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Bilateral TKR Bear2005's Recovery

don't mean to sound whiny, but Wed. will be week nine for me and i still sleep miserably! i can go to bed at 9 or at midnight and it still takes me 2-3 hours to fall asleep. i have been taking a variety of sleep aids. my "pain" is minimal, but i guess enough to make me restless. is this normal?
 
I tell people this all the time, so I hope I don’t bore you, but . . .

I listen to audio books and Great Courses at night. I almost always have to listen to a section more than once. But, when I’m not sleeping, who cares how long it takes to grasp what’s going on in a lecture on particle physics or a history book about Presidents Roosevelt and Taft? Even if I don’t fall asleep, I relax, and I feel it’s time well spent.
 
@Helizabug thats actually great advice. never thought of that. since i'm a history guy, maybe i should read the particle physics stuff and it'll put me out sooner. thank you so much.

geeez, looking at your history, you've had some journey. i also see we had some work done the same day. how are you coming along?
 
That particle physics lecture was interesting, but I had to replay it a bunch. In the old days, I would have wiped the recording clean off the tape.

I’m doing pretty well except I’m not happy with my ROM: 86 and 10, if I remember correctly. My doctor is even more unhappy, but he makes more money than I do, so I’m not concerned with his happiness. :tada:

My pain is okay, though, and my sleep is okay. My stamina isnt so great, but I can recover from most of the stuff I do at work by resting and icing. I workout at the gym three days a week, including some leg work and some time on the rower. If I could just get that flexion and extension to progress a little better, I’d be happy.

I hope though get some good rest soon!
 
Hah! Isn't that the TRUTH! I love my surgeon, but according to him the window of flexion ends at eight weeks -- OH THE HORRORS :thud:. We all know better thankfully...:ok: !!

I really than mod. Jockette for talking me off that ledge. LOL!
Helizabug said:
My doctor is even more unhappy, but he makes more money than I do, so I’m not concerned with his happiness. :tada:
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I can't say normal or not, but it was my most significant issue first 10+ days post TKR. I averaged 2.75 or so hours a day/ night. Not just from the initial discomfort of it all. Just pure insomnia!

I wear a fitbit so I could monitor my sleep. In my case, I believe it was my bodies 'shock' response to the surgery, where I otherwise did not have sustained pain from my TKR. I found that resting in bed, even if not truly asleep allowed me to still REST in a way, and it got better.

Don't beat yourself. We here understand. If you get in a long chunk of sleep whenever it hits, they may help to get your rest cycle back on track.
Bear2005 said:
i have been taking a variety of sleep aids. my "pain" is minimal, but i guess enough to make me restless. is this normal?
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question, a lot of emphasis on ice, ice, ice, which i agree and have been doing. i also hear about heat.
when, if ever, do you integrate heat into the recover? Thank you
 
Heat is not advised on the knee, it can cause increased swelling on a knee that is still healing.

But, heat can be used on your thigh or back or wherever you might normally use it. Just not on the knee itself.

I forget how far post op I was when I tried heat, on my knee. I used one of those rice bags. My knee immediately got very upset, I heated the bag too hot, and it was too heavy.:doh:Don’t make the mistake I did!
 
both knees have been cracking/clicking. anyone else experience that? will this be permanent?
 
as always, thank you. you click on these resources faster than my knees are clicking. the article
was very helpful.
 
@Bear2005 I'm doing well thank you! Sleeping is still very much an issue for me too! Takes forever to fall asleep. Only get maybe 5 hours based on my fitbit. But not great 5 hours of sleep. I'll still get stiffness occasionally. That tight band feeling went away a few weeks ago. My knees clunk so bad most days. I'm always asking people if they can hear them. My doctor said it may or may not go away but won't know till a year . Anyways I hope you are getting along well and continue to make progress daily!
 
Awesome article Jockette! Yeah, mine was clunking a bit more than usual, yesterday. Just getting me ready for an insomniac night I am having now. LOL!
 
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Maybe, I already posted this here, but, just in case . . .

Knock, knock!
Who’s there?
No one, that was my knee replacement.
 
@Minnie77 thank you Minnie. at some level, its good to know my situation seems to be common, that people are going through the same challenges and frustrations and pain. on another level, i feel bad getting validation at the expense of others. I hope you continue to progress faster than normal.
 
have had RLS, Restless Leg Syndrome, for years. often keeps up at nights. i feel like this BTKR
has made it worse. anyone have RLS that can recommend and effective remedy? many thanks
 
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