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Toss and Turn all night

Posted , 10 users are following.

alit68
alit68

my recovery 4wks 2*TKR seems to be going really well except that I am now finding it so difficult to get comfortable at night.  I am not in pain, but my legs seem to feel fatigued and I spend most of the night rolling from one side to the other, onto my back, back onto my side.  Just as I am about to drop off to sleep, or have been for a short time, I am wide awake and feel the need to roll over again.  My bed looks like a disaster zone by the morning with blanket and quilt and pillows all over the place. And I feel exhausted.  Perhaps I might try massaging the legs before bed tonight and see how that goes.  Any other suggestions would be appreciated.  

Alison

1 like, 9 replies

9 Replies

  • Oldfatguy1
    Oldfatguy1 alit68

    Posted

    Alison.....you may be pushing it a little too much during the day. For a couple of days, Slow down your activity level, drink more fluids all day long and you can even add a little quinine water or ginger ale to the mix. I suspect you are really dehydrated by the time you go to bed.
  • helen59197
    helen59197 alit68

    Posted

    Hi Alison.  I find icing just before I go to bed really helps.  Maybe it will work for you.  Hope you have better nights ahead.
  • martinarvelo
    martinarvelo alit68

    Posted

    Does this coincide with cutting back on pain meds  y any chance?  In my case, when i stopped tramadol, I found staying still absolutely impossible. . and for no real reason. It was just not possible to stay in one position.  Had to start the tramadol again, and come off it more slowly.  Just a thought. . . 

     

  • Dotty_Lotty
    Dotty_Lotty alit68

    Posted

    Everyone will have a different suggestion, for me a small cushion between my knees helped a bit,at one point i had the awful cant keep your leg still thing  I resorted to putting a wheat bag over my leg in an effort to weight it down a bit. Night is so much worse than day, it will pass I have been sleeping a lot better since about 6 week , which seems to be a common thing so hang on in there, another point worth noting is that even at 10 week post op, if I over do things I will have a bad night and the knee will complain, take it slowly, take ALL the meds and remember to ice good luck and stay in touch
  • m1m1
    m1m1 alit68

    Posted

    Are you sleeping with a pillow between your legs?  I can't get comfortable w/o one.

     

  • pyesangel
    pyesangel alit68

    Posted

    Hi Allison,

    I am 7 1/2 weeks po and like you my bed looks like a war zone. I can't stay in one position very long and toss and turn all night. Massaging my knee with cocoa butter has helped, as has my old ACE knee support that I used before I had my surgery. It's not tight and I've noticed there is less swelling in the morning and the knee feels much better. I put it on right after I massage my knee. I've also gone back to taking 1/2 of a 50 mg Tramadol before bed. Hope we can both find something to help us through the night. Good Luck 

    • Oldfatguy1
      Oldfatguy1 pyesangel

      Posted

      I wouldn't use the knee support without permission from my doc. I think you might be slowing the overall process as well as doing some permanent damage. Unless you are continuing to strengthen the soft tissue the proper way you aren't going to ever get the strength you are working toward. That's why they get the bandage off as soon as the stitches/staples are out and get therapy under way. There are a number of things you can do to just feel better that are detrimental to the healing and continually wrapping the leg is one. Ask your doc or therapist immediately
    • martinarvelo
      martinarvelo pyesangel

      Posted

      Has your surgeon passed using the knee support / / / I would have thought this would interfere with the necessary development of muscle  . . but perhaps you have checked it out with him?  Otherwise, sounds rather dangerous . . . .
    • Oldfatguy1
      Oldfatguy1 martinarvelo

      Posted

      I couldn't agree more Valerie. From the way I have been instructed, this is a very detrimental if not dangerous practice. Dr's advice absolutely mandatory here.
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