TKR 6 weeks out Night Pain
Posted , 11 users are following.
I take oxyCondon and Tylanol, but pain at night is very hard. Does anyone have suggestions? How many weeks before pain is gone?
0 likes, 19 replies
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Notes on TKR 6 weeks out Night Pain
clive45466 nancy94758
Posted
We are all different so 6 weeks to 18 months, I was around 10 weeks.
Good healing
tammy11224 nancy94758
Posted
I am just shy of 6 weeks post-op and just woke up to go take Tylenol. I feel like once I finished the gabepentin I started waking up in the middle of the night. I try to ride my stationary bike before bed, but that doesn't seem to help like it used to. My hip aches now periodically. Ugh! Exercising helps a lot, but not what I want to do in the middle of the night! Hope you get relief soon!
nancy94758 tammy11224
Posted
marilyn10235 nancy94758
Posted
Hi Nancy, I may sound trite, but do you take your pain meds just before you go to bed?
We are all different & I'm afraid I can't give you any help, other than we all go through it!
Just gotta keep your sense of humour, do all the things you are told by your Physio & the hospital, rest, ice, elevate, you will emerge the other side with a new knee & (hopefully) no more pain.
There are a lot of knowledgeable people on here who can give proper advice.
I wish you all the best& a good nights sleep!
Marilyn
XX
nancy94758 marilyn10235
Posted
sarah87162 nancy94758
Posted
I had problems at night for quite a while after my TKR 4 and a half years ago.
Can't remember exactly how long it lasted but don't give up hope it does get better.
I think what happened with me was I was not too bad during the day because I was moving around a bit.
I went to bed and initially went to sleep without a problem.
Then I woke up in pain about 1 - 2 hours afterwards and found it very difficult to get back to sleep.
Try sleeping with a pillow either underneath the leg or between the two legs.
Also I found sleeping on my back was more comfortable than sleeping on my side.
Hope this settles quickly.
Take care and keep in touch
Sarah xx
cheryl90571 nancy94758
Posted
Hi Nancy!
I found that moving around and stretching helped a lot throughout the night as well as during the day. Stiffness causes discomfort as does swelling.
After the first two weeks I was done with blood thinners, and the Oxycodone was making me REALLY LOOPY. I was also finding that I wanted to up my dosage to get relief YET knew I would run out of my meds too quickly if I did that.
Long story short...I chucked the Oxycodone and resumed my tried-and-true Ibuprofen that I had used for many years prior to my surgery. Worked SO MUCH BETTER than the Oxycodone! Ibuprofen is an anti-inflammatory, so it helps with swelling. It also DOES NOT make me feel like I am out of my body LOOPY!
The Ibuprofen, the moving and stretching, drinking LOTS of ice water to help eliminate toxins from anesthesia and medication and often just walking around a bit, cleaning out a drawer (takes your mind off discomfort AND accomplished something, too!😁
all were helpful in getting myself ready to resume AND GET some more sleep.
Hope this helps!
I'm a year and a half post op from TKR #1 and 15 months from TKR #2. I STILL rely on the above strategies throughout the night and also in the day.
Journalling, reading, NETFLIX, and answering e-mails gets my mind off discomfort at night, too. Coming to this site has helped me often in the wee hours of the morning.
What I never do is just LAY THERE trying to sleep. That only frustrates me!
Keeping in mind that your body has gone through A LOT, remember that NAPS throughout the day or night are definitely your friend! My best sleep in those early weeks came from drifting off while icing, wrapped in Afghans while sitting up!
Listen to your body. It knows what it needs!
Take care! Let us know how things go during your recovery!
nancy94758 cheryl90571
Posted
I I am not supposed to take ibuprofen because it raises my creatinine kidney level readings. Once in a while I cheat and take one because it is such a great anti-inflammatory. I agree about Oxsee condone, I want to take more because I need more pain relief. The doctor wants me to wean off of them because I have taken too many. I am limited to five Oxsee condone 5 mg per day. And I take three of them at night. So my main relief comes from Tylenol arthritis eight hour. This next week I am supposed to go to the 4 Oxsee condone per day. You can only take Tylenol arthritis every eight hours so I'm stuck. I agree about moving around and stretching, but at night I am freezing and hate to get out of bed. During the day, I do get up and walk around a little to move. I am six weeks and three days and never leave the house unless I have a doctors appointment. My knee bending is only at 91%, my PT says I am behind. It's hard not to be depressed.
tammy11224 nancy94758
Posted
Hang in there! We are all on our own body's time. I have been diagnosed with depression for over 20 years now. I've always had a solid handle on it until now. Even thought my surgeon and PT say I'm great...a model patient, I feel the depression overpowering me and it's hard to articulate. I wake up in the middle of the night with my operated knee aching and during the day my other knee aches relentlessly and I often think wow, really? This is my life now...?? I have found getting out of the house daily is a huge help...even if it's only to go through the Starbucks drive through for a chai tea. I'm going back to work next week part-time for 4 hours a day. I love my job as principal of an elementary school, but I am feeling so anxious about it! And I just don't know how I'll ever get up the courage to go through this again with my right knee. I keep hoping in time I'll be so happy with the left knee that all doubt will be erased.
nancy94758 tammy11224
Posted
Thank you Tammy for your encouragement! You're going back to work part time is great. How many weeks since your surgery?
tammy11224 nancy94758
Posted
I'm 6 weeks post-op. I have a great deal of flexibility at work, so my plan is slow and steady. I bought a zero gravity recliner for my office and I plan to ice my knee whenever it aches. I can do some basic yoga stretches in my office. And if it gets to be too much I'll just go home!
nancy94758 tammy11224
Posted
nancy94758 tammy11224
Posted
Hi Tammy again, I used to work in a school office as secretary. It's been a long time, I'm 70 now. But if I still worked there, and if I was allowed the flexibility to work four hours, I only wish I could say, I would do what you're doing. You are great!
cheryl90571 nancy94758
Posted
It is easy to feel down! We all want to get back to normal FAST! Unfortunately the surgery is quite involved and there is MUCH healing to do!
The first 12 weeks were pretty challenging for me with my first TKR. My whole leg felt VERY HEAVY, and I had to work hard at home and at PT twice a week to build up my quad muscles and work on balance.
My second TKR, which was my REALLY BAD leg, was amazingly MUCH easier to get going. Two knees, same body, same surgeon, same hospital with surgeries just three and a half months apart. Strange but very much appreciated after my harder experience with Knee #1!!!
TRY to be patient with yourself.
Look each day for small improvements.
TRY to stay positive.
Get good at finding things that will distract you and take your mind off pain.
Before you know it you will be feeling so much better.😊
Come here often! There are so many going through what you are going through right now or have experienced what you have a number of weeks or months ago.
Sending prayers of calm, and strength, and positivity tonight!💗
nancy94758 cheryl90571
Posted
tammy11224 cheryl90571
Posted