Am I being too soft?

Jenno

I had a TKR 11 days ago and I,ve struggled so much with pain and aching since the hospital sent me home with only paracetomol and codeine, which were useless.
I called the doctor out who presribed tramadol and paracetamol instead. along with my butrans pain patch they are helping to an extent . but I stilll have a terrible deep aching at times, especially before my next dose is due, I am also finding I have a lot of pain in the night when they,ve worn off
Im so tired and would love to have a good nights sleep.
Can anyone please give me any advice or tips to help me sleep as I toss and turn all night and can't get comfortable at all

thanks jenno

AvadaKedavra

Jenno wrote:

I had a TKR 11 days ago and I,ve struggled so much with pain and aching since the hospital sent me home with only paracetomol and codeine, which were useless.
I called the doctor out who presribed tramadol and paracetamol instead. along with my butrans pain patch they are helping to an extent . but I stilll have a terrible deep aching at times, especially before my next dose is due, I am also finding I have a lot of pain in the night when they,ve worn off
Im so tired and would love to have a good nights sleep.
Can anyone please give me any advice or tips to help me sleep as I toss and turn all night and can't get comfortable at all

thanks jenno

I always recommend a hot water bottle, I used one lastnight because I had sore feet. It warmed them up so quick and sent me off zzz.

In terms of pain killers, in the past when i've had this weird deep throbbing soulder pain, I was prescribed Dihydrocodeine. Have you had this before?

stickywicket

Hello jenno. It's lovely to meet you but I'm sorry about the circumstances. I've had three TKRs in all and I promise you eleven days is nothing in the recovery process. If you think of all that's been done inside your knee you'll realise there are going to be lots of aches and pains long after the outside has healed.

The first few weeks (not days) after a joint replacement should be used purely to rest and do exercises. This is really important for the knee, and its muscles, to recover well. There will be pain, sometimes quite a lot. I use distraction techniques. Basically, anything that absorbs your attention is good. It might be a book, a TV programme, computer games or a combination of all those plus more besides. The more we concentrate on the pain the more we feel it.

Try doing your exercises about ½ hour after taking some pain relief. That way you won't notice the pain so much. Also, if pain is particularly bad at night, stagger your medication a bit. Take less pain relief during the day so that you can take some just before bedtime and more during the night, if necessary, while always ensuring you don't exceed the 24 hour dosage.

stickywicket

AvadaKedavra wrote:

I always recommend a hot water bottle,

But don't put one anywhere near the knee. You could do serious damage to it.

AvadaKedavra

stickywicket wrote:

AvadaKedavra wrote:

I always recommend a hot water bottle,

But don't put one anywhere near the knee. You could do serious damage to it.

I did not know what a TKR was, sorry! Is it a replacement of a joint? And how could it do your knee damage? :shock:

stickywicket

[quote="AvadaKedavra"
I did not know what a TKR was, sorry! Is it a replacement of a joint? And how could it do your knee damage? :shock:[/quote]

Yes, a TKR is a Total Knee Replacement, AvadaKedavra, but, if you're new to all this,
you wouldn't know. (We have a thread, above, which gives a lot of 'initials' and what they mean. It can all be very confusing at first )

How could a hot water bottle damage a new operation site? Well, imagine a really bad cut. Would you want heat on top of it? Remember what has been done below the stitches - a lot of damage :roll:

AvadaKedavra

stickywicket wrote:

[quote="AvadaKedavra"
I did not know what a TKR was, sorry! Is it a replacement of a joint? And how could it do your knee damage? :shock:

Yes, a TKR is a Total Knee Replacement, AvadaKedavra, but, if you're new to all this,
you wouldn't know. (We have a thread, above, which gives a lot of 'initials' and what they mean. It can all be very confusing at first )

How could a hot water bottle damage a new operation site? Well, imagine a really bad cut. Would you want heat on top of it? Remember what has been done below the stitches - a lot of damage :roll:[/quote]

I feel ignorant, thanks for the pointer! No way would I want it on a wound LOL. For joint pain though I would recommend.

Jenno

thanks stickywicket.
I think that maybe I have been expecting too much by now! Im sticking to my exercises even though it hurts! I don't know if my other reply has appeared (im new to this!) but in it i said that as Ive had my hrt stopped my night sweats are back with a vengeance, so I couldn't cope wuth a hit water bittle!!! lol
I think another thing that seems to have unsettled me is that I had an awful time in hospital, this resulted in me waiting and waiting for pain relief.
I know that I've just got to stick with it and stop moaning but I was feeling sorry for myself due to lack of sleep!

jenno

AvadaKedavra

Jenno wrote:

thanks stickywicket.
I think that maybe I have been expecting too much by now! Im sticking to my exercises even though it hurts! I don't know if my other reply has appeared (im new to this!) but in it i said that as Ive had my hrt stopped my night sweats are back with a vengeance, so I couldn't cope wuth a hit water bittle!!! lol
I think another thing that seems to have unsettled me is that I had an awful time in hospital, this resulted in me waiting and waiting for pain relief.
I know that I've just got to stick with it and stop moaning but I was feeling sorry for myself due to lack of sleep!

jenno

Hehe yeah forget the water bottle for now LOL! I don't see an issue, we all need to moan now and again, especially when we're in pain its perfectly fine.

dreamdaisy

You're not being soft, you are being far too impatient. I blame the surgeons because they say 'You will be fixed! and in their terms you are because, once you are wheeled out of theatre and into recovery their work is done. Your work, however, is just beginning.

To have a whole joint replaced (and a knee is a complicated one because it's a hinge joint) takes its toll on the whole body, not just the bits that have been interfered with. Things will be sore and painful for a good while yet, the surface healing will hopefully go well (no hotties on it please!) but the inner healing takes a deal longer. I was sent home with cocos and paracetamol after my first open synovectomy, I had to sleep on my back for six weeks, the scar took a while to heal (as did my muscles etc) but I got there in the end - only to have it repeated eighteen months later because it didn't solve my trouble.

The best thing is this: you have your new knee (I am deeply envious, I need two but have another year or so to wait). Be sensible, rest and exercise, exercise and rest, distract yourself from the aches and pains as best you can (daytime telly is pretty good at helping on that front) and don't be an impatient patient because that will only hurt you and undo all the surgeon's good work. That would be a shame, yes? DD

stickywicket

Jenno wrote:

I know that I've just got to stick with it and stop moaning but I was feeling sorry for myself due to lack of sleep!

jenno

Well, you do have to stick with it but do feel free to moan We all do it at times. (See my thread below :oops: ) Pain is scary. It usually means there is something wrong but, post op, it's usually just a necessary part of the healing process. The two ways to ensure a joint replacement doesn't work are by doing (a)too much and (b)too little It's a bit of a minefield but, if you stick with the rest, elevation and exercises, and virtually nothing else, you won't go far wrong. I hope yours is as good as mine. I had a 27 yr old TKR replaced 4 years ago and I still have its opposite number which went in the same year.

Jenno

thanks everyone for replying to my posts and also allowing me to moan openly!
jenno x