THR Sleepless in recovery

[tanjam]

I can so relate to this.
Been a side sleeper most of my life and now 6 weeks after right THR and I can only tolerate sleeping on my nonoperative side for 2 hours or so without cramping. To sleep on my back, I still have to put a pillow under my right leg to feel comfortable. I don't really hurt at night but that stiffness/ tightness is uncomfortable.
Looking forward to sleeping comfortably on my side again. I agree that using too thick of a pillow makes it worse.


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[RSC]

TLHRTrish, my replacement is a DePuy implant as well. It would be interesting to find out the materials used for your replacement and the rationale for selection, but I think that all of the current materials are good.

 

[VThereandnow]

Addendum to my post, I suggested melatonin and wouldn't you know, I went to PT and was reading a magazine about sleep and it said if you hav high blood pressure or diabetes, it might not be good to take.

 

[Horseshoe]

@TLHRTrish sleeping on your back doesn't have to mean lying flat on your back. A member here suggested using a lot of pillows to make a "pillow recliner" that gently elevates your head/neck/back plus a pillow under the knees and one in between. I could then do an "almost rollover" on both sides (more pillows!) when I came home which helped me sleep otherwise my legs would stiffen up in mere minutes -ouch. Used an ice pack sandwich for the thr leg, one pack under and one over hip. Lastly I sleep on a down feather bed which is worth its weight in gold

 

[Kiwi71]

Hello there I can really sympathize I am a side sleeper and only on my right side! I had a RTHR 5 and half weeks ago. I didn't sleep at all tossing aND turning with pillows before I decided to do the following. During the day i just take panadol and ibuprofen but half an hour before bed intake 30mg of codine and 1 triazelam sleeping pill. This let's me sleep from 9pm to 4am when I wake sore - so at least some sleep!!! Talk to your GP about pain meds or sleeping pills at night. We need to sleep to heal. Best wishes

 

[TLHRTrish]

Thanks for all of the helpful replies here. It's getting a little better, but still having more sleepless nights than not. I have tried melatonin in the past, and it did help, but don't want to combine it with other meds. Should be considered that it is a hormone, and there is research suggesting limiting its use. I've also tried propping up pillows for an inclined sleep, but doesn't work for me. I'm able to sleep on both sides now without issue, other than what I originally posted about here, nighttime pain that starts shortly after retiring to bed.
I'm wondering if any of the posters here had sweating issues in the first couple of weeks? I'm not encountering this now, but for about the first 10 days of recovery, I woke up every night soaking wet. I figured it was the anesthesia coming out. I've also found that the leg length discrepancy, which in the first 4 weeks was 2cm+ (measured by PT), has leveled out as the doctor said it would. That was a huge concern, and I wore inserts in my right shoe for weeks to maintain a proper gait.
Overall, the recovery is coming along well, walking normally and unaided, using less meds, and now looking forward to a weeks' worth of diving in the Bahamas early April! Not going to lift gear or exit water with it on, will be super safe, and hope for a great time.
Thanks again for the helpful tips here.

 

[TLHRTrish]

Just a quick update, at about 12 weeks post op. Have had many 'firsts' in the past 2 weeks, including diving, biking, rowing machine, and a beach walk (yay! I live on the beach, and haven't been able to walk the sand in two years because of the arthritis pain!). Hip feels good, still a little bit of pain, still a bit of trouble sleeping. Biggest issue at this point is chronic lower back pain for the past 3 weeks, which was never a problem pre-surgery. Guessing it's a matter of compensation, and need to work the abs up to adjust. The pain is there regardless of the days' activities. I would imagine the twisting and pulling and dislocating that goes on during surgery could contribute to this, although, as already mentioned, it just started 3 weeks ago. Hope everyone is healing well!

 

[Jaycey]

@TLHRTrish are you still wearing the same shoes you wore pre-op? If so, ditch them and buy new. Your old shoes will have a wearing pattern based on how you walked before your surgery. This can contribute to back problems. Now you have an excuse to go shoe shopping!

 

[Lancs Lass]

Hi folks, I dont sleep well either but think it might be ebtter to have a move around every few hours. I know this sound smad but I'm so stiff when I awake after a coupole of hours sleep that it feels good to get out of bed and plod about the house to loosen up again. if I slept for a full 8 hours i'm not sure I would be bale to move once i awoke. having said that, I'll be very glad to be given the go ahead to sleep on my side! I'm 6 weeks in and doing OK I think.

 

[TLHRTrish]

@Jaycey - thanks for the tip. I have no obvious wear patterns on any of my shoes or flip flops (I am mostly in flip flops, but good sneakers when on my feet for a while.) I couldn't begin to toss all of my shoes, nor be able to go buy all new ones. Just back to work this week after four months without; I'm broke! The chronic back pain has not improved, and it's actually worse. Even standing for 10 mins aggravates it, and a day out provisioning the yacht I work on leaves me completely drained of any strength. We all know here how much constant pain depletes one of any energy. I am scheduling another visit with my surgeon to see if he can give me any insight. It's not sciatica, and I never had back issues prior to surgery. My spine is also very 'noisy' at this point, and I can hear my vertebrae pop and click as they move around. I suspect the physical nature of the surgery, and the multiple dislocations of the hip may have messed up my lower spine. Maybe xrays will tell. If I get anything conclusive, I will share it here. Leaving on the boat in a few days, and will be offshore for 5 or 6 days without internet. Hope it's calm!

 

[TLHRTrish]

Hi folks, I dont sleep well either but think it might be ebtter to have a move around every few hours. I know this sound smad but I'm so stiff when I awake after a coupole of hours sleep that it feels good to get out of bed and plod about the house to loosen up again. if I slept for a full 8 hours i'm not sure I would be bale to move once i awoke. having said that, I'll be very glad to be given the go ahead to sleep on my side! I'm 6 weeks in and doing OK I think.

@Lancs Lass - I agree, and found I felt much better with activity, and getting movement and exercise in as early as possible. But I am still getting 8 - 10 hours of sleep, sometimes feeling rested, other times, like today (11 hours last night!), I am run down. I'm good about vitamins and supplements, and B complex and B12 are great for energy. I was able to sleep on my side after about 3 weeks, although the healing does seem to change up regularly; the pain and discomfort sure does make the rounds, showing up in different places. Hope you continue to heal well.