Gale - 8 weeks post op

[mtngal67]

I think I jinxed myself! Posted all happy last week because I wasn't effected by the sleeplessness everyone else is plagued with and now I can't sleep. My body thinks it should be able to sleep however it wants now, and my knee is saying... "no freaking way!" It doesn't matter what pillows or anything else I use, it doesn't help. My knee is being quite stubborn about wanting to sleep straight out with me on my back. I think it's weird because up until the last 4-5 days sleeping on my back was just fine (not super comfy like sleeping on my side, but it was not keeping me awake). Now I seem to be turning over at some point and then waking up HURTING a lot! If I take a sleeping pill (Temazepam-generic for Restoril) I can sleep for about 3 hours, then wake up and the rest of the night (early morning) I toss and turn.

Other than this, I think I'm doing pretty well. I'll find out at my Dr appt with my OS on Wed. I forgot to have my PT person measure my ROM today, it was really busy today!

Ditched the cane today (well I left it in the car) and did my errand running without it. Felt pretty good actually, although I noticed people held the doors for me and offered help when I had the cane... might keep it around till after Christmas on second thought! :hehe:

Hope eeryone's weekend was great!
Gale
RTKR 10/5/09

 

[Texas]

Hey gale sounds like your doing well except for the sleep yeah im still waiting myself.......lol........i bet your rom is good.....if you feel it is and your bending well..........hope you get your dleep back soon..........)

 

[KarenD]

Gale, Ambien CR is working for me...I had to ask my doctor for it.

 

[Jamie]

Gale, you are still fairly early in recovery. It might help you sleep if you took pain meds when you wake up hurting and iced through the night.

 

[beachbum]

6 weeks out and I'm having trouble sleeping for more than a couple of hours at a time. I have found that if I get out of the bed and head to the recliner (luckily, we have a really comfy one in the bedroom), prop leg up on comfy pillow, bring my really squishy pillow, I can sleep better. I'm a side sleeper, and that's just not happening for long, yet. Good luck, nothing is worse than being sleep deprived (and there's no sweet little baby to blame it on this time!)

 

[Dawnie]

Gale, you sound like you are doing great, but if you are not getting your sleep then the days can be really difficult. I am fortunate, I do sleep quite well, but although I am not taking any medication now through the day I still take 2 x paracetamol and 2 x tramadol at bedtime, I generally sleep well although I do toss and turn a lot, my legs feel like they have ran a marathon in the morning. I have problems with my scars being super sensitive by the end of the day, my trousers have been rubbing them all day and at the end of the day I can not stand anything touching them, so I make a tent of the sheets with two pillows and it helps.
Hope you can resolve your sleep problems, but otherwise keep up the good work. XX

 

[Josephine]

Yes, I think you do need some pain killers at night. It's well known that knees do hurt more at night though no-one knows why!

 

[Cass]

Hi Gale,

I'm also using Ambien CR and getting about 4-5 hours a night with it at 5 weeks today. Perhaps it might help you??

 

[mtngal67]

I have my follow up appointment tomorrow, so I'll definitely be checking with him about something different for sleep.. as for the pain meds.. I have been taking them at night all along. Take one about 2 hours before bed, and another the first time I wake up. Ended up taking a total of 3 to get through the night last night and it really didn't seem to help much. I'm sure hoping my Dr will give me something to help... I'm tired of being tired, grumpy and short tempered (pretty sure my family is tired of it too haha!)

 

[KarenD]

Gale, I undertand--I am still grumpy, short tempered and have some pain.I feel like screaming sometimes... Most times, I remember that instead of getting worse every day like I was pre surgery, I am actually getting better--I just wish it was faster.

 

[beachbum]

At least I have the surgery to blame for being grumpy!!! :hehe:
I actually slept 5 hours straight last night ... and managed to go right back to sleep, spent the whole night in the bed, too. That's a first.

 

[mtngal67]

Saw my Dr today, he said my extension was fantastic, said my flex needed some work (big DUH moment there), said my scar was looking great and that my trouble spot was completely normal (trouble spot description: if you're looking down at your right knee and think of it as a clock (6 oclock being closest to your body) with an hour hand about an inch thick, the "swelling strip" would be about 2'oclock and extend out about 2-3 inches) Dr said its' just soft tissue swelling and I'm noticing it more because I'm aggrivating it by being so active, but not to stop being active because by being active I'm helping my knee heal with more function. He wants me to get on my bike at home more often and every couple days lower the seat a notch until I'm at a normal level with a good bend. And (drum roll please.....) ice frequently. Hmmm where have I heard that before?!!

Last time I was measured for flex I was at 94 which was on Nov. 18. the Dr said I need to get at a comfortable 100 at minimum for life at a normal functioning activity level. Pfft 100? I want (and WILL get) way more than that!

He said the sleeplessness was completely normal as well. Which is what I knew he'd say. He offered me what I'm already using .. Restoril. I told him it didn't work for me, he told me to take more advil or ibuprofin before bed. (Kinda made me want to call him every hour on the hour in the middle of the night so he could share in my sleepless frustration and see if his advice didn't change a little)

Seems like the mantra is always the same... ice and patience. Phooey!

After my appointment I went Christmas shopping with my mom... walmart... best buy... costco... yes.. rediculous amounts of walking. Managed to get my gigantic swollen knee in through the front door when I got home and have been icing and elevating for about 3 hours now. It's feeling better, looks more like the same knee I woke up with this morning, so that's good news! Will definitely pace myself better when I go shopping with friends Saturday. It's just hard to only hit one or 2 stores when you live 60 miles from the nearest big city and 12 miles outside of "town"!!

Patience and Ice, Patience and Ice, Patience and Ice!! :whis:

 

[Josephine]

Yeah - that's about the size of it! As for letting him share in your pain, my sister did just that once. She typed out a long, very descriptive letter about how she was feeling and what the pain was like. Then she phone the hospital and asked for his office's fax number and sent it to him! She got an appointment a few days later and he attended to her issues! It can work!

 

[mtngal67]

Sleep is still eluding me, but I did manage to get 4 straight hours last night which did wonders for my mood today. :p I went to PT today and when we measured I went from 94 last time to 103 this time! I was so shocked when she told me. I felt it was getting more bendy, but with the stiffness I've had the past couple days I sure did not expect it to be that much! I know the numbers shouldn't matter as much as your own notion of how you're getting around and going through your normal daily tasks... but it sure was a mood lifter to get that numerical verification that -yep!- I am slowly making progress. I'm celebrating my good news with a bag full of ice on my knee and a big pillow elevating rest!

Gale
RTKR 10/5/09

 

[Jamie]

Great news, Gale!!! I'm so happy for your "bendy" leg!! Don't worry...sleep will get better in time. For now, just nap when you can.

 

[mtngal67]

Lol Jamie, that's kind of funny, because my Dr. said "Don't nap so much" and my mom who went with me piped up "She's way too busy to ever think of napping!" which is true.... I haven't had sleep during the day since about week 2 post op.

On a brighter note, I made it through christmas shopping with girlfriends today! I drove, (I have the big SUV for hauling all the shopping purchases home!) and took my ice bag with me, held the ice on my knee the whole 60 mile drive, we went through a few stores, took a break for a nice long relaxing lunch, went to a few more stores, and then stopped to refill my ice bag on the way home, and I iced it the 60 miles back home... it feels just fine! No major swelling and we had been gone 9 hours!

So all you Shoppers.. take my advice and haul that ice bag with you and ice as much as you can while you're on the go, your knee will thank you!!!

Gale
RTKR 10/5/09

 

[Jamie]

Good job, Gale!!! Wow, that's a shopping marathon!