Should I take time off in my exercise?

I am 71 years old. I was ill and bedridden for almost 2 years with several illnesses. I got almost no exercise during that time. I started getting better slowly about 4 months ago. I am seriously overweight (need to lose over 50 lbs). I have arthritis. I had an accident 3 months ago and injured my right knee (strained muscle) . The nurse at my doctor's office told me I would never walk again without the use of a walker. I refused the walker and went online to the Mayo clinic and exercised my knee slowly for a few weeks, then walked in a cane and began swimming daily. Now I walk without a cane though it hurts after about 5 minutes. I am up to swimming steadily for about 45 min.to an hour a day.
My legs are getting stronger and more muscular but some mornings it takes ibuprofen to get me out of bed in the morning. Would I be better off swimming every other day? Do my leg muscles and shoulder muscles need time to heal between swim sessions? I have lost 18 lbs in 3 months dieting and swimming.

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Memetic · 56-60, F

What an inspiration you are 👏 i hope i can do what you're doing at your age. Im a firm believer in if you don't use it, you lose it. However, you should do what feels right for your comfort level. Congratulations on being able to walk and swim 🖒

greenmountaingal · 70-79, F

Thanks! Actually, I did this out of desperation as much as anything else; I have no one to take care of me. And I have very little money to hire help. I need to stay as independent as possible. If I cave in to going into a Home, I will have a very limited life.

Memetic · 56-60, F

@greenmountaingal: you are correct. I am alone too and dread having mobility issues with age. Which is why i work out like crazy. I hope to be dead BEFORE i become dependent on others. ((((Hugs)))

greenmountaingal · 70-79, F

@Memetic: A lot of my problems began with a bad business decision which lost me most of my meagre savings. Then my car died. The stress of it all made me ill. Having no one to care for me made the illness worse. Then bad medical care made the illness become serious...I badly needed someone to go with me to the doctor and advocate for me because I was sick and confused. Things just spiraled downwards. I became fearful of going to the doctor and was unable to take a bus to the doctor. Eventually, my neighbor saw I was fevered and delirious and brought me in to the hospital. Bad hospital care made things worse: The doctors now assumed I was psychotic and held me in a locked ward giving me psychotropic drugs which made my delirium worse...and they still refused me treatment for the initial bladder infection saying I was psychotic. It was terrifying. I had to sneak to a phone to call my neighbor. Eventually, the police got involved and they let me out. I made an appointment with a doctor I trusted. I got a vehicle and tried to drive to the appointment but hallucinated and I got into an accident. This time I got taken to a good, competent hospital where they realized I was ill and finally I got my bladder infection cleared up. It took me months to recover from all this and during that time, I had to undergo 2 eye surgeries while fighting an illegal eviction from my apartment of 28 years. Eventually, I accepted a settlement and moved in with a friend out here in the desert. I then rented a room in the house where I live with a pool and I got a car. I am very much still in recovery from all this!

Memetic · 56-60, F

@greenmountaingal: That sounds like what senior care has become these days😔. Luckily, nobody in my family lives to 70. So, i might be dead before i go senile😊

greenmountaingal · 70-79, F

@Memetic: hang in there...senility is not inevitable in old age. (By the way, I was not, am not, senile. It was delirium caused by an untreated bladder infection). I just finished writing a book based on my 10 years teaching at a hospital for the criminally insane. Life can be enjoyable in old age. I just need to continue my recovery.

Memetic · 56-60, F

@greenmountaingal: i don't want to enjoy old age. I have never wanted any of this. I was abused and abandoned as a child and hate the fact that i don't have the choice to get off this ride. I'm an exhistential nhilist

greenmountaingal · 70-79, F

@Memetic: one of these days if you feel up to it, read my story under: I Am Angry. My childhood was...unusual.

Memetic · 56-60, F

@greenmountaingal: can't find it