How to know when you've overdone it? Just remember that whatever you do, you still need energy to finish the job, to return to your destination point, to wrap up the day.
Best to overestimate the job and underuse what you estimate your energy reserve to be.
If you're going for a walk, just remember that you have to have enough energy to also get back and feel good for the rest of the day/evening -- and yet not be wiped out the next day. You don't want to be taking one step forward, two or more steps backwards.
My experience -- and I will assume it's that of many others -- is that it's best to gradually do a little more each day. Get more sleep at night than you did post-op -- your body needs it for healing and you need the energy.
I'll bet there's not a single OHS patient who has NOT overdone it at least one day. You feel great, so you're tempted to do quite a bit more that day. And you pay the next day, sometimes for 2-3 days.
I found that the case 5 months post-op, even 7-8-9 months post-op.
I work during the week and am frequently out of town on weekends. At 5 months post-op, I went to a 3-day event at the George R. Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston. Houston is a 4.5 to 5-hour drive, but I chose to fly down on Thursday for this event. Got a rental car. Only had 2 pieces of luggage, both carry-ons. Was OK on Thursday. Walked around the 100,000-square-foot show hall on Friday. And was totally wiped out -- questioned whether I had enough energy to drive back to my hotel near the airport (IAH). I had been to this event several times before, including the previous year, w/out any problems. I did get back to my hotel, and a friend staying at the same hotel drove the two of us to dinner. I got to bed early that night and also on Saturday night.
Couple of months later, in late January, I drove to San Antonio (about a 4.5-hour drive) after work on a Friday. Got there about 11 p.m.-midnight. Had to get settled in my hotel room, then get up @ 6 a.m. to be somewhere by 7:30 a.m. for an event that went through 5 p.m. I was as fatigued on Saturday as I was immediately pre-op and post-op, and considered going to the nearest ER. I had to find the energy to literally put one foot in front of the other. That Saturday night, I grabbed a quick dinner, took 1/2 Extra Strength Tylenol PM tablet and went to bed early. Was back at the event the next day at 8 a.m. and felt pretty much normal.
By 9 months post-op, I had a more consistent level of energy.
I had high demands on my energy on weekends, compared to the weekday demands, so it took me longer than others to feel consistently great. Your lifestyle, normal schedule and activities will affect how quickly you will feel "normal" again.
If you experience fatigue w/out any obvious reasons, you should consult a doctor. You could be suffering from a vitamin D3 deficiency, from a viral infection or some other non-cardiac problem that can be corrected. And if it's something cardiac, it certainly needs to be taken care of.
