Tomorrow I'll be 7 weeks post-op, and I feel I'm recovering really well. Part of this, I'm sure, has been because with this knee, unlike with my other knee replacement, I did NOT push myself to do the rehab exercises when they hurt, or when my body told me to rest. I did overdo it one week -- the week that "everything hurt" -- but took the advice of this wonderful community and eased up after that. As a result, people are now expressing astonishment when they see me, because I am walking much better than I did before my surgery. I can't count how many people have said, over the last week, "I can't believe you've just had surgery!" (Well, 6 or 7 weeks isn't "just" -- but I certainly wasn't walking without a stick at this stage last time.)
But all this improvement brings new challenges -- though I'm walking really well, my energy levels are still low, and I get tired really easily. But because I look "normal," people (including my husband) think I am back to normal -- but I still feel quite low, physically and emotionally. So I don't feel like I can do the laundry, go shopping, unload the dishwasher, and cook dinner, at least not all in the same day! Hard to explain this to my loving and supportive but slightly impatient husband! And hard to explain to friends why I have to cancel plans, or don't feel ready to make them -- I am just so tired!
Is it OK to be this tired this far along? (I know if someone else were asking me that, I would say "Of course! Listen to your body and look after yourself!" Why is it so hard to treat ourselves with the same sort of kindness?)