May 15, 2013
updated at 1 week mark
It has now been 1 week since surgery. As expected, recovery is not a quick process but I see improvements every day. I am now able to walk slowly & carefully without crutches. I will take my crutches with me for a while still when I go out. And I still use one crutch or a cane often while walking inside, to help promote a more natural gait (stepping movement). I have been sleeping a little better at night and have a little more energy now during the day. But it’s still much different than before the operation.
Some more good news: The swelling in my leg has gone down substantially today. And I am no longer feeling the need to go to the bathroom every hour (still more often than pre-surgery, though, but at least I’m not getting out of bed 8 times through the night as I had been…now more like 4). The bad news: I have lost a lot of weight. When I got back from the hospital, I was just over 160lbs. I had been struggling to get back to above 160 for over a year. Unfortunately, it appears the urination and swelling had something to do with this…I”m now down to just 150lbs. That is 10+ lbs in under 5 days. It’s going to take time to get the weight back. But I’ll do it once I’m able to step up my workout routine. Right now, I am just doing a few crunches (can’t do a lot of core workouts due to restrictions in movement to keep me from dislocating the hip), pushups (hurt too much to do until last night) and chin-ups. I hope to start a regular workout plan at the gym from next Monday. I will be careful and pace myself.