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Household chores and heavy shopping

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Thelma

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I am into my 13 week and just wanting know if anyone knows when you can start cleaning and washing and moving furniture round because I heard that you couldn't do these things until 6 months is this true. Or is it when you feel better.Also the heavy shopping carrying in your hands is this later a well. This was what I got told as well. Probably it is right as I am over weight and putting more pressure on the kneewill not help just make it worse and create more pain:hissyfit:
 
I told my wife my OS said it would be 5 or 10 years before I could do any household chores!
 
Well, it all depends who told you that! If you think that people generally expect to be back at work at 10-12 weeks, then it's obviously not true! I think they probably meant 6 weeks! But not the moving the furniture then!

Seriously, there's no fixed time at all. It all depends upon you and how you are feeling. I wouldn't hurry into it. You might think that house cleaning and shopping are an 'only just' thing but they are very physical and the one thing you don't have right now is energy. What you do have your body is using in truckloads to heal. This is definitely one prime example of the old saying "you can't have your cake and eat it"! And healing will always come first.
You should also look at the chart in here How Long Does it Take to Heal ......

Like everything else about this recovery, you have to try little bits at a time and see how you cope. First few times you will feel totally exhausted and will need to plan a day or even two to recover. But each time it should be better. I started with doing some washing up and laundry at about 4-6 weeks. Soon after that I made a very brief trip to the supermarket. And so on. By 12 weeks I was pretty much back to normal and could have returned to work - if I'd had a job at that time! :wink1:
 
I don't lift heavy things. I get on the floor and push stuff with my legs if I need to get under say a piece of furniture. I also don't climb ladders. Well, actually I have climbed ladders but I don't think it's a good idea. Neither is vacuuming.:wink1: I actually turned down a job at a gift shop that involved moving furniture and climbing ladders to hang art work.
 
Hi, Thelma! I agree with Josephine, your body will do the "talking". I've been told not to lift anything over 25 pounds or push/move furniture for 1 year. Stubborn me...lifting heavy baskets and rearranging furniture puts exceesive pressure on my knees ...OUCH :(
Just take it easy, do a little here and there, rest, drink a cup of tea and smile! And please, don't feel guilty for resting.
Darlene :flowerysmile:
 
We travel back and forth to our lake house and I pack things in big plastic tubs that can get pretty heavy. I began lifting and loading them into the truck again at about the 6 month time frame. But.....I noticed that it gave me leg pain afterwards for more than a year.

It's not that you're going to damage your new joint....it's sturdy. But it takes longer than you might think for your muscles to strengthen again. I got to where I would take an Aleve in the mornings when I knew I was going to be doing something really physical. That seemed to work and I still do it sometimes.
 
Why would you (or anyone else for that matter) WANT to do these activities????
I actually should answer that myself, "because if I don't do it, nobody else will"
I found out the HARD WAY, that one should not be moving heavy objects, vacuuming, or even mopping the floor for at least 3 months. Apparently, there are subtle lateral movements involved in vacuuming, pushing and pulling on heavy objects, raking and sweeping which my knee simply would not tolerate.

I conceeded victory to the knee, though now at 13 months out, I can do all of these things. My husband doesn't know that part:th_heehee:.
Sandy
 
I was considering vacuuming our house tomorrow, but now perhaps I may not do it being only under three weeks post op!!!! I had planned on leaning on the walker whilst pushing the vacuum, but........................! Change of plans!!:DOH:
 
I should jolly well think so! Your body needs all of your energy to do the healing thing.
You can't afford to waste it on such things. They can wait.
 
Jenny, Jenny, Jenny.....leaning on the walker while vacuuming???? My gosh, girl...there is NO dust bunny on the face of this earth worth THAT!!! Get someone else to vacuum if you must have it done, but otherwise, put your feet up and take a nice long snooze. You need rest more than you need a spotless house!!

Glad you decided to change your plans! But....I have to admit the mental picture of you trying to vacuum with a walker made me chuckle a little....not a pretty sight!!

Time to put YOURSELF first, hon. Your body has had a major attack that it must recover from.
 
:th_heehee: I also had to giggle at the mental picture of me doing that. You are right - not a pretty sight!!!! Dust bunnies will just have to reach full maturity as hubby is working all weekend! I am learning a lot on this site and will soon get it into my thick head that I have to take one day at a time and not try to rush things.
 
I had to chuckle picturing Jenny leaning on the walker and vacuuming. I am a clean nut and when I was recovering I vacuumed while leaning on one crutch. Thank goodness my vacuum is very light and is self propelled. I just love my Oreck upright.
 
I'm 6 months out, been very active the whole time. The first weeks I had to do some basic things like dishes and some minor cooking. My wife was not healthy enough to help around the house much.

This afternoon I spent doing yard work, and I'm flat BUSHED!!! Of course, this morning ran the carpet cleaner then went to play racquetball and then some shopping...
 
Reminds me of a quote from the infamous Quentin Crisp of The Naked Civil Servant fame, who unashamedly admitted he never did any cleaning and justified it by proclaiming "after the first two years it never gets any worse"! :th_heehee:
 
Glad you changed your plans Jenny! I think you will find (when the time comes) vacuuming is very tiring.

Suggestion - get yourself a long handled broom and dustpan. The kind you can stand up straight and use. Good for picking up the dust bunnies and doesn't require hauling out the vacuum and dragging it around the house. As I started to recover I would catch dust bunnies in one room and then rest before moving to the next. At first it took days to get all the way around the house! :th_heehee:
 
I too have been bending down and picking up the dust bunnies when I see them. The thing that is bugging me is that it has been raining for days and we have three cats and two dogs and they have been tracking in dirt when they come in from outside. Its the bits of grit etc., that is driving me insane. I told my husband this morning what I thought about doing yesterday, and he too gave me a mouthful! Says he will try and do it when he comes home. Poor fellow, he is now learning what it is like from my end of the ........................! :th_heehee:
 
Jenny,

I have a walker (now in storage) but I would sit on it and roll around to do dishes and stuff. My husband saw me and asked what I thought i was doing! I said "well, cleaning comes to mind",:hysterical: and he told me to go sit in the recliner and he would get me ice packs while he cleaned the kitchen!:wink1: I "protested":th_heehee: briefly, and then went and sat down as he did the kitchen, the laundry, and vacuumed the living room floor.:snork:
 
I wish my walker had a seat. Unfortunately it is just basically a frame with wheels on the front and skids on the back. But then, I would probably be doing things I shouldn't which I am probably doing anyway. Like taking a few steps without anything..........Shhhhhhhhh! Don't tell anyone. I will get it in the neck methinks. My kitchen is wee - kinda a galley type, so I do have things I can grab onto. I better get off that subject real quick! Hubby has been doing quite well with dishes and feeding the animals. He is no cook in the kitchen, but can cook well on the barbeque, so we have been having a lot of grilled meat and veggies done there as well as things I had cooked and frozen before the surgery. But I look forward to seeing clean floors. Just have to learn to be patient. :what:
 
You guys are neat freaks, and you would hate my house. I have 3 labs, 2 teenagers and 1 husband. Nobody cleans. Nobody vacuums. My dust bunnies are the size of sagebrush, and they settle into the corners where they stay until I vacuum them away. I just give up! You clean, and it just gets dirty again!!! Yeah, I don't make my bed either.
Sandy
 
You're definitely a Quentin Crips type, Sandy - just like me!
I've just done a deep clean of the bedrooms and bathroom.
I use lots of talc on my body night and morning.
After a couple of weeks the place looks like its had a mini snowstorm! :th_heehee:
 
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