So I'm at 11 days from surgery now and all seems to be progressing well. My leg swelling has gone
down a lot and as of last night I'm off the pain meds. I walked around the house a bit today without the cane and it felt fine. Still use the cane on my outside walks. I'm walking about 1.5 miles a day over 3 walks and plan to hold that distance for a while. The leg is stiff in the morning but loosens up quickly.
Brian
RBHR 9-23-13
dr keggi
Excellent. Keep it up...
Sounds like you are doing well :D
Wow! Just a cane at 11 days! I remember being on crutches for at least 2 weeks if not more, then down to 1 crutch, cane somewhere around the 6 week mark.
Hope your recovery continues smoothly!
Just a question for all, when you come off the cane or crutch how do you manage are you quite mobile are you slow and do you still limp.
The basic question is when will i be normal.
My op was 4 weeks ago this wednesday I'm having at least 2 walks out each day, every day is a recovery day, just want to be normal again, it's hard as we are all so active. :)
I personally was reasonably mobile on the cane, which I got to at about 2 weeks post-op but I assume this is different for each individual.
A lot depends on what you mean by 'normal'. From what I've read some surgeons say you can resume full pre-op activities after 6 months, others say a year. In all cases they urge you to do it gradually.
As far as leading a 'normal' lifestyle without the additional sports or workouts, for me the milestones were:
1. Able to take a shower unassisted at about 3 weeks.
2. Getting off all the meds I had to take post-op at 4 weeks
3. Being able to reach down to my toes on the op side at about 8 weeks.
There were times when, like you, I wondered and stressed about how long it was taking. Hang in there.
I have been able to move pretty well with the cane. My current walks are at about 2-2.5mph pace which feels pretty comfortable. I am forgetting to use the cane around the house more often. I hope to start out patient pt this week.
Sounds like your doing great , just don't rush this early stage we all want to get back to normal recovery takes time but well done so far.
Chris