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5 weeks post TKR op. Sleep is becoming impossible

Posted , 11 users are following.

liz00723
liz00723

I know I asked two weeks ago but my sleep pattern has got a lot worse.  I cannot get to sleep at all the last few nights and lie awake moving about all night long.  I am getting more and more depressed and the thought of this for the rest of my life is unbearable.

every bone, muscle, nerve etc in the operated leg seems to be in pain when I lie down and I just cannot get a position I can find comfortable at all.

i am going to go back to my doc as soon as possible as this can't continue, bug in the meantime does anyone have any suggestions.

you have been my lifesavers in the past, so fingers crossed you can help again.  It is 3.51 am at present and I went to bed at 9.45 pm and have been awake the whole time.  I am exhausted.

liz

1 like, 24 replies

24 Replies

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  • Oldfatguy1
    Oldfatguy1 liz00723

    Posted

    Ice the leg, take pain meds and some form of anti inflammatory. Once the sleep problem takes hold its hard to short circuit it without professional help. I have had to spend hours in a recliner with my leg packed in ice to get sleep. That's why its important to get some sleep any way, any time you can.
    • liz00723
      liz00723 Oldfatguy1

      Posted

      Thank you, you are always so helpful to everyone.  I think when I get back home it will be easier as I can do what I like there.  When you are staying with someone it is much more difficult.

      i stsyed awake for About 5 hours, since then I have slept a little.  Discovered that sleeping on top of the folded over duvet gave me something much mire comfortable to sleep on, propped up is always better for me.  Don't have a recliner here.

      thanks again

      liz

  • Jnrob
    Jnrob liz00723

    Posted

    Are you taken pain pill, if so how much? , the pills had me set back. Finding that spot to get a goodnight sleep, is hard. Try to stay active during the day .
    • liz00723
      liz00723 Jnrob

      Posted

      Hi there

      Ive cut the painkillers down and only take at night time.  Last night I resorted to them when I'd been awake for hours.  Do take paracetamol and ibuprofen as needed.

      I wasn't as active yesterday as I was so tired from the night before.  Will try today.

      Thanks for your help.

      Liz

  • sue64229
    sue64229 liz00723

    Posted

    Hi Liz,

    i had bilateral tkr nearly 7 weeks ago.  I guess I've been pretty lucky but like you, the pain kept me awake at night.  I was told not to put a pillow under my knees as I was doing before the operation but I did put a pillow, lengthwise from my thigh down so the whole leg was elevated.  I found that helpful along with strong painkillers.  After a couple of weeks, they got better and there is no need for the pillows any longer.

    i empathise with you.  It is so unfair to have to put up with pain, causing sleepless nights.  You need sleep to be able to cope through the day.  Please know, it will get better.

    wishing you well

    sue

    • liz00723
      liz00723 sue64229

      Posted

      Hi Su

      My surgeon said the same, but I tried everything.  Last night I decided to fold the duvet in half and lie on top of it.  I'd already discarded it as it was too heavy on top of my leg.  This is lovely as everything feels more cushioned.  Got some sleep after that.

      i crave to go to bed and fall fast asleep even for a couple of hours.  I think I now go to bed expecting not to sleep.  

      i as trying to cut back on the meds but I think I need to keep taking at bedtime till I sort thus out.

      will still go to the docs and see if he can change the meds to something that will send me off or maybe something homeopathic.  I will try anything.

      Thank you for your advice.  Everyone on here is so helpful.

      liz

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  • mary0606
    mary0606 liz00723

    Posted

    I can never sleep  after any surgery...you see all these people sleeping after I never do. And I don't when I get home, they mess me with me big time, I'm not a good sleeper at the best of times thanks to shift work. But I did get sleeping pills from my doctor. I think for a week or so...

    I think maybe you should be taking a few  pain pills during the day. I know I was on them for a long time..I hope it settles soon..xx

     

  • veronica91735
    veronica91735 liz00723

    Posted

    Part of the problem seems to be the lack of pain killers. Ask the temporary GP to give you oxycodone, just to take at night. It's slow release, & this time around (we are at similar weeks, but mine is a revision) I am taking 2 paracetamol, 1 codeine & 1 oxycodone at night only, & I am sleeping. I didn't sleep for weeks 1st time around, but decided to give in & take whatever was offered this time around. The result is a lot more sleep, which makes the days easier. Your other problem is the fact you are far away from home, the more you sleep & mend, the quicker you can go home, so give in to medication. My new consultant this time around is the one who persuaded me to take what was on offer, & I have to say he was SO right. During the day I have cut down, but not at night. I too go to bed around 9-ish, read a book, take the meds as late as possible, & actually feel them wash over me. This morning I woke up at 7am. Try it - you may find it is the answer. - Veronica
  • martinarvelo
    martinarvelo liz00723

    Posted

    I know how you feel, and sympathize! I wish I had magic solutions, but there doesn't seem to be one. Are you taking good pain medication . . I don't mean paracetamol, or ibuprofeno, but something like tramadol or co codamol?  The exhustion is so difficult to cope with . . it makes everything seem insurmountable. Ah, just read your post about pain pills. I think you really should be taking them regularly, not when you feel you need them. Depending on what you have, they are not designed for immediate relief, but to be taken on a regular basis. . Do try that, and see if it helps. I also put a long pillor under the whole leg (never just under the knee) and I found it helped a lot.  good luck, and believe me, itDOES get better. . .it just takes a long time!

     

  • tracy2364
    tracy2364 liz00723

    Posted

    My PKR was nealy 2 months ago but for the past week I have been kept awake by  pain in my operated leg again and it gets very stiff and sore and painful to move.  Have tried to stay off painkillers but think that I need to start again so that I can get some sleep.
  • margaret747
    margaret747 liz00723

    Posted

    Hi Liz

    Sorry to hear of your sleep problems. I am 13 weeks post L TKR.

    I sympathise with you as I have had chronic insomnia for 37 years and after my knee surgery the extreme tiredness that consumed my every thought drove me almost to the brink. Some people don't understand how you can feel so utterly tired and yet still not be able to sleep.

    The knee pain I experienced in the earlier weeks and almost gone now so I have stopped taking pain meds completely. I just wish I could find a magic pill that would give me some sleep. Tamazepam almost never works and I am desperate for help in some way.

    I wish you a speedy recovery.

  • mary0606
    mary0606 liz00723

    Posted

    Liz , it's terrible isn't it..I am same as you, in fact I got so desperate I bought one of those Fitbit things, and I down loaded my sleep for a month and showed my GP.....I don't think he believed that. I could be restless 18 times in the night..

    We have ruled out sleep apnoea, my room is good temp, comfy bed no tv etc etc. 

    so I do occasionally take either Temazepam or Stilnox which has a bad name, but it never affected me. My son who is a cop also does dreadful shifts and he was prescribed Circadin which is a slow release melatonin, and that seems to be doing the trick...good luck it's horrible...

  • esanford
    esanford liz00723

    Posted

    Liz, I've been where you are...  You have got to take those oxy's and use plenty of ice...  Honestly, some nights I would pop up to 4 5-mg oxy's. There is light at the end of the tunnel.  The sleep issues went away at 12 weeks, and I am safely off of Oxy.  Also push as much as your body will allow on the rehab exercises.
    • Jnrob
      Jnrob esanford

      Posted

      Watch the Oxy, try to use at bed time & 30 mins b4 rehab, I was popping those Oxy round the clock, wake up in the middle of the night, just to pop one or 2. Which left me no time to do home rehab, I was too wasted to do anything, I'm 10 weeks post tkp, & I'm just trying to get right, I'm now taken my pain Meds ,for rehab & for sleep cause there's discomfort at night.
    • Oldfatguy1
      Oldfatguy1 Jnrob

      Posted

      They seem to affect everyone differently. I can take 2 and just barely get relief. You really have to test the water with all pain meds. They all seem to work differently depending on ones system. Best thing I've found, is give th em a try and take the way th e t are prescribed. If they a rent working get back to th e dr. There are so many out there they can find something to do the job.
    • martinarvelo
      martinarvelo Oldfatguy1

      Posted

      You are absolutely right that some work for some people but not others. I did find the answer once on google, and apparently it's due to the amount of a certain substance that your body produces, but now I can't remember if it was a protein or whatever!  However, it does prove there is aphysical reason and that it is not imagination. for example, ibuprofeno does absolutely nothing for me . . . whereas paracetamol (or amenocetophen) does. . .but for real pain, tramadol is the answer for me!

       

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