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Post op whole knee 6 days

Posted , 9 users are following.

jean42930
jean42930

Anyone got any tips for sleeping at night. I cant due to pain and discomfort. Raking paracetamol and dihydracodeine helps through day but not at night.

0 likes, 9 replies

9 Replies

  • Mary0987
    Mary0987 jean42930

    Posted

    I'm 11 weeks TKR and can get threw the day without meds but nights suck!!! Hang in there you are still very early in recovery so hopefully it will settle some so you can rest. You may want to call your Dr. and let them know maybe they can prescribe a stronger medicine. Good luck and remember you are only 6 days out and it does get better. Remember to ice it it does help a lot. I iced when I got to bed and ready to try to sleep. Hang in there. I have to have my other knee done this year before October so I'm going to go through it again.

  • Oldfatguy1
    Oldfatguy1 jean42930

    Posted

    Elevate, use a thin pillow between the legs and ice. Don't be afraid to ice..ice..ice. It will hold down the swelling and with less swelling comes relief. It won't happen quickly nor will it immediately be sustained but gradually it will happen. Rest every chance you get during the day. Wearing yourself out will only exacerbate the pain when you try to rest.you didn't address the time since the surgery but I'm guessing it was only recent and you are beginning to panic that this is for the rest of your life....it isn't. One thing that becomes a common denominator with tkr people...sooner or later..patience.

    • jean42930
      jean42930 Oldfatguy1

      Posted

      Hi thank you. I know ice takes down the swelling but after use it feels like my knee will break and is extremely painful. I then do physio. The dihydracodiene works sometimes but not always. Last night we packed my leg around with towels and pillows and got 4 hours which was some relief

  • Rocco
    Rocco jean42930

    Posted

    I asked my physician assistant about sleep and he said "Basically, no one who gets this operation sleeps for three months." I wish they had told me that before surgery.

    I don't take any meds during the day but I take a 5mg Vicodin 45 minutes before  I go to bed. I also take Adivan or Melotonin to help me nod off. The only positon I don't have pain in is going to sleep on my back but I alwyas roll over because I am used to sleeping on my side. I am two months post op and it is getting a little better. Two nights ago I slept from 10 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. That was by far the best night's sleep I had.

    For the first month I seldom slept more than an hour straight. I think a big reason for us not sleeping while recovering is we don't really get physcially tired. I went back to work after six weeks and I found that helped because (a) teaching high school is exhausting and (b) I am back in a routine. 

    Hang in there. Sleep deprivation is no fun, for the deprived or the people around them, but it does get better.

  • jane37928
    jane37928 jean42930

    Posted

    It's really early Jean - I couldn't sleep in bed at all for about three/ four weeks.  I'm now at nine weeks - it will get better with every week that passes.  Once you can move your leg a bit more and get into different positions it helps.  I also used a really really light quilt over my leg as I couldn't bear anything touching it but that too has passed now.  Best wishes for your healing process. 

  • marilyn10235
    marilyn10235 jean42930

    Posted

    Hi Jean

    Sorry to hear you are so uncomfortable at night. I am a side sleeper but couldn't sleep on my side after TKR! Had to sleep on my back, with pillows either side of my legs (one of which I rested my unoperated leg on), also either side of my arms as I found that sleeping I'm (for me) in an awkward position. I would get pains all over the place. I did find that once supported all round I slept better. It was a bit like being cocooned.

    I'm now coming up to 14 weeks & can sleep on my side again, can't remember when I ditched the pillows but was around 9/10 weeks.

    I also take my pain meds just before bed so I can relax without too much pain. Now the pain is just from the left knee which needs TKR too!

    I went back to work at 11 weeks & think maybe 9 too early to go back esp as you are not sleeping!

    Every week brings you a little further down recovery road. Keep travelling down that road. You'll get there, don't push too hard! You don't want your recovery slowed down!

    Good luck, you WILL get there

    All the best

    Marilyn

    XX

  • clive45466
    clive45466 jean42930

    Posted

    Aircast Cuff and knee wrap google it, while your knee is cold you will sleep, unfortanately it becomes an oven and will wake you up. However changing it back to ice cold again allows for more sleep.

    Good healing

  • Cntrywolf
    Cntrywolf jean42930

    Posted

    I feel your pain , but as most of these post said "hang in there. It WILL get better".

    I'm post op 5 wks. I sleep with ice throughout the night. Pillows between my knees and meds handy.

    I'm starting to sleep almost all night.

    Don't forget to do your exercises but don't over do them. It takes times 12-18 months for full recovery.

    Best wishes on your recovery

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