Trouble sleeping after TKR: What helped you sleep?

I'll share l had Posterior THR 12mths ago, presently post 4wks TKR, had problems with sleep specially pain & stiffness, l got up every 2hrs walked around to ease areas as went on l was able to sleep 3hrs then 4hrs. Sleep length did improve for me as l healed.

Finally I can relate to someone!! I’m 64yr & 3 months post-op partial knee replacement. I can’t sleep in my bed all night. Maybe 4 hrs then to the recliner with ice bag. And my leg starting by mid-thigh to knee looks crooked. It narrows to my knee. The inside of of knee where the hardware is is swollen yet. Dr said it take 6 months -yr to heal swelling. I’m so distraught over this.

Taking pain pill when I went to bed, before pain started, helped me.

Thx texaslady for responding. I only have a few pain pills left. I do take 1 b4 bed but only helps for a couple hours. They don’t like to give you anymore after 3 months. They did prescribe an anti-inflammatory stronger than 800 ibuprofen. Been 4 days & not much better. Really frustrating. Take care.

I am a member of the decreased sleep club after a TKR. I am only 3+ weeks out but have found a couple of things to help. 1) Sleep with my legs elevated on a wedge pillow I borrowed from a shoulder surgery patient. Picture below. Definitely decreases inflammation and I get compression hose on my leg, with assistance, first thing..2) Only sleep or ice with elevation lying down in your bedroom, do all your exercises elsewhere so you know that place is for trying to sleep, 3) Make sure you are drinking lots of fluids throughout the day. Initially I had issues with constipation and pain pills and my gut was contributing to keeping me awake. 4) My primary care Dr is having me try melatonin and Benadryl, not at the same time, but to see which one works better for me to aid with sleeping. I was taking a tramadol before bed not so much for pain but for drowsiness. Hopefully will be able to use just acetaminophen for pain and kick the narcotics so I can drive with my right knee.
Hope this helps and good luck with your recovery. Definitely not an easy process, especially if you are sleep deprived,

Your experience is close to my own. Kneeling isn't painful, it just feels...... weird, like I shouldn't be doing it. And so I don't kneel when I can avoid it.

As for getting used to a metal knee - for me there was nothing to get used to. My knees felt so much better after the replacements, I don't even think about having metal and plastic in my knee.

First the obvious - if you're a side sleeper, sleep on the side of your good knee. I know that gets old, but I had to do it for at least six weeks after surgery. Even now, it's better if I don't sleep on the side of the TKR.

I find it helps to put a yoga "bolster" behind my back for support, and to put a pillow in front of me to rest my hand and forearm on. And of course a pillow between your knees. It also helps to keep your surgical knee as straight as possible. Whatever you do, don't intentionally bend it. It actually feels very good and can help with some pain.

Give these things a try. The back bolster I think is big. It feels very good to have some support for your back. You could even use a pillow or two or three......

Joe

One thing that sometimes helped me get to sleep was doing the same pre-op foot pumps and back of the knee presses as I was shown before surgery. Not being able to walk and exercise normally during the early weeks would give me restless leg syndrome at night, along with not being able to find a comfortable position. When I started tossing and turning, I would alternate doing 10 of each movement until my legs got exhausted. Wait a while, and do some more. Working off the extra unused energy helped, plus the foot pumping helps to increase blood flow for healing and carrying away fluid.

Great idea! There are also tempura-like products for elevating one or both legs. Add this to your nighttime routine as well with the ankle pumps and quad sets. Great advice. And the ankle pumps and elevation will help reduce the swelling in the knee and lower leg.

What I did after my total knee replacement was sleep in a recliner. The recliner prevented me from moving to my side. I had a rare complication after my surgery so I had to do this for many months.