I have done three 2-hour shifts back at work now, and it’s going fine. Two hours is pretty much perfect: by the end of it, I am sore and tired and my knee is going pang! pang! pang! But it feels (and is) like doing physical therapy precisely fine-tuned to exactly what I need to work on for my job. Then I come home and ice the knee and feel dazed for awhile.
I’m 7.5 weeks post-surgery now. About a week ago, the physical therapist did an overhaul of my at-home exercises, cutting them back significantly. At the peak of home exercise, I was doing an hour of exercise three times a day. After the first few weeks, it turned into twice a day, one session of an hour and a half and one session more like 45 minutes to an hour. My newly-pared-down at-home exercises are less than an hour once a day, with an optional second session of about 15 minutes (mostly stretches).
What’s weird is, it actually feels more burdensome now. I think because when it was an hour three times a day, I felt like this was just my job/life right now. I eat; I take medications; I exercise; I ice the knee; I eat; I take medications; I exercise; I ice the knee. I was in pajamas and slippers all day, so it wasn’t a big deal to switch from not-exercising to exercising. Now that I’m going back to work a little, and sometimes doing an errand or a chore, and sometimes wearing shoes and Daytime Pants, it feels like a big imposition to have to exercise for AN HOUR just for A KNEE. I have to CHANGE PANTS to do it, which for me is one of those hurdles I realize shouldn’t be such a huge hurdle (it takes, what, 45 seconds?) but it IS.
This feels like something that might be specific only to me, but in case you are reading this in the context of surgery of your own and it might be true of you as well, I will mention it. For about a month after surgery, I found that I had to be careful with sugar because it would quickly make me queasy. I might have a little bowl of ice cream, but only after a good-sized meal, and even then I might feel sorry. But starting about six weeks after surgery, I have had some INTENSE sugar cravings—that feeling of Almost Not Being Able To Get Enough Sugar. Which, yes, does lead to queasiness too, but it’s a lot more sugar. A small or medium amount of sugar doesn’t make me feel queasy anymore, if I stop after a small or medium amount of sugar, which is currently rare. And I should clarify that I have ALWAYS been someone who very much enjoys sugar, so I am saying that this is a sugar drive that noticeably exceeds my usual generous capacity. “My goodness,” I think to myself, viewing the wrappers in the aftermath.
I am so glad to hear it’s going … well-ish. That is very interesting about the sweets and the surgery. I have a very confused and fucked up relationship with sugar and am always interested in how others process (literally and figuratively) sugar.
I’m so glad you’re on the mend, Swistle! It’s not surprising to me that the lessened exercise feels more burdensome, because when you are convalescing, that is ALL you are doing. And now you’re doing more regular life things, so it feels like One More Thing To Do.
I’m not a huge sweets person, I’m more salty, and I have had similar experiences with salt!
If you feel like writing about it, I’m curious whether what you’ve learned in PT has changed how you move at your job. Or maybe it’s too early to tell while the knee is still sore? I had just one PT televisit for Achilles pain a few months ago and her explanation of which muscles I should focus on completely changed how I walk.
I was just thinking about how fun it used to be when you bought the assorted boxes of Sees Candies and told us what was in them. Maybe we should bring that back as a brief treat? Glad you’re doing better!
I have not just had surgery, but had similarly-timed intense sugar cravings that I attributed to my body’s attempt to cope with recent political events.
I had the most intense desire for yellow cake with chocolate frosting after my knee replacement. Like I would daydream about it, and try to figure out how to get my hands on some without having to bake it myself which was just not doable at that time. This went on for weeks. Once I was physically able to either buy or make the cake I was no longer craving it and I never did have any but I still remember how fixated I was.
I’m so glad you are easing back in to work and that it seems to be going well. Makes total sense to me that PT would now seem like an intrusion. You can DO things now; why would you want to waste time DOING on PTing?!
I’m glad going back to work has been relatively smooth. An hour is a lot when you’re back to regular life.
Changing into “exercise” clothes is such a dealbreaker for me also for some reason. I’ve been known to do my elliptical in jeans, just because I know that if I go upstairs to put on my comfy clothes, I’ll find a way to talk myself out of doing it. It helps that I’m not doing full hour-long cardio workouts or anything. At this stage of my life, my exercise routine falls into the “drops IN the bucket” category…
I hope your recovery is continuing and you are seeing good improvement every day. Getting into the exercise clothes is a hurdle for me, too.
I realize you may not be interested in giving an update on this, but I’m sure many of us are curious how Edward is doing and hoping for the best for him – whatever path that looks like.
Thanks for your writing – it is a bright spark in a hard time!