Your incision will still be tender, and walking long distances might force you back onto the couch at the end of the day, but you'll be surprised at how good you feel and how able you are just weeks after a serious operation.
Depending on your pain levels, you'll probably only need small amounts of Ibuprofen (if anything) to be comfortable, which means that the narcotics fog has finally worn off. Having a clearer head can help you see the light at the end of the recovery tunnel now that you're halfway to the six-week mark, but again (are you noticing a theme here?), you don't want to overdo it.
"If you don't rest and recover during the first six weeks, you might have a longer recovery — more chance of wound infection, weeping, or even opening," says Dr. Levitt. Plus, heavy lifting (and most likely driving) is still off limits. "Heavy lifting causes the abdominal muscles to contract hard to hold in the intestine and other organs . . . [and] may cause the sutures to tear a bit . . . [and] also undermine the granulation tissue healing process. The incision could open."
All these precautions are crucial to your physical recovery but can weigh on you mentally as well. For me, physically feeling better but still being limited was a frustrating mind game that required constant reminders from family, friends, my doctor, and my midwife to slow down. This is why it's key to have support in place not only to help with everyday tasks, but also to guide you through the roller coaster that is the recovery process.
