May 28, 2013
nearly 3 weeks and doing fine…
Tomorrow will mark 3 weeks from surgery. At this point, there is not much pain unless I stretch past the realistic range and/or overuse my leg. I continue to be careful to operate within the standard limitations imposed upon me by my surgeon.
I have been struggling to get my weight back up. I gained a bit in water weight at the hospital, losing 10 lbs in 4 days after getting home. I’ve only gained back a few pounds since hitting a low that I hadn’t seen since my last hip replacement. I think the main problem at this point is that my appetite is less than usual because I haven’t been exercising much. I’ve only been doing normal people exercise recently, which is about 1/4 of what I am used to.
Speaking of exercise, I have been going to the gym a little the past week. I hadn’t made use of my YMCA membership for about 6 months. But I went 3 times last week. I put in 5 miles on the stationery bike and spent a little time on the weight machines; low weight on the leg machines and more reasonable weight on the arms. It’s interesting to note how the body is connected…I wasn’t able to do any pushups and a few other exercises for about 10 days after surgery. Now I can do them fine. But for a while it was hurting my hip so I didn’t push it. This morning, I rode my bike 10 miles on the road at a moderate pace.
I’m spending a lot of time stretching. I’m being very careful about my “precautions.” But I’m pushing toward the limit of what is acceptable to at least make sure I get use of the restricted range that I’ve got to work with.
I’m still feeling a bit lethargic. I’ve taken a nap most days. But then I have trouble sleeping through the night. I’m not sure if this is because I got used to that at the hospital and am feeling some sort of “hospital lag” (like “jet lag”) or if it’s something else. I think that once I am able to exercise more, I will be able to sleep better and not feel so tired during the day.
Oh. And I just took off the bandages. The scar is healing nicely.
Overall, things are great.