The stairs are manageable but still unable to put the leg I had my knee done first, it won’t take the weight and is very painful.
I still can’t walk up the stairs normally, my good leg has to go first and bad one follows onto the same stair but there is a little improvement now.
I am now trying to walk up and down the stairs as normal.
i think you're expecting too much of your knee, too soon. It isn't common to be able to negotiate stairs normally this early in recovery. It can take up to 4 months before you're able to do it normally, so don't try to make your knee do something it isn't yet ready to do.
I still
seem to get very tired from mid afternoon and occasionally find myself snoozing.
That's normal for this stage of recovery. Try reading this article again:
Energy drain for TKRs
Much of your energy is still being directed towards healing your knee and there isn't a lot left for anything else.
He said I should be further on than I am and need to up my exercises to improve my movement. He told me to use a traditional pair of oven gloves and put something heavy in each pocket, then sit on a chair with my feet on a stall and put the weighted oven cloth over my knee . Omg it really hurts behind the knee after a couple of mins!
It's a pity your surgeon is so impatient.
There's no need to rush to get ROM (Range of Motion) because it can continue to improve for a year, or even much longer, after a knee replacement. There isn't any deadline you have to meet:
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR
Every knee is different and your knee will do much better if you stop forcing it to do all these exercises - they just keep it irritated and inflamed, which is slowing down your progress.
Exercises should never hurt. If they hurt, they are bad exercise and they're doing more harm than good. So stop doing that painful exercise.
It's not exercising that gets you your ROM - it's time. Time to recover, time for swelling and pain to settle, and time to heal. Your knee has the potential to achieve good ROM right from the start, but it's prevented from doing so by swelling and pain. As it heals and the swelling goes down, your ROM (both flexion and extension) will gradually increase.
My bend is at 90 but I can still can get my hand under my knee and unable to lift my foot when tightening my knee and leg out straight (don’t know what this exercise this is called). I was told that by now I shouldn’t even be able to get my fingers under my knee!!
Try to stop listening to anyone who tells you that by now you should be at a certain stage. Every knee is different, so a one-size-fits-all agenda as your surgeon is advocating is inappropriate.
It's not at all unusual for extension (straightening) to take quite a while. That' because the large muscles and tendons at the back of your leg need to be stretched gradually.
You'll get there, as long as everyone is patient. Since ROM, both flexion and extension, can continue to increase for a year or more, there;s no need to rush. You have plenty of time.