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THR Sunbunny's Rainbow

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Sunbunny, just a random thought about sleepless in ......a friend suggested if you wake and can't get back to sleep to make "sleepytime" tea, I bought it but never made it one time, I'm NOT a tea drinker however so that makes a diff. I have NOW slept through the night at about 7 weeks Postop, WOO HOO for me, I hope and pray that doesn't take as long for you!!! Sleep tight!!


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@PDA thank you. It is 11:07 and I guess time to try. Have been up since 3:30 this morning. Hopefully I can get in some hours tonight. I had the same problem when I had my knees replaced. So reading a little.
 
Hi @sunbunny - sorry to hear you can't sleep. I take zopiclone occasionally -I call it my lifesaver! I only take a half pill if I have had a couple of bad nights or if I am too excited to get to sleep. There is no drowsy effect the next day and I wish I had discovered it when I was teaching. I admire you teaching K after a knee replacement! You are tough!
Talking about the grabber -My husband added a hook to mine so I could hang it on my walker - but a couple of them would be a good idea.
I do hope you are sleeping better soon!
 
@Granny Di I like the hook idea. I have one grabber in the bathroom and the other by the bed. The leg lifter is by the bed. Hubby said it was like going on a trip when I move locations. I feel like my house has been redecorated in rehab style. Let's see...I had PT today. I can now get in and out of passenger's side of car all by myself. I actually washed dishes this morning. I already take a sleeping pill..took a whole last night and I got six hours. Yeah! I can see a difference today. Have my first post op visit Thursday. In house PT ends Friday. Have you moved to your cottage? The weather has warmed up here and all my flowers are blooming. Hugs
 
Loads of progress @sunbunny - and so glad you got some decent sleep, makes all the difference to energy levels and mood, doesn't it? Don't try and pick those flowers though, mate, unless you are ace at that golfer's reach!
:flwrysmile:
 
sunbunny said:
@Granny Di ..... I have one grabber in the bathroom and the other by the bed. The leg lifter is by the bed. Hubby said it was like going on a trip when I move locations. I feel like my house has been redecorated in rehab style....
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You will so appreciate it when, one by one, you don't need the grabbers, lifters, canes, toilet seat etc any more. It seemed a brilliant development when they could be returned/given away. It was like a confirmation that I was better. I did keep everything a few weeks longer than needed though "just in case"

Good luck!
 
Good to know @copsham I do see a small dim glow at the end of this tunnel. it has been a godsend all of the support on this forum. Next question...when can I move to a side and do you prefer a body pillow or two smaller pillows? I had posterior. I will ask at my post op on Thursday but miss my side terribly. Only was on it when they snipped staples. It was not all that comfortable.
 
Hi @sunbunny - re the side sleeping - I use a fairly firm normal pillow and make sure I press my new hip (L like yours) knee and ankle to the pillow before turning - that kind of keeps it in place and the leg supported. I was allowed to sleep on old hip side from the beginning, but not on new hip for another two months. My incision was on the side towards the back (glue and strips).

At first I would wake up all the time to move from side to back, but now I don't. And I can also turn slowly and gently over onto my front for a bit of a stretch out, and that is really comfortable for about two minutes. I know that occasionally I wake up with my L leg flopped over the top of the pillow (ie, over the midline :yikes:) but after a second of terror, I move it back gently and all seems to be well.

As a former whirling dervish in bed, this is all very super controlled for me - it was something I worried about a lot pre-op, but the reality (as with everything else) has not been as bad as my fears.
 
"The reality has not been as bad as my fears."
Ain't that the truth!
I crossed my legs today and didn't dislocate. How great is that?
 
I had the same terrors of being asleep on the operated side. It took me about a year to finally feel a little comfortable sleeping on the operated side. I still consciously try not to sleep on it.(maybe it's a tic). I'll usually floop on my back. It will take you time but things do get and should be much better after a couple of months. A year later and it'll feel like your new better self. All the best. Happy recovery!
 
Thank you @janina and @Granny Di and @Great Aunt Janet . Just when one fear starts to subside another comes. All normal. Had visits from friends today which made me feel more normal. Hubby served tea and was quite the host. Hopefully tomorrow I will try out my regular bed. Hospital bed goes back in a week so adaptations must be made. So many of my friends with joint replacements become recliner sleepers. I hope that i don't join the ranks. Hugs, good wishes, and calm thoughts.
 
Update! I am doing a happy dance (in my head). I was able to get into my regular bed and it felt like heaven. Yeah. I will have to add another rehab piece of equipment. We have a high bed and I was using a chair my late father in law had made for my kids to get into bed with. Well it is too unstable with nothing to hold unto. So a medical step is going to be a new purchase. Lol. It will become a lot safer. I was able to lift my leg into bed without lifter do lolly. I can't tell you how it felt. Had my first itch on incision but I did not scratch. Small steps.
 
My OS explicitly told me no laying on either side at all. Since surgery I generally sleep on my back with maybe a little lean to one side or the other which my body seems to accept enough to let me sleep through the night. I've always been a side sleeper and the urge to lay on my side is overwhelming at times. I'll admit that I pack a bunch of pillows between my legs and roll onto my non-operated side from time to time, not to sleep, but just to readjust things and quench that need. It does pull and ache in my operated hip and thigh when I do it though. Something about using those side muscles to support the weight of my leg while turning over.

I hope you find a successful method of getting your needed side laying time!
 
I too did not like the feel of lying on non operated side with pillow support. But I did enjoy being propped up on my back in my own bed. Ahhhh.
 
I had my first post op appointment with PA. Hardest part was hopping up on the X-ray table and lying flat. Everything is good, three more weeks of in home PT. The 90 degree restriction is for me for life. I guess I will make adaptations but it will be a life changer. Thinking of duct taping a razor to a ruler. I cannot imagine hubby shaving my legs. Don't know the plan for getting my hair done. The chair at the sink is very low. I guess I could take pillows! The outing wore me out! Hugs to all!
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@sunbunny . My left knee is killing me, much more than hip does. Have had knee pain ever since a hip injection in Feb. Every step I take is very painful. I was on dilaudid for knee before HR, I know they want me to get off it now slowly because hip is healing. But these things are related! A PT spent alot of time trying to figure out why knee hurts but can't come up with anything.

Wonder if I should push for knee xray at first chance?
 
sunbunny said:
I had my first post op appointment with PA. Hardest part was hopping up on the X-ray table and lying flat. Everything is good, three more weeks of in home PT. The 90 degree restriction is for me for life. I guess I will make adaptations but it will be a life changer. Thinking of duct taping a razor to a ruler. I cannot imagine hubby shaving my legs. Don't know the plan for getting my hair done. The chair at the sink is very low. I guess I could take pillows! The outing wore me out! Hugs to all!
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Hi, Sunbunny, doin catch up on how you are doing....wow !! lots of progress and glad your life is gaining all the things you missed. Keep up the progress in those final PT days, it makes such a difference in muscles and movement. Happy 4 you Rainbow woman :loveshwr: :SUNsmile: :egypdance:
 
@sunbunny - One of the pieces of equipment I got along with the walker, toilet, and bath bench was a pillow. They come in different sizes and can be moved to different chairs as needed. I used mine in my recliner and it was easier to get up. Sorry to hear about the restriction for life. That is a tough one to follow. Hugs!
 
Hi Sunbunny! Saw your post above about shaving legs. I bought something called the Giraffe, which you fit your disposable razor into (it's a long plastic device and even adjusts to an angle). I got it on Amazon. Loved it as before my thr, I shaved my legs every day and couldn't stand the fields growing on my legs!


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