Become an Insider

TKR Can't sleep at night after knee replacement

Status
Not open for further replies.
Debbie....I had to get on the floor the other day to get the info to order some supplies for my husbands CPAP machine. I am only at 4 weeks and was a bit worried about how I was going to get back up :scare: To make it worse, I was between the bed and night stand/wall with just a little bit of room. :whistle: So, here I am laying on the floor on my tummy getting the info. Once I was done, I start to worry since I can't put weight on the new left knee, and my right knee is not quite 2 yrs old yet and I have issues getting up with that one as it is.

After 10 minutes of trying several different ways of grabbing the bed, the wall, the dog, anything I could get my hand on and not being able to get up off the floor, I start to scoot myself down to the end of the bed. :rotfl: Now remember, I am on my tummy between the night stands/wall and the bed with barely enough room for me to be laying there to begin with. Another 5 minutes of reverse army crawling while trying to not hurt my knee I finally make it out. The dogs rush to my aide by licking my face profusely :puppysmooze: and nudging me to pet them. Now that I am out in an area with more room and more things to grab on to, like my cane, walker & a dresser with drawers I can grab on to so I can get up, I was standing in less than a minute. :happydance: I wish I had someone show me how to stand before I had so stupidly attempted to get on and off the floor!
 
I'm in the middle of 8 weeks and don't even want to try to get on the floor. I should try it at some point, while my husband is home, to see if I can get back up. I'm a bit insecure.
 
That was the purpose of sharing my stupidity...to make someone laugh and/or smile :loll:

God knows we all have those days where we need a smile or a laugh and I am loaded with stupid things I have done to bring a million smiles and/or laughs :whistle:
 
I had a similar experience the other day. I think the problem lies in that we (or at least me) don't think ahead enough to figure out how to get out of the position we get ourselves into. I wanted to lie down flat, weeks of being in the recliner are getting old. I laid down on my love seat, elevating my legs on the end armrest. This was all good, however when it was time to stand up, I only had one low armrest to use for lifting. Finally after 10 minutes or so trying to improvise, my husband had to lift me up under the unsupported arm. Needless to say I will not try this for awhile!
 
Ok, so I'm whining. It's been 8 weeks since my knee replacement, and I can't sleep for more than an hour at a time. My knee aches and starts to throb, waking me up. I'm exhausted and have tried just about everything to sleep but to no avail. I have pain killers (Percoset) which I take at bedtime, but they don't seem to do anything. I'm back working full-time for the past 2 weeks and can barely function during the day. For you veterans out there - how long should I expect this exhaustion to last?
 
I did not go back to work for 12 weeks and then was on limited duty hours for another 8 weeks. I was exhausted when I went back to work and my knee would be yelling at me. I had a hard time getting a good nights sleep but finally starting getting back into a good nights sleep about 5 months out but that time frame varies from person to person. Are you taking breaks at work elevating the leg. icing the leg are you taking any ibuprophren at work. What kind of work do you do. You are not whinning this is a long journey full of ups and downs along the way
 
I'm an engineer, so it's primarily desk oriented work, but it's kicking my you-know-what. I'm teary (burst into tears at work), grumpy and no energy at work. I can put my leg up on a chair, but that's about it - no icing during the day. I try to walk around my building for exercise and to calm the knee. I think I can understand new parents and what sleep deprivation does to them (I have no children). Since I live alone, I think I whine a bit too much to my friends, so I've been avoiding talking about it, since it's my problem, not theirs.
 
Have you thought about trying some sleep aid medication like Ambien?
 
You are back to work really quickly after op. at about 8 weeks I was fit for nothing! In fact I'd go so far as to say that was my worst period. Be kind to yourself , you are doing really well
 
kauia, you've returned to work far too early and aren't taking near enough pain meds, that's why you are having so much trouble. I suppose now you have started back to work you would probably find it difficult to stop but that's really what you need to do.

You started yet another new thread which means you probably haven't been back and looked at all the recovery articles that were posted for you here. If you don't read them and take that information on board then you're going to carry on having these problems for a lot longer than if you do. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about. Everything you have described is due to doing too much far too soon. Please, please be more caring of yourself and your knee and cut back on your activity, increase your pain meds, icing and rest. There's no other way to get better quickly.

Incidentally, you may notice I have joined all your threads together so you can read back at all the splendid advice others have given you - some more than once. Do take care.
 
I seem to sleep better almost sitting up surrounded by pillows. I was used to not sleeping well because of the arthritic pain so 3 - 4 hours sleep at a time is normal to me. I seem to catch up with naps during the day if possible.
 
I took Tylenol PM from day one. The Tylenol helped (a little) with pain, and the PM helped with the sleeping. I found that taking those did not leave me drowsy and I got a few hours of sleep at a time- which was great!
 
Exercising AND doing PT? At 8 weeks out you are doing too much and that is why you are having so much pain. Your knee can only take so much. You had a major surgery and need time to recover, and if you hurting, that is your body telling you that you need to slow down.

Also, have you tried taking some sleep aids? I loved my Tylenol PM and/or Benedryl.
 
Josephine - I took your advice and read all the reference articles you mentioned. They really helped! I've been getting a bit depressed over my belief that my ROM needs work (it's 110 deg), my exhaustion is never-ending due to knee pain at night.
Here's a little more information about me.

I live alone, so do all the cooking, cleaning, etc. I get up usually around 4:30 or 5 due to lack of falling asleep and knee pain. I do some exercises in the morning, and am at work by 7:30am. I only have an opportunity to ice when I get back home, which I do twice before going to bed (around 9pm). I take one Percocet before bed and two trazadone (which are supposed to help me sleep). I wake up usually around 11:30 or midnight, and every hour or less from then to when I get up.

I took your advice and sent an email to my work folks - I've decided to take this coming week off and rest, and reevaluate the following week. This coming Tuesday (23 Oct), will be 9 weeks post surgery.
 
....me again. I forgot to mention that when I'm sitting at home, I use a wedge that elevates my legs...
 
It tuff living alone and having to take care of yourself. First I would start making sure I would get a hanldle on pain 24 hours a day. I found if I wasn't in pain I could sleep easier and sleep longer. Make sure all house work really needs to be done. Could you get some help to come in and help you for a while. I did and it helped so much. Make sure you take a easy. You are very important and you are worth it. Please keep us informed of how you are doing. Tashia
 
kauai, I am absolutely delighted that you are re-evaluating your schedule. It sounds like you only ice for 15-20 mins so I suggest though that you ice all the time when you get home - strap the ice pack to your knee so you can get around.

I also live alone with two cats so I know what you mean. I decided not to ever worry about cleaning and stuff. I could go a few weeks without doing laundry or ironing and as for washing up, that's a bi-weekly event anyway! (I know, I'm a lush!!) But it worked for me. You get something that works for you and you'll be flying .....
 
Gman0358 - thanks for your recommendation; I went ahead and ordered a CryoCuff.

This morning I didn't get up until 6:30 - I feel a lot better even though I was waking up every hour. I want to concentrate on my exercising this week and icing
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Active Antimicrobial Hydrogel
Corganics CBD

Staff online

Members online

Total: 1,274 (members: 1, guests: 1,273)

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom