Extreme Fatigue 3 mths Post-Op

I had BTKR on 25 Aug and was doing really well, or so I thought. Returned to work full-time at 10 weeks (office work, so sitting down most of the day). At about 14 weeks I was suddenly so fatigued on Sat that I slept on & off most of the day. :th_sleep: I would usually go to the gym for Pilates, some recumbent cycling, & aqua aerobics. Ok, I thought, maybe everything had finally caught up with me. But this fatigue continued for 5 weeks, every weekend I 'lost' my Sat as I could only sleep on & off. I'd make it from the bed to the couch, then fall asleep again. Then one week I even missed work on Fri as the fatigue came a day earlier than usual. I've had routine blood tests & all is 'normal' (no anemia, thyroid function ok).

As far as the knees are concerned, they are just great! The left one is like new, but there's still some residual soreness in the right. It's so wonderful to walk without that awful arthritic grinding pain. I am having other symptoms affecting the right leg but these are due to a large herniated disc at L5-S1 (below my L2-L5 fusion). The right foot is numb, constant pins & needles, and the right calf is quite sore - but the knee is fine.

It's now 17 weeks and I'm wondering when or if this fatigue will ever end. I am so tired of being tired all the time.

I guess I want to know if anyone else has experienced this level of fatigue, or if it's considered 'normal' at this stage.

Gee, just when you think you've "arrived," this comes along.

I have no experience to share but I'll offer the one observation that the fatigue is coming at the end of your work week and might suggest that even if it is office work, perhaps you're working too many hours for your body to keep up. My theory is that surgery and recovery consume at lot of our "reserves."

You came to the right place for help. Must say I envy you starting summer. I'm not in the best mood for a Maine USA winter!

Good luck and Happy Holidays!!

I had days when I was bounding with energy and others when I barely had enough to get through the day. This surgery, whether it one or two is a major ordeal for your body to heal, its not surprising that some days its all your body can do just to keep up with the energy it needs for healing. I think about 6 months I quit having those days.

Rest, sleep and let your body tell you what it needs. I remember craving MILK for the first 6 weeks after surgery I guess it was my need for calcium to heal the bones, I have always drank milk for breakfast and sometimes with dessert but during that first 6 weeks it was a never ending thing, not thirst the craving was different because I wasn't thirsty I just had this need for milk and eventually it went away.

Best wishes!

Jaycey is so right. Going back to work is hard!! I still find that by the end of the week, I am totally exhausted. I had my surgery in Feb and went back to work after eight weeks part time and 12 weeks full time. It is amazing how just moving around and getting up and down truly is tiring.

This is a 6 month healing process (at least). I think between the trauma of being hammered, drilled and sawed AND the body's response to healing..it just takes time. If you continue to be fatigued, check back with your GP.

Have a good holiday!:xmtr:

Many thanks to all of you for the reassuring words. I would have loved to stay off work a bit longer but I just couldn't afford to - I was already on leave without pay and am still paying it back at work. I'll be on reduced pay through to Feb (I got them to stagger the LWOP days over 4 months). However, I am seriously thinking of asking to go on a 4 day week in early Jan - I feel like 5 days is too much and my body needs at least 3 days to 'recover'.

Happy holidays to all the bone smarties! :chrgrn:

I suppose it's a good sign you're wanted so badly back at work, especially in these times. Glad to hear you're trying to cut yourself some slack.

I'm a per diem nurse in a facility that is chronically short staffed, and I'm half expecting a call any time asking me to work a shift . . . which is not for probably a couple of months. And even then, I'll have to start with working a half shift at most. If necessary I will have my ortho write a note explaining my limitations.

Meanwhile you've no doubt found ways to reduce any workload or stress outside of work. Sometimes I wish I could go back to the days where I could sleep on and off all day Saturday, so that's not a bad thing. At least now you know your fatigue is not abnormal. Good luck!

I went back to work after 5 1/2 weeks due to a dwindling supply of sick days. In hindsight it was probably too soon even though I have a desk job, but I really didn't have many days left. I have an office job, but also found that I was really tired by the middle of the week - I was having a mental meltdown by Wed night! I ended up taking a Thurs and Fri off one week in mid December to rest, ice, and elevate (even tho I do elevate and ice at work).

I am using a couple of the days that I "saved" along with holiday days to be off this week between Christmas and New Years. I am planning on doing a lot of nothing so I can start off the new year with renewed energy!

Everyone here has made me feel so much better! I have good days and bad, and now, I am just " going with it " . I figure that I didn't feel this way before my surgery, and I have to stop feeling so guilty about being pooped out now. I'm not being so hard on myself about getting not much done. I am very fortunate in that I was on short term disability through the end of January. The unfortunate thing was I couldn't return to my job as my OS said my knee would never hold up to my job as a Fedex courier. The way I feel physically I couldn't do it anyway. ( at least right now ) The good news is I was 55 and could take an early retirement from Fedex, and am now waiting on a school bus driver position. Things always seem to work out for the best, so if I don't start doing that til March I'm fine with that, hopefully I won't be as tired then...