Trouble sleeping after TKR: What helped you sleep?

At 4 weeks I was on very little pain meds, usually the one before PT or my own morning workout. I found myself taking one before bed just to try and sleep not for pain. I still wasn't sleeping the best so I talked to my Dr and he prescribed Trazadone . It has helped, and he also prescribed me 4 Xanax to take in the beginning too so the cycle of not sleeping was broke. You NEED sleep to heal better and feel human during the day! I also had the intense burning at night. I was fortunate that a friend had TKR before me and gave me her BREG cooling machine. It's basically a small cooler that you fill with ice water and the pump continuously circulates cold water through the pad. I put the pad inside the pillow case I used between my knees and it worked to keep me cool all night. I hope you get some relief soon.

Doodles418. Thanks for the tips. 1 day to go for my bi-lateral TKRs. I’ll talk with my Dr about Xanax or something else. I’m not ver a good sleeper. And the cooling pad between your knees at night sounds like a great idea. Did you leave the machine on all night?

I should clarify the xanax was used for 4 nights not 4 at one time! And you cannot mix xanax with Percocet. You can take Trazadone and Xanax. The first weeks I kept up with the Percocet. Don't try to take too little at first. It was after 3 to 4 weeks that I could take less. And around the 6 week mark that I finally addressed the sleeping issues. Wish I had sooner. The first 2 weeks I had to sleep on my back which was miserable for me as a side sleeper. I was up so often then that I used ice packs through the night. When I started sleeping on side with pillow between knees is when I started to put the cooling pad inside all night. You might be able to find a Breg machine on Craig's list. They used to send them home from the hospital with tkr patients. Will be thinking and praying for the best for you tomorrow. Keep me posted. Kathy

I had my surgery 8 weeks ago and sleep 0-2 hours a night. I have had maybe 5 days of 4-5 hours. It’s not due to pain, I just can’t sleep. I can’t nap either. I am a zombie. How long will this go on? Sleep meds don’t work, melatonin doesn’t work, meditation doesn’t work. Any help? Thinking of trying a sleep clinic.

@auntmarmar I had trouble sleeping shortly after bilateral TKR. My OS prescribed Trazadone every night, and for the first 4 nights he added Xanax to break the anxiety cycle of not being able to sleep. It seems to help for half the night. Which felt like relief from the zombie state! Good luck!

@auntmarmar - Welcome to Connect. I feel for you the sleeping issue. I had a TKR in January and I know how difficult it was to get decent sleep. For me, it WAS pain - not just inability to sleep. I had enough pain that I needed pain meds before bed to curb it enough to let me sleep. Did you have trouble sleeping before the surgery? I'm thinking I might just give it another month before you try the sleep clinic. I felt like the improvement and level of recovery increased drastically between 8 weeks and 12 weeks. Maybe yours will too. I'm pulling for you!

Thank you for the encouragement. I never been a good sleeper, but this is just ridiculous. How can a person go without sleep for so long? Thanks!

@auntmarmar -- I would like to add my welcome along with @debbraw and other members. I hope you can find some answers for your insomnia. You mentioned you have never been a good sleeper. Do you think the problem might be habit related? Just throwing out ideas and hoping you find some answers. Here's a site I found that may help you figure it out.

Insomnia -- What to Do When You Can’t Sleep
-- https://www.helpguide.org/articles/sleep/insomnia-causes-and-cures.htm

Do not sleep on your stomach and with pillows under your knees.

I had my bilateral knee replacement Mar. 11, 2020. I feel like I'm doing fairly well, but my sleep is interrupted around 4:00 am every night with stiffness & pain. Is this to be expected? And, when does it go away? Any other pointers are appreciated. Thanks.