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TKR The Knees and Me - staged

Pssst: I've heard it's simply "Revenge of the Knees!" We've messed with them, butchered them really, and now....they mess with us, at night, just when we need them to behave.

The good news? It will stop. Soon. Mine did!
 
I guess that's just the way it is, then. Last night I iced, took tylenol, and slept until...12:30AM. Bummer. Did the knee dance all night and woke up feeling hung over. No more tylenol, that stuff hates me!

Tonight I think I'll just get up and read.

:bored:
 
Pfft, that really stinks @rubyyarn! Have you by any chance talked to your OS or PCP about your sleeping difficulties? Perhaps there's something they could offer you that would help. I notice quite a few people here take muscle relaxers and that might work for you?


Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart Forum
 
Pheebs, I think this thing just has to run it's course. Next month I get knee #2 done and then I'll have something worth complaining about. I'll do without any drugs tonight. If pain is the problem, I'll know it. If not, well...
 
Just when it's run its course, you'll be dealing with a new recovery. :scaredycat:You get lots of props for that! The sleep disruptions are the worst. The pain becomes more manageable quicker than we get back to sleeping normally. No one warns you about that, except here.
 
rubyyarn said:
Last night I iced, took tylenol, and slept until...12:30AM. Bummer. Did the knee dance all night and woke up feeling hung over. No more tylenol, that stuff hates me!
Click to expand...
I'm not sure why you feel that Tylenol hates you. Are you taking an effective dose? That's 1,000 mg 4-6 hourly, to a total of 4,000 mg in 24 hours. You do need to take it regularly, to keep up the levels in your bloodstream.
 
rubyyarn said:
Next month I get knee #2 done and then I'll have something worth complaining about.
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Well, in my opinion, you still have plenty to complain about now. No sleep is yucky. I have been telling Spence from the get go that the more he lets me sleep, the quicker he will feel better. Shhhh, don't tell him about the true length of time of recovery!:wink:
 
I got a pill cutter and cut my meds in half. I've got Tramadol 50 & Tylenol 3, both of which are probably smaller guns than Percocet, but the half-dose works well for me.

I'm 4 weeks post-op from a L-TKR. Sooooo happy to find this resource today! I've been reading and learning a lot!

:SUNsmile:
Taza
 
@Celle, I have to take the tylenol 24/7? When I take it at night, it is 1000mg. During the day I am aware of the knee (twinges, zings, and numb spots), but I do everything I want to do, including drive. No swelling that I can see, so I haven't been taking anything. I really want to be drug free before I start all of this again with knee #2.
 
No, you don't have to take it 24/7 if you feel you don't need kit. I'm just trying to establish why you said that Tylenol hates you. Does it not relieve your pain, or does it give you other side-effects?
It won't disrupt your sleeping pattern and sleep disturbance is very common after a joint replacement.
 
@Celle, I have never liked tylenol. The first time I tried it I got an odd, buzzed feeling though it took care of the headache I had. With this knee I've been taking 1000mg at bedtime, get about 1-2 hours sleep, then toss & turn until about 4:00 AM. I get up anytime between 6-7:30 AM.

Last night, as an experiment, I didn't take anything. I was feeling fine. As the night went on the knee hurt more and more. I finally took the tylenol at 4 AM and slept until 7:15.

If sleep disturbance is the norm, then I just have to deal with it. The side effect from tylenol are no worse than the groggy, dopy side effect of anything else. At this point, I'm tired of all of it.
 
@Celle, I appreciate your insight on sleep disturbance. That's what I've got all right. Don't like it, but at least it isn't unusual.
 
rubyyarn said:
@Celle, I have never liked tylenol. The first time I tried it I got an odd, buzzed feeling though it took care of the headache I had. With this knee I've been taking 1000mg at bedtime, get about 1-2 hours sleep, then toss & turn until about 4:00 AM. I get up anytime between 6-7:30 AM.

Last night, as an experiment, I didn't take anything. I was feeling fine. As the night went on the knee hurt more and more. I finally took the tylenol at 4 AM and slept until 7:15.
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Hi, Rubyyarn,
This has been my sleep pattern, too. I hated the 1-2 hours sleep at the beginning of the night, so I got into the habit of staying up very late, then finishing your scenario. Now I have to train myself to go to sleep at a more regular time, so that wasn't such a great idea! :nah: I have also tried not taking anything, and 3:30-4:00 AM is the time I have had to give in, get up, and take Tylenol. :tantrum:

I've identified the burning, aching, sunburnt feeling on the inside of my knee and the creepy crawlers as two of the culprits that wake me up. I just started wearing very snug Capri leggings to bed and have had less awareness of them. Two nights in a row more comfortable and better sleep. Not a definitive study yet, but promising.:fingersx:
 
@rubyyarn , I didn't realize you were having Knee #2 done so soon! When will you be doing that? Since you are only 8 weeks post-op, it really isn't unusual to still be experiencing sleep difficulties. Annoying, frustrating and exhausting, but...not unusual; pffft! Even when we are no longer in extremis with pain, the knee does become uncomfortable after lying down for a bit. Uncomfortable sounds so benign, but there are different levels and it can include so many sensations, from a restless leg to some numbness or just plain old aching. The "Witching Hour," of 3-4 A.M. is certainly well named; aarggh!

Many years ago when I had a painful shoulder injury, I tried Melatonin and it really did seem to help if I took it an hour before bed. Of course, sometimes I'd forget and would toss/turn all night.
 
P.S. :Try the *Magic Shorts* leggings @Polkadot just mentioned. Worked wonders for me and her as well!:yes!:
 
Unfortunately, the vast majority of us suffered from restless sleep. I slept whenever and wherever I could. Melatonin, and motion-sickness pills helped me and still do.
 
@Pheebs52, knee #2 goes under the knife on 9/26. I will be 3 months out on knee #1. Never thought about naming body parts, but knee #1 might be Clanker or Jabberjaws. It does talk a lot, especially at night!

@Polkadot, I've been trying to stay up later. That does help a bit. I recently bought a collection of Perry Mason novels from Ebay, so it is not like I don't have anything to read.

On a lighter note, though, I did manage to go down stairs foot over foot today. Slowly, but it happened :eyebrows:
 
Yay! Foot over foot down the steps! That's a huge accomplishment!
 
Yay for foot over foot! It's amazing how natural it feels, though at first a little scary and cumbersome. But still, so good. That you can do it means your knee is stronger now. And the sleep... it takes so long to get back to something normal! I still grumble about sleep.
 
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