  

If you can work from home from a bed or desk it's doable but still not ideal.  Don't go to the office the day after surgery.

They also ought to refund your deposit if you are canceling over 5 months before your surgery date.  I would consider that pretty nasty to keep if they are that far out and fill that easy.

Edited January 18, 2019 by purple18

[Melvin- Admin]

I'm sure you can be on a cancellation list and get in sooner. I would wait for someone to cancel, I'm sure there are people who cancel literally every month.

[baldlivesmatter]

Dude--as Melvin said--if you can be flexible you can in early on a cancellation.

Mine was originally scheduled for June 2019 and I was given options to do December 2018 or January 2019, the latter of which I did.

[here]

If your goal is to be undetected that’s impossible 

I would say fastest is 5 days but that’s due. As that’s when most pain was gone for me as well as swelling... but that was FUE

10 days is basically when I could feel comfortable wearing a har and most but not all of scabbing was gone.

desk job is technically feasible, and I tried to do work from home. But I was about as productive as I was when I am drunk.

[elduterino]

why FUT ? why would you want a scar ?

My FUE donor looked like nothing happened - shaved to a zero guard - 10 days post op, when  I went back to work

recipient is another story. I suggest you take the time from now until the surgery to grow your top hair a lot and be able to do a comb over the front to hide the ugly part

[CannonScott]

I appreciate you all for sharing your feedback.  Im definitely not going to do it in June and go to work the next day.   I am on the cancellation list with Diep.  If he gets a cancellation before work gets busy for me i will take it. In the meantime im going to consult with Dr Arocha and Dr Cooley. And other Dr's revommended for my hair texture

Edited January 18, 2019 by CannonScott

[Melvin- Admin]

Good consult with as many doctors as possible.

[Triple7]

I would look into FUE because it looks like you keep your hair short. For your case, it would be much easier to hide the scars in my opinion. 

[HopefulRaven]

I took 2.5 weeks off after my most recent surgery and realistically I could have taken more time. 

[pkipling]

Tons of good advice - and what you'll realize is that there's no set formula or answer for this. I got my HT on a Thursday and was back at work on Monday. Granted, I had FUE, minimal swelling, and I was able to wear a hat to work so that I didn't have to worry about it being undetectable. If I weren't able to wear a hat and wanted it to go completely unnoticed, there's no way I would've been able to return to work on Monday. 

That said, this was 4 years ago, and even since then, the attitude in society about hair transplants has already shifted in a really positive way. So much so that I have a coworker who just had a HT in December and was completely open about it. We knew why  he was taking the time off, he came back to work 5 days later with minimal swelling, and it's become something that we talk about from time to time as he moves through the very slow growth process. Nobody thinks twice about him having a hair transplant, just like they didn't think twice when I finally came clean about mine. 

All of that to say - depending on where you live and the culture of your work place, it's worth considering not being so concerned about it being a huge secret. My experience (granted, I live in LA) is that people really don't care and will eventually forget it was a thing that even happened. So if being open about it would relieve you of some stress, I'd say consider being open about it. In hindsight, I wish I had been more open about it instead of waiting 6 months to "confess". Trust your gut and do what's best for you - and in the meantime, keep researching surgeons!

[CannonScott]

You have all shared good advice and I welcome it.  Just to update,  i consulted with Dr. Arocha in Thursday and it was a fantastic consiltation. Im definitely considering switching from Dr. Diep to Dr. Arocha but I also have a consultation with Dr. Cooley on Feb 12th. So I will keep you all posted with how this unfolds because i realistically would like to have a few days off to recouperate.

[baldlivesmatter]

2 hours ago, CannonScott said:

You have all shared good advice and I welcome it.  Just to update,  i consulted with Dr. Arocha in Thursday and it was a fantastic consiltation. Im definitely considering switching from Dr. Diep to Dr. Arocha but I also have a consultation with Dr. Cooley on Feb 12th. So I will keep you all posted with how this unfolds because i realistically would like to have a few days off to recouperate.

Just FYI--i returned to work 3 weeks post-op from an FUE and my head was still noticeably red and I had to tell my co-workers about the procedure. 

Just keep in mind you could be potentially looking at a detectability period of more than a few days. 

[CannonScott]

19 hours ago, baldlivesmatter said:

Just FYI--i returned to work 3 weeks post-op from an FUE and my head was still noticeably red and I had to tell my co-workers about the procedure. 

Just keep in mind you could be potentially looking at a detectability period of more than a few days. 

I dont mind the detectability period. If i switch to another doctor ill be scheduling for September or October when I can take off for a couple of weeks.

[Shampoo]

On 1/26/2019 at 9:15 PM, CannonScott said:

i consulted with Dr. Arocha in Thursday and it was a fantastic consiltation. Im definitely considering switching from Dr. Diep to Dr. Arocha 

Not sure where you are, but if you decide to go with Dr. Arocha I suggest you choose his Houston surgery center. The Houston surgery center is "home base", quite nice, and state of the art. I visited his satellite office in Dallas and although I really liked Dr. Arocha, I very much got the feeling that he was in a "borrowed office". If I have Dr. Arocha perform a FUE on me down the line I would for sure choose the Houston office even-though I live in Dallas.