EXERCISE

How soon can I exercise after surgery??? I forgot to ask Surgeon at post op visit last week. He just told me I was doing fine and that he will see me n 3 months......

It depends what you mean by "exercise."  You have to do NOTHING for 6 weeks post-op,  and then you have to start verrrryyyyyy slowwwwlllyyyyy.

In our pre-op classes, walking was the number one exercise we were told to do, first and foremost, to prevent blood lots, even though you take Lovenox injections for seven days at home.  Even walking to the mailbox and back, at first, then 1/2 a block, then a full block, but *don't* start your full fledged walking program until you are healed, 6 -8 weeks post-op.  Make sure your doctor says it's OK before you start. 

My surgeon's advise was only walking for the first 4 months. At 4 months I started doing cardio (mostly elliptical since its non-weight bearing) and light weight training. Turned out I loved weight training (used a trainer for quite a while since I had never been in a gym before).