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Trouble sleeping after TKR: What helped you sleep?

Joint Replacements | Last Active: Apr 28 10:46am | Replies (127)

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@sueinmn

Hello and welcome to Mayo Connect. Sorry to hear that your sleep is being interrupted, but this is definitely a frequent complaint after joint surgery. We always want to believe we'll "bounce right back" but the truth is, joint surgery is a major assault on the body - bones, muscles, tendons, nerves and soft tissue are all involved. Each heals at its own pace, and each of us feels pain differently.

Two ways I found to ease pain after surgery are ice and Tylenol.
I used my Cryocuff ice machine close to 24 hours a dat for several weeks - even at night. And Tylenol extra strength on a regular schedule helped me stay ahead of the pain.
The other thing many people don't know is that the leg should be elevated whenever you are not "up and doing" - above the heart is best to keep swelling down and to keep the lymphatic fluids moving back toward the body (these carry away the by-products of healing), so add some pillows to the footrest, sofa and bed.
Have you been doing all of this already? If that is not enough, it may be time for a call to the doc for something a bit stronger, or a temporary sleep aid, to allow you to rest.
Sue

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Replies to "Hello and welcome to Mayo Connect. Sorry to hear that your sleep is being interrupted, but..."

Thank you. You’re so right about the “assault on the body”. I’m already doing the other things and find Tylenol just doesn’t do anything for the pain. Even the Dilaudid didn’t touch it. However, last night I came to the realization that the pain comes from all the areas of my leg & foot that are all bruised and black & blue post surgery (hence the “assault on the body”). The pain is severe, much worse than the surgical pain. I decided to rub Diclofenac 8% Ointment that I had on hand into the area to c if that had any effect. It helped! It was good to know I might at least have discovered the source of the pain. A couple hrs later I applied another round of ointment and took a couple Tylenol to supplement Dilaudid and was able to fall asleep. There does seem to be a neurological component because the leg seems uncomfortable under plush blanket I have been using. I’m thinking varicose veins may also be involved. I’m going to switch to a cotton quilt. Have dr appt today to discuss further but I think I’m on the way to some resolution. 🤞🏻