Discomfort Sleeping After TKR

elainebadknee

Hi

I had a TKR now will be 10 weeks this thursday. Everything is going quite well, have good and bad days where it feels like a lump of metal and others when its as smooth as a glider...
I do however find that when in bed I still get discomfort...I say discomfort and not pain as I can now sleep with bent knees/foetal position and with knees on top of each other, that bits fine...I do however find that i only sleep for a couple of hours at a time no matter how tired I am..I also waken and the knee is aching, I try and stretch it out, bend it in bed before I get up but it feels like havent slept at all...I sometimes feel as if its more or less the same sort of uncomfortable/discomfort/pain feeling pre op...
Does this get better?..Im probably asking a daft question but wanted to ask other fellow TKR's...

Happy New Year to all....

Elainexx

dachshund

Hello Elaine
when i had my tkr i was told to put a pillow under my knee
when i was in bed. mine ached like that.
happy new year to you and your family
take care
joan xx

elainebadknee

Hi Joan

I forgot to say I do indeed have a pillow under my knee but often I lose it halfway during the night...It doesnt half ache...

Happy New Year to you too..

Elainexx

dachshund wrote:

Hello Elaine
when i had my tkr i was told to put a pillow under my knee
when i was in bed. mine ached like that.
happy new year to you and your family
take care
joan xx

Helenbothknees

I used to arrange my painkiller schedule so that I could take some just before I went to bed, and more in the middle of the night if necessary! That helped. I just lived on pills for ages.

barbara12

Hi Elaine
I cant really offer any advice apart from maybe it is still healing inside, I hope it is nothing more than that....a Happy new Year to you and your new knee xx

stickywicket

I've always been told never to put a pillow under a recent TKR as it can cause the muscles to contract so that they don't straighten properly. It's OK to put eg a rolled up towel under the ankle which gives some ease but not under the knee itself.

elainebadknee

Helen

I have painkillers about 10ish and then if I need them during the night have them by my bed with couple of biscuits to help them down...Recently have not needed painkillers during the night but sleeping hasnt been so good...Maybe I do need stronger painkillers than my paracetemol and ibuprofen...

Elainexx

Helenbothknees wrote:

I used to arrange my painkiller schedule so that I could take some just before I went to bed, and more in the middle of the night if necessary! That helped. I just lived on pills for ages.

elainebadknee

Hi Barbara

Yes I know it is still healing its just ive been used to things before they were pre op and now im not used to new feelings/sensations...

A very happy new year to you and your family also...

Elainexx

barbara12 wrote:

Hi Elaine
I cant really offer any advice apart from maybe it is still healing inside, I hope it is nothing more than that....a Happy new Year to you and your new knee xx

elainebadknee

Sticky

I have read not to put a pillow under the knee but wasnt sure why....I maybe should get rid of the pillow...Thanks for the advice..

Elainexx

stickywicket wrote:

I've always been told never to put a pillow under a recent TKR as it can cause the muscles to contract so that they don't straighten properly. It's OK to put eg a rolled up towel under the ankle which gives some ease but not under the knee itself.

GraceB

Elaine,
following my TKR it was made very clear to me that whilst I should elevate the leg during the day to reduce the swelling, under no circumstances was I to put a pillow under the knee at night. Try without and see if that makes a difference.
Also as already suggested try and have your meds when you go to bed so that they last longer.
If it still continues I'd see your Dr to see if s/he can help.
Good luck, hope everything settles for you soon.
Take care
GraceB

elainebadknee

Grace

I havent been elevating my leg since about 5 weeks after my surgery...I do have some swelling but I have never had small legs/thighs in my lifetime anyway so how much im not too sure? I will try without the pillow though..
It just seems to constantly ache and when I try to straighten it thats when the discomfort gets bad...Maybe I do still need something more than my paracetmol and ibuprofen after all I use brufen to take away period pain and paracetmol for headaches so they are mild painkillers arent they? I seem to have not so good sleeps for about 3 nights then have a good one...

Elainexx

GraceB wrote:

Elaine,
following my TKR it was made very clear to me that whilst I should elevate the leg during the day to reduce the swelling, under no circumstances was I to put a pillow under the knee at night. Try without and see if that makes a difference.
Also as already suggested try and have your meds when you go to bed so that they last longer.
If it still continues I'd see your Dr to see if s/he can help.
Good luck, hope everything settles for you soon.
Take care
GraceB

stickywicket

elainebadknee wrote:

It just seems to constantly ache and when I try to straighten it thats when the discomfort gets bad.

How are the straight leg raises, Elaine? And that exercise where you press your straight leg into the floor (mattress in my case :roll: )? Maybe just do a few more of these.

elainebadknee

Hi Sticky

I current do sixty of these a day, do my exercises twice daily, pressing the leg into the floor (well I have a board and a doughnut) do you think I ought to up it to around 80-100 a day?...Straight leg raises I do the same amount of too, my knee never looks fully straight, just slight kink to it but I dont think it has ever been any better...Not sure in all complete honesty..Hard to see your own body?

Elainexx

stickywicket wrote:

elainebadknee wrote:

It just seems to constantly ache and when I try to straighten it thats when the discomfort gets bad.

How are the straight leg raises, Elaine? And that exercise where you press your straight leg into the floor (mattress in my case :roll: )? Maybe just do a few more of these.

stickywicket

Sorry, what I actually meant was does it hurt when you do these or is it only in bed? I think you probably need a physio to assess things. If you can't get back to the hospital one, why not ask your GP to refer you or just book a private session with one specialising in musculo-skeletal stuff?

elainebadknee

Sticky

No it doesnt hurt when I do these exercises but when Im sitting on the settee or chair at night and then in bed my leg aches/discomfort is bad.....I could maybe ring up the arthroplasty practitioner to see what they say, im unsure, am now discharged from physio and it takes a while to get to see one here..

Elainexx

stickywicket wrote:

Sorry, what I actually meant was does it hurt when you do these or is it only in bed? I think you probably need a physio to assess things. If you can't get back to the hospital one, why not ask your GP to refer you or just book a private session with one specialising in musculo-skeletal stuff?

blueknees

My leg is still very painful 6 months post op.

If you have the time have a look into sleep patterns. Use one of the search engines.

Everyone has a similar sleep pattern and without trying to sound like a smart one we have periods of two hours where we start off light, then go into deep sleep, then after about 2 hours the sleep is light - then it all starts again.

It may be that when you reach the light stage after two hours your pain/discomfort is such that it wakes you up and you then feel it.

Depending on your age, and most of us are over 60? We need about 7 to 8 hours sleep each day. If you sleep some of that time during the day you will need less sleep at night.

I used to worry about not getting enough sleep and that kept me awake. I attended a sleep lecture and learned the above and more. Now I don't worry about my sleep and it helps me to sleep more.

As I say have a look into the sleep patterns, that could answer your question.

chookgate

elainebadknee wrote:

, my knee never looks fully straight, just slight kink to it but I dont think it has ever been any better...Not sure in all complete honesty..Hard to see your own body?

Elainexx

Hi Elaine - my new knee is 6 weeks old, and I have another that is 5 months old. If your knee isn't looking perfectly straight, then try this exercise (just 10 reps 3-4 times a day should be enough). Put a rolled up towel or pillow under your ankle so the calf is raised off the bed, then leaving your foot and calf relaxed, tighten your thigh muscle and pull the knee down towards the bed - hold for 10 seconds. (You're probably already doing that exercise anyway - right?) Now, while you're pulling down, put one hand below the joint and one above and push down gently - you should feel more of a stretch behind the knoee. If you find it difficult to push with your hands, you could try hanging weights. Don't put any pressure on the actual joint though. My physio advised this with my first knee as I had very tight muscles behind the knee due to not having been able to straighten it properly for years before the surgery. At about 8 weeks, it suddenly seemed straight at last (and the pain started to get a lot less as well).

Talking of pain, try taking paracetamol and codeine tablets instead of just paracetamol (you can get them over the counter with each tablet containg 8mg codeine) - but check with your Dr he/she is happy for you to take them for more than a few days - and if they don't help much he may prescribe you something stronger (eg co-codamol which has 30mg codeine in each tablet). You can still take ibuprofen with these, but again you may want to see if your Dr can prescribe a stronger anti-inflamatory (eg naproxen) for a while.

elainebadknee

Blueknees

I dont know if its a sleep pattern all sounds a bit technical to me! Im not saying its worrying me majorly as I catch up...Just commenting on here..#

Elainexx

blueknees wrote:

My leg is still very painful 6 months post op.

If you have the time have a look into sleep patterns. Use one of the search engines.

Everyone has a similar sleep pattern and without trying to sound like a smart one we have periods of two hours where we start off light, then go into deep sleep, then after about 2 hours the sleep is light - then it all starts again.

It may be that when you reach the light stage after two hours your pain/discomfort is such that it wakes you up and you then feel it.

Depending on your age, and most of us are over 60? We need about 7 to 8 hours sleep each day. If you sleep some of that time during the day you will need less sleep at night.

I used to worry about not getting enough sleep and that kept me awake. I attended a sleep lecture and learned the above and more. Now I don't worry about my sleep and it helps me to sleep more.

As I say have a look into the sleep patterns, that could answer your question.

elainebadknee

Hi

Yes ive done the one with the towel and I always make sure I press my knee down to my board when doing exercises too....
Im currently experiencing a constant ache down lateral side of knee from when I wake, all during the day, sleeping, its there 24-7...The leg when I walk as well feels clunky...I think its time to ask the arthroplasty person if this is normal?

Elainexx

[/quote]

Hi Elaine - my new knee is 6 weeks old, and I have another that is 5 months old. If your knee isn't looking perfectly straight, then try this exercise (just 10 reps 3-4 times a day should be enough). Put a rolled up towel or pillow under your ankle so the calf is raised off the bed, then leaving your foot and calf relaxed, tighten your thigh muscle and pull the knee down towards the bed - hold for 10 seconds. (You're probably already doing that exercise anyway - right?) Now, while you're pulling down, put one hand below the joint and one above and push down gently - you should feel more of a stretch behind the knoee. If you find it difficult to push with your hands, you could try hanging weights. Don't put any pressure on the actual joint though. My physio advised this with my first knee as I had very tight muscles behind the knee due to not having been able to straighten it properly for years before the surgery. At about 8 weeks, it suddenly seemed straight at last (and the pain started to get a lot less as well).

Talking of pain, try taking paracetamol and codeine tablets instead of just paracetamol (you can get them over the counter with each tablet containg 8mg codeine) - but check with your Dr he/she is happy for you to take them for more than a few days - and if they don't help much he may prescribe you something stronger (eg co-codamol which has 30mg codeine in each tablet). You can still take ibuprofen with these, but again you may want to see if your Dr can prescribe a stronger anti-inflamatory (eg naproxen) for a while.[/quote]