Become an Insider

TKR Sleep is back - now for more recovery!

Hoping for sleep tonight. :bored:

I am done of my slow release oxycodone and taking a maximum dose of acetaminophen, or at the faintest hint of pain/ache, I take a percocet or 2 ( taking into account the 325mg of acetaminophen they each contain) and plan on a nap.

I have an ice cuff icing machine, which many of my fitness colleagues swear by, and love it as it stays cold up to 8 hours.

I think I'm doing well physically.
It's the roller coaster psychological ride that has me stymied, occasionally miserable, and honestly even sometimes angry.

I try not to think about how behind I am with life and, when I go back, work. Hopefully in the coming weeks I will feel well enough to deal with all things personal - from my son's school things to tend to, banking, appointments, etc.

Does anyone else out there feel overwhelmed? I guess being a single Mom doesn't help me (and no family around). Lots of friends, but they can't do my banking! :chinstroke:

Thanks so much for the opportunity to vent and voice what struggles I am scared to admit aloud. :egypdance:

I sincerely hope you are all doing well. :flwrysmile:
 
I am curious what, if anything, you use on your scars (after they are healed) to help cosmesis, reduce dryness, and alleviate itching? Thanks!!
 
It's really not necessary to put anything on your scar, unless the skin is very dry - in which case any sort of moisturiser will do.
Some people favour one sort of lotion or cream, but really it doesn't make any difference.

Mother Nature is very good at doing her job of healing. The scar will gradually fade to a pale, silvery pink and all the lumps and bumps will flatten out, without you having to do anything.
Massage post THR
 
once my incision was completely healed, i used an expensive moisturizer i had leftover from a rash, on both of my legs because the skin had become all dry and scaly.
 
Hi Dawn, @JDP

You'll notice that I have moved your thread about scar management from the Social Room and merged it with your original recovery thread. It's really a question related to your recovery, and people will chip in with what they've used. Actually, the question is asked here about once a month or so.

I've changed the title of your thread, to reflect your latest question. If you prefer a different thread title, just post what you want and we'll get it changed for you.

For several reasons, we prefer that you only have one recovery thread:
  • That way, we have all your information in one place. This makes it easier to go back and review your history before providing advice.
  • If you keep starting new threads, you miss the posts and advice others have left for you in the old threads, and some information may be unnecessarily repeated
  • Having only one thread will act as a diary of your progress that you can look back on.
So please post any updates, questions or concerns about your recovery here.
Don't worry that we won't see your latest post or question because, between us, the staff read all new posts every day.

If you need an urgent response to a question, just tag a member of staff.
How to tag another member; how to answer when someone tags you

Here are the instructions on finding your thread, How can I find my threads and posts? . Many members bookmark their thread, so they can find it when they log on.
 
I so appreciate this Forum!
I have a few questions I hope someone out there can answer please.
- My earler post asked about being overwhelmed. Has anyone experienced this? Any advice?
- I am just under 4 weeks post-op and I still have bruising and swelling (I have been icing, etc). Is this not uncommon?
- I still need 2 to 4 percs (5/325) daily to be comfortable. Should I be done of pain meds by now?

I continue to hope I will become the champion sleeper I once was. Otherwise my return to work will be delayed for sure.

Thank you so much for your help. Daen
 
I think you will see a big difference in the next 2-3 weeks. I would keep the drugs as long as you need them. Just keep evaluating your pain level. Everyone perceives pain differently, so each of us can stop the drugs at a different time. I found that icing provided me a lot of pain relief, and I sat there for the first 3 weeks with ice on almost all day ( of course the ice packs melted and I didn't always notice the coldness was gone right away.) I am down to 1/2 oxy per day at 5 weeks and will be stopping that. I tried to wean off the oxy VERY slowly since others described withdrawal symptoms that I didn't want to have.
 
Yes, definitely continue using your pain meds if you are in pain. That's why you have them. You're ready to stop using them when you start forgetting your doses. At that point stretch them out or skip doses here and there to gradually wean off your meds. I tried to fast track getting off my oxy (it was wrecking my stomach) and, yeah, those withdrawal symptoms were unpleasant, especially on top of the nausea I was having anyway. So if you wean off gently, you'll be happier.

It's natural to feel overwhelmed by this surgery and recovery. It's a rough one and it takes a lot out of you. The energy drain is for real, and it knocks you to the floor. The pain can be bad and it hangs on for a long time. Your knee is swollen and you might have difficulty reaching whatever goals you or your surgeon have set, much less PT if you're doing that. It's way too easy to feel that you're getting nowhere. But you are getting somewhere. You're healing! Healing is something that only becomes visible after it has been busy for a while.

Like your bruising, which can take a while to fade away, your knee is making progress. One day soon you'll realize you feel better. A little more energy, a lot less pain, and that bruising will look better too. You'll feel less overwhelmed then. You started at a disadvantage being a single mom and all. Are you enlisting your kids to help in your recovery? They're getting a new, improved mom at the end of all this!
 
Thank you so much @SusieShoes. Your response means so much.
I am not doing well because of the insomnia. Tonight I am at my wit's end - 4 weeks with little sleep is not helping my recovery, relationships, nor my life. Tonight I've cried for the past 2 hours and actually thought about calling a Distress Line as my thoughts are getting irrational. There is absolutely no way I am getting my other knee done and going through this. I have no pain - never really did. It's this lack of sleep and subsequent depression that has me so scared. I can't go on like this. I have never had a sleepness night in my life until this surgery.
Can anyone help please?!??!
 
Hi again, Dawn,
I'm sorry that the insomnia and the blues are getting you down. I did give you some articles about those, in the post-op reading on Page 1 of your thread.
Here they are again:
Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?

Almost everyone experiences insomnia, but it does eventually go away. The best way to deal with it is to take daytime naps. The naps and what sleep you get at night all add up to the amount of sleep you need.
In other words, sleep where you can, when you can, and how you can.
Try doing that for a few days and if you have no success, may be your own doctor will give you a short course of sleeping pills.

I'm afraid that the blues are also part of recovery. Almost all your energy is going towards healing your knee and there isn't much left for doing other things, or for thinking clearly. Your emotions are very fragile for a while. This, too does get better.

Try not to worry about what you should be doing, and don't worry that life is passing you by. This period of doing little but resting, icing and elevating your leg is actually your job right now, doing what is right for you knee.
Try not to think of resting as "lying around, doing nothing." Instead, think of it as working hard, to give your knee the best possible chance of healing well. If you like, call it an investment in the future health of your knee.

You're only a month into this year-long recovery and the first 4-6 weeks are the hardest. You're almost over the hardest part and better times are coming. The rest of recovery isn't as hard as the first few weeks. Just don't try to rush this first part. Believe me, you'll be feeling a lot better before long.

Meanwhile, we're here to help you through this rough part. There's almost always someone on line, so just post and someone will reply soon.
 
Thank you. Almost 430am here and still no sleep. I will try to get through the weekend and then try to get a ride (my friends all work....) to my GP Monday. Thank you so much.
 
I have cried a lot during this recovery. This past Monday was an especially bad day crying-wise. Nothing earth shattering caused it, other than I'm still stuck in this recovery!!!

Sending a hug.
 
Sleep, or rather lack of it, can be the hardest part of this recovery. As others have said, just sleep whenever and wherever you can. It will get you through. I've only in the last month been able to sleep through the night. It wasn't even the pain. It was the recovery doing weird things to my body's sleep rhythms. But if you can make do with an hour here, two hours there, anytime during the day or night, you will get back to normal.

Please talk to us anytime, day or night, about your blue feelings. We've been there, and you will find other people who are going through the same thing, Post-operative blues are a real thing and very difficult. I am the world's most terminally cheerful person, and I got a little down. Others have it worse. So know you will get through this too and that you have people you can talk to about it, who know how draining this recovery can be.
 
I found I napped much better than I slept at night. Hubby was very understanding. I think I did sleep better at night than most people, but if I woke and couldn't get back to sleep, I moved to the recliner and got online.
 
I had a lot of trouble with sleep during the first 4 weeks until I *discovered* my husband's old, beat-up recliner. I found bed (either of them) fairly hopeless until about Week 7. I found I had to sleep alone since I was so restless and had no wish to disturb DH with my restless leg. Once I committed to the recliner (not easy, it was an old, battered one with a manual footrest) things improved from 1.5-2hrs sleep to roughly 4-5 hours sleep. It seems as though once I got back into the groove of sleeping for more hours, then the bed became more conducive to sleeping. However, that could've just been coincidental with the passage of time; hard to say.

Once I was able to book 4-5 hours in bed, I quickly realized I did best on the softer bed that has a memory foam topper. My knee liked to be coddled! Sometimes, it still does.

I took numerous daytime naps to offset the sleepless nights and I'm sure they helped stave off some of the negative emotional side-effects lack of sleep can bring. When I say nap, I mean "Power Naps," often running into the 2-3 hour range. I exceled at napping and didn't feel one shred of guilt.

Hopefully, your OS will help you resolve this issue today. Just bear in mind, this is temporary and you're getting closer each day to a more *normal* existence; promise! Things really do improve somewhere around Week 6 and then continue to improve as the weeks fly by. Hang in there!
 
Hi JDP: I'm so sorry you are struggling so much with sleep - and the blues. As others have said, you are in the toughest phase of recovery and unbeknownst to many of us prior to TKR, lack of sleep is a common and relatively long lasting part of recovery. Nap as you can, think about seeing your GP for some short term drug assistance. I'm not much of a pill taker so I just relied on a Tylenol PM with mixed results. Lack of sleep has such a negative effect on all the other aspects of recovery. Any crying . . . . whew, yes, also common and normal in this post-surgery dark period. I hope you will start to turn a corner soon. :flwrysmile:
 
I agree. No guilt for naps, no matter how long they are. Sometimes I just closed my eyes, and the next thing I knew I was waking up. And I am not normally a nap taker. Now at 5 weeks post op, I no longer feel like I need naps.
 
Thank you everyone. It was light out when I finally succumbed to sleep last night. But I had no more irrational thoughts. I may start speaking with a British accent though from the Netflix shows. I wish I could focus to read during those wee hours.
I cannlt thank you all enough.
I will try to stop stressing about my exercises and getting things done and ap and hope with all of my heart this passes soon. And I wll see my GP early next week. Bless you all. Dawn
 
Last night I took some Ibuprophen with my Tylenol, after doing some online searching. I think it was my best night sleep yet, but I still woke a couple of times, and finally got up at 5:30. I don't think my brain fog from the hard meds is completely gone yet, so I enjoy Netflix, and light reading. Enjoy the small victories because they will all add up in the end.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Active Antimicrobial Hydrogel
Corganics CBD

Staff online

Members online

Total: 1,297 (members: 5, guests: 1,292)

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom