TKR Can't sleep at night after knee replacement

[referee54]

As others have said, we all heal at different rates and progress at different times. You seem to be doing jut fine! Please also remember that ou must be patient---ROM comes slowly at times and in some spirts. Just take it easy, be patient, and you will arrive at your destination.

 

[maryo52]

112? Wahoo!

 

[Redbird]

Up and down? Yes, I geuss that could be a good thing! I like rocking with my knee, and now I love walking because I seem to sleep better! I appreciate everyones come back and everyone is so supportive, I am going to recommend this site to all new TKR's. Everyone should know needs to know things before they do things? Does this make sense? I'm rambling, Have a nice day!

 

[Josephine]

Amen, Mary - that's FANTASTIC for 7 weeks! Be very pleased with yourself, kauai!

 

[lily and maggie's nana]

I am almost three weeks out of surgery. I sleep in a recliner in my bedroom- I tried sleeping in the bed but it put too much stress on my kneecaps. I also ice at bedtime and take two percocet. I do wake during the night and if I am in pain and the time is okay, I take another percocet. The weird thing I am experiencing at night is the twitches and JUMPS that my muscles in my knees do. Sometimes those twitches wake me up. I asked my pt and she said it is normal that it is the muscles waking up. Hope you find a remedy to your sleeplessness. It is so very important. <3

 

[Redbird]

Lily and maggie's nana, I sleep in bed with my left knee on a king size pillow. I sometimes have ice under my knee and on top. I take two percocet at night to help with pain and sleep. Last night was a good ngiht , i did not need ice and I slept through the night. I think positive because that's what I have to do! and I like keeping rituals because that helps me too! I do my exercises faithfully even though sometimes I don't want too but I don't want scar tissue to build so I do them. Take care and we both will get through this! Staples out today another new experience!

 

[lily and maggie's nana]

Redbird, I am a side sleeper also. I would LOVE to sleep in my bed. Having two knees done, I am not sure about the pressure on the bottom knee, but I will try again soon. Thanks for your kind words. Mary Lou

 

[Nanners]

I will be 7 weeks tomorrow and I would love to be at 112. Your doing great!

 

[gman0358]

Had my TKR done the day before you..... I seem to be stuck at 97, but still seem to have a lot of pressure and swelling inside the knee itself. We all heal differently. Just have to learn to take what we get. Concentrate on your exercises, ice and elevate as often as possible, and remember to take your meds on time. These are things I have learned sometimes the hard way!

 

[AZRoxie]

I am at 7 weeks today myself and right there with you on ROM at 117 in my right and 110 in the left... I concur with everything said above and actually had one of those "blue mood" days yesterday after leaving PT and they pushed so hard on the left I was in tears...
I kept chanting the Bonesmart mantra... NO pain ... GAIN! and he said you have to have a little pain to get the scar tissue to break down and get your ROM... I was frustrated and very upset when I left, up to this point I have really enjoyed this Physical Therapy place but now if they can't honor my wishes how will I continue on?? He then suggested I should get on a stationary bike everyday for at least a total of an hour, if I do that and my stretches I don't need to go see him and get tortured so thta may be an option..
Don't let ROM get in the way of your recovery... I have been pushing myself way too hard and now I am seeing the results of it... for everyday I pushed and tried to do more than I should have I was down the next day icing and recovering that same amount of time!
Still fighting my blues today and a little disappointed with myself.. hard to tell these days if it's the pain meds still in my system that cause this blue feeling and sudden onset of tears or if this is part of the healing process...

Hang in there Kauai you are in good company!

 

[Josephine]

actually had one of those "blue mood" days yesterday after leaving PT and they pushed so hard on the left I was in tears...
I kept chanting the Bonesmart mantra... NO pain ... GAIN! and he said you have to have a little pain to get the scar tissue to break down and get your ROM... I was frustrated and very upset when I left, up to this point I have really enjoyed this Physical Therapy place but now if they can't honor my wishes how will I continue on??

You tell him at the start that when you say stop you MEAN stop and if he doesn't comply you will either complain to the owner and get a new PT or find somewhere else. There is absolutely no excuse for people - any people, nit just PTs - to hurt you against your will and without your full consent. Remember you are right and you HAVE rights, the right to say no and the right not to be abused. Besides which, his 'ministrations' actually do harm because they cause swelling and pain which can set you back.

He then suggested I should get on a stationary bike everyday for at least a total of an hour, if I do that and my stretches I don't need to go see him and get tortured so that may be an option

That's crazy! You're only just 7 weeks out and need to take it gently. But you could to 2 sessions of 15 minutes, that's quite enough. And check out this article home physio (PT) and activity progress, some good suggestions in there, even if I do say so myself!

Don't let ROM get in the way of your recovery... I have been pushing myself way too hard and now I am seeing the results of it... for everyday I pushed and tried to do more than I should have I was down the next day icing and recovering that same amount of time!

You got it there, my dear! Spot on!

Still fighting my blues today and a little disappointed with myself.. hard to tell these days if it's the pain meds still in my system that cause this blue feeling and sudden onset of tears or if this is part of the healing process.

Well, actually it is both - read this Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it. You're doing well, don't beat yourself up.

 

[Redbird]

Mary lou, I'm sorry I did not know that you had both knees done. I wanted that also but my orthopedist would not do it. I admire you! You do what you need to do to stay comfortable. I have no experience with both knees and very little with the one I just had done. I'm glad I found this site and even mentioned it to my doctor today. I had nothing but praise for this site and told him how I made my freezer packs a head time. He was very happy with my progress and he told me I was his first patient that had gone back to him in two weeks without a walker or cane. I am here if you want to talk, take care please!

 

[kauai]

I can very much identify with AZroxie - I have been having major blues and burst into tears after work today. I'm exhausted from no sleep, work is kicking my behind because I'm exhausted, and PT has been very very tough this week. My PT told me I was at a plateau, so she pressed HARD to get an additional 2 degrees of flexion. I yelled -and I mean YELLED in pain. My knee was very sore yesterday at work, so that added to my blues. I'm so happy to find this website, because my friends I'm sure are tired of hearing me tell them my tales of woe. I'm at 112 deg - today is 8 weeks and I'll find out tomorrow morning what my "new" number is. I'm up at 3:30 or 4am normally due to lack of sleep with the knee, and PT starts at 7am for an hour and then off to work immediately after. Not sure if I'm just burning myself up, but I'm getting very down at the moment. Dreading PT tomorrow

 

[katydid3]

I'm in the middle of week 8 and I have between 99 and 103. I think it's pretty good! I stopped going to PT last week as my insurance only covered 20 visits and by reading this Forum, I realized I can do it at home. I've started back to work part time and between that and PT at home, pain increased quite a bit. I just called to request going back to Percocet as it worked better than the new meds, Vicodin. I tried two Vicodin this morning and boy am I loopy! I will have to go to work later in the day. One Percocet works better for me than these. Why am I talking about me? To let you know that you have to control your pain to get getter and you have to take care of you. It's extremely difficult for me to be my own advocate but I have to. I know what makes me hour and I know what meds work and what doesn't. PLEASE take care of You!

 

[Knitter4444]

One of the most important things that I learned from Jamie is my attitude about numbers and ROM. Once I started looking at functionality instead of numbers, I was in a much better place emotionally. Oh I still cried at the drop of a hat, was still exhausted and was still in pain, but I started to see what I could do as my ROM improved instead of striving for a certain number.

It's a tough recovery. We are all here to support you.

 

[Nanners]

Very well said MerryS!

I am 7 weeks out today, and got measured at 93 yesterday. I would be quite happy with 115.

 

[Debbie_joints]

MerryS, that is so true, I hate when I see that old plastic goniometer coming at me. It seems like I stiffen up just at the sight of it. We should look at what we can do that we couldn't do before. Like me the other day my therapist had me get on the floor for the first time in years. I am so afraid to get down on the floor that I wouldn't be able to get back up again. But she showed me the way and now it is no problem. Let's not measure numbers and I think we all will progress much better.

 

[tkrme]

Pay very close attention to Josephine's post above in this thread. Do not let your therapy hurt you. My therapist did not care about my numbers just what I could do. He also believed on gentle exercise and no pain = just work to discomfort. I only did three weeks of therapy due to that philosophy even though the os had ordered four more weeks. I do not know my number now but my ROM is real close to the same as my non-surgery leg. Be patient. Gentle stretching gets you there faster than forceful manipulations. In a different thread, I posted that I do the stretches, stationery bike, and I lay on my back, lift my leg in a bent position and let gravity pull it down. Now I put weights on my ankle to assist the gravity, I started weights with one pound and increased when I could not feel any new bend.

 

[Dogface]

I was 7 weeks on Tuesday. I've been stuck at 113 for a week or so now but either way it's a long way in the right direction from where I started. Even if I never budge beyond 113 it allows me to do so much more than before my surgery. I'm confident I'll improve in time and I bet you will too.

 

[kneeper]

It sounds like you're overdoing to me. Otherwise you're doing great! Don't let the PT hurt you.