TKR 7 weeks out can't sleep

Dirk4797

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I'm 7 weeks out from surgery and whenever I sit, recline, or laydown my effected knee starts to go numb after 30 minutes and gets more painful the longer I stay in that position. My relief is to get up and walk around for awhile and then start over. This will go on all night. Some nights I don't sleep at all, some nights I get about 1 and half sleep and when I wake up it is really tender and takes a little walking around to bring it back. Has anyone experience anything similar. I believe my doctor is going to tell me it's because of my back which I'm not having issues with. I went in for x ray and they eliminated blood clots with ultra sound. Full knee replacement was on Dec 3. I'm going in for a pelvic x-ray and have video chat tomorrow. I took off a week from clinic P/T, have been doing it at home and start back up after I hear from Doctor. Thanks for comments
 
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This sounds like I was. Constantly getting up, wondering around, moving from bedroom bed to livingroom chair, doing some choirs and bathroom visits. I had so many other body pains...shoulder, wrist, back, hip, thigh (normal pains which I am sure were made worse from over compensating). Once I stopped formal PT and went to Chiropractor and nursed my entire body (not just knee) with heat and ice, I saw a great improvement. Took awhile and drove me crazy dealing with whatever pain would crop up, but it has improved! Just keep telling myself that I will keep exercises up so entire body is more prepared for the other knee tkr lol.
 
@Dirk4797 ,
Welcome to BoneSmart, glad you joined us! :welome:
Sorry you are having knee numbness and pain when sitting or lying down.
I agree with Birdgirl, you should have someone take a look at your back even though you are not having back symptoms.
Here is something you can try for your night time knee pain.
Night pain solutions using moist heat and clingfilm

Please post your surgery date, a moderator will add it to your signature for you. Having the exact date will help us properly advise you. Thanks!

Are you still going to PT, if so what are you doing during your sessions?

Here is your copy of the Knee Recovery Guidelines, the articles are short and will not take long to read.
You will find many answers to your questions in the guidelines.

Knee Recovery: The Guidelines
1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now, they are almost certainly temporary
2. Control discomfort:
rest
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)​

3. Do what you want to do BUT
a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you​
b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.​

4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these

5. At week 4 and after you should follow this

6. Access these pages on the website


The Recovery articles:
The importance of managing pain after a TKR and the pain chart
Swollen and stiff knee: what causes it?
Energy drain for TKRs
Elevation is the key
Ice to control pain and swelling
Heel slides and how to do them properly
Chart representation of TKR recovery
Healing: how long does it take?

Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?

There are also some cautionary articles here
Myth busting: no pain, no gain
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds


We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery.

While members may create as many threads as they like in the majority of BoneSmart’s forums, we ask that each member have only One Recovery Thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review the member’s history before providing advice, so please post any updates or questions you have right here in this thread.
 
@Dirk4797 what PT are you doing? It's easy to do more than your new knee is happy about without realizing that we have until we try to sleep or even the next day.
 
I'm with the VA and they sent out a chair with remote that allows me to stretch out and in, also I go to physical therapy at the clinic and they gave me some exercises to do at home.
 
Please tell us what surgery you had, when you had it, and which knee it was. Knowing these things help us to know better how to advise you.
 
Welcome!

I also had this happen to me. I was exhausted and told my husband I just NEED a full 6hours sleep and I would be ok. I hate to say this but the 6 hours of continuous sleep did not come till around week 12 . The time between waking and walking around the house did get shorter and shorter and by 16 weeks I was sleeping at least 7 hours. I remember being very depressed and exhausted and thought the pain would never ease up but it did and I’m back to work ( physical healthcare job) full duty. In fact, last week without me thinking about it I did a deep squat to help a patient and while I was deep I thought “oh no, am I going to be able to get back up “ but I did and made a mental note to limit those deep squats at work for awhile :).
 
@Nancan Thank you for your post. I am really struggling with sleep at 9 weeks. Up, down, up, down all night. Sooooo exhausted. I know it will improve with time. Just frustrating, like it is for most.
 

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