Trouble sleeping after TKR: What helped you sleep?

I am 4 weeks post knee replacement. Only getting 3-4 hours of sleep. Have very restless legs plus still having hard time finding comfortable sleep position.

Hello @babsarmour, Welcome to Connect. You will notice that we moved your post to an existing discussion so that you can learn what others have found helpful for sleeping after a total knee replacement. If you click the link below it will take you to the beginning of the discussion where you can read through the posts by others.
--- Trouble sleeping after TKR: What helped you sleep?: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/trouble-sleeping-after-tkr/.

I'm normally a side sleeper and it was more difficult since they want you to keep your leg straight and it's not exactly comfortable for me. I did use a small pillow between my legs which helped some. Here's a video that goes through some tips and a good explanation -

Your surgeon or care team might have some great tips. Have you discussed the sleeping difficulty with the surgeon or care team?

I did not sleep well for almost 3 months after TKA. I also had peripheral neuropathy in surgical leg. My surgeon started me on Gabapentin which did help with sleep and neuropathy. It is a tough recovery but hang in there. I am now 7 months post op and glad I had surgery done. Sending good vibes your way.

Thank you for the encouragement. When I told PA at 2 week post op appt about restless legs, she didn't have much advice, just suggested an OTC sleep med which I tried & made discomfort worse. Very disappointed more information wasn't offered from the surgeon about long term insomnia after surgery. Have joined a couple of support groups & it's a major problem with few solutions

Tylenol PM, Gabapentin, and cannabis worked wonders for me.
Tylenol PM contains Benadryl. So if you are worried about liver damage you could use just Benadril. I also avoid naps and try to stay up until I'm real sleepy.

@babsarmour, I had some restless leg syndrome at night too, after my TKR's. I got some relief doing the pre-op exercises they started me on before surgery. I did these in the hospital right after surgery as well. They are 1. simple toe flex: pointing toes straight down, then back towards your face. 2. Contracting your legs so that you imagine forcing the back of your knee down into the mattress. Alternate doing sets of 15 each. When my legs were restless, probably due to inactivity during the day, I would do these in bed for many minutes until my legs were exhausted. Getting back to normal sleep will take time, probably a couple of months, but it will happen gradually.

Thank you so much. Will give it a try. Looking forward to moving on & getting past all this.

When I couldn’t sleep I would often get up in the middle of the night and go on my stationary exercise bike for 5 mins (no tension). This would help with circulation and make the knee less agitated
I think the lack of movement when we are in bed causes a lot of problems.
You might also try taking a magnesium supplement during the day and at bed time. Melatonin helps too
Also, Lyrica (prescription) was a game changer for helping me with restless legs and the nerve pain I was having which in turn really helped with sleeping.

I found Benadryl actually made the restless legs worse. Sent an email to my dr asking for some help. Still waiting for response.

I've been doing lots of leg exercises throughout the night which helps the restless legs. Also am using a magnesium oil rubbed into calves & thighs before bed. Seems to help but still can't get to sleep. Sent email to dr asking for help.