Greetings @busdriver57. And thank you @colleenyoung for the introduction. First of all, let me praise you for diligently doing both your pre and post-surgery exercises. That is so helpful. So, let me see if I can wrap my hands around the sleeping issue in a helpful manner.

First of all...I have had two TKRs and spent no time in a recliner. I did use a wedge pillow and then made sure I ended the day with some ice to go with the appropriate elevation. One question, did you have trouble sleeping before the TKR? Did you take Tylenol for pain before the surgery?

Here are a couple of tips that worked for me.
1. I would lie on my non-surgery side, then lay down a pillow between my legs so that the surgery leg was on the top.
2. I also wrapped my knee in a special ice pack that you can find on Amazon. I kept both of the packs frozen so that there was always one ready.
3. Do you notice swelling in the TKR area? That can indicate a bit of scar tissue or fluid retention. During my PT, my therapist at the sports clinic discussed pain control with my MFR therapist..... which is Myofascial Release Therapy. Because the connective tissue in the knee area can become restricted, it just might help to release it before bedtime.
4. I do Yoga stretches to strengthen the muscles around the knee. The one that helps drain fluid is called "Legs up the Wall". You can find it on Youtube.

And now, one year later, I have no knee pain day or night. However, I do have SFN, (small fiber neuropathy) which can be the cause of pain throughout my body. And for SFN, I use an appropriate dosage of medical cannabis. As a result, I can sleep right through whatever shows up at bedtime.

Have you tried some of these "tricks"? Do any sound helpful? Please let me know what works best for you.

May you be free of suffering and the causes of suffering.
Chris