Hi. I hav had a hip replacement and it's been 3 weeks. I hav problems sleeping during the night due to being in pain and my knee and leg below that are in pain and are restlessness. What can I do to avoid this and get some sleep.
Im not going to lie, there is nothing you really can dom for the first 4 weeks i had to get up eveey hour to walk because I was so stiff and in agony. You just have to wait it out. Stay stromg hun. It will pass eventually x
Hi, I had my hip replaced on August 17 get very restless legs when in bed. I take the strongest painkiller Tramadol with two paracetamol before I go to bed prop myself up on two pillows plus a V shaped pillow and do now manage to sleep for about four and half hours before I have to get up, I think it's better if you sleep half sitting up. Good luck Ann
Hi! Have you tried putting firm pillows under your knees. It made me more comfortable. I have not had restless legs but. My right knee is sore and tender and at times plainful. My operation was THR - right side, 5 weeks ago.
good luck,
Marion
Hi Neena
I am now 7 weeks but like you u had awful restless legs and couldn't sleep. I drank tonic water as quinine meant to help. After it carrying on I rang gp who prescribed an anti spasmodic drug which greatly helped.
I have found after about 5 weeks this problem disappeared.
I am 2 weeks post op and had sore heels and like you was restless, so I put a really soft cushion under my calves and feet and find the support really comfortable and I'm having the best night's sleeps for months.
I suffered from restless legs and very painful calves. Physio suggested some calf stretching exercises and tonic water. Seemed to help as am ok now. best wishes.
Hi. I am 3.5 weeks postop for left thr and can totally sympathise with the restless legs issue. It has really been driving me nuts!! However, it has recently improved slightly as I make sure I do my last set of exercises last thing at night. If the restless legs problem strikes then I sit up and read for a bit and then try again. If that doesn't work then I go for a walk around the house (the dog thinks I have lost the plot!) and do the calf-stretch exercises too. We bought a memory foam topper and that has helped quite a bit in that there is now no pressure on my heels. It is just a very un-natural sleeping position for me and I can't wait to get to the point where I can lie on my side again!!!!
I have found taking the full wack of medication and a pillow under the knee help... I am suffering from sore heals when I wake but there is nothing there... but have been sleeping at least 6.5 hrs since putting a cushion under me knees.
Let's be honest .... there is not a lot you can do about sleeping .... at night you just can't because you are forced to lie on your back for 6 weeks. I had a second round of this just 4 weeks later after my revision, so I know what it's like.
I found my iPod with soothing music was best, also I went into the spare room to give my wife some respite from my fidgeting. I found the spare bed had a harder mattress which suited me better.
You can move your 'good' leg in bed, i used to flex mine sideways, bending my knee. Also, you can do anti-DVT 'bed exercises' like raising and lowering both your knees together.
As a friendly policeman said ...
You've done the crime - had a THR
You have to pay the price - restless legs, endless trips to the bathroom, no sleep
You will be free soon - when you recover, you will be free of OA pain.
I did nap in between doing my jigsaw puzzles (adult colouring books are also very good, I will opt for them next time).
Best Wishes
Graham
I am 2wks po. I sleep with a pillow under my knees. I alternate Tramadol and Tylenol Arthritis and put ice on operated leg at night. Seems to work. I ice again in the am while having my coffee. I also try not to overdo. When I do I pay the price.
Lots of good advice here. Plus see Rules of the Sleep Club recently reposted by Fernlady (original posted by Kate).
Sleep is our biggest post thr challenge as it comes in dribs and drabs.
In addition to solutions proposed here, others have suggested getting magnesium levels checked as we are often low and this increases problems with agitated legs.
I avoided adding more prescription drugs (don't like adding to the cocktail we use for the pain) but did try melatonin after 4 weeks to try to re- establish sleep patterns. It did help me fall asleep better but I became resigned to getting g up 4-5x nightly to ease cramping and to use the loo.I have my 2nd to be done shortly, so welcome other thoughts but I really think this is simply (and perversely)part of the healing process.
Better to work within it than to fight what nature and drugs gave created in this journey.
Good luck.
PS thanks to all the lovely nightime members of this forum who helped while away many midnight hours with me.
L
Hi neena, this is a pretty common problem that a lot of seem to have gone through. I just had my second hip replacement 3 weeks ago, and first 3 months ago. I noticed the pain and restlessness moreso with my first, but still do have some with this one. Last night was a rough one as that is exactly what was going on with me and I had a terrible time getting to sleep. With the first surgery I found that placing a pillow or pillows under my legs right about at the knees to keep the knees in a bent position helped me quite a bit. Unfortunately that doesn't seem to work for me anymore and I find it uncomfortable to lay that way. All of us have gone through the sleeplessness. It does get better with time. Their have been posts on here about the "sleepclub" gives great advice for not being able to sleep. Not a solution but rather different ways of dealing with it. I found the best advice for me was if I can't sleep not to fight it (as I did last night because I was exhausted) but to just go with the flow. Sometimes is better to just get up for a while and maybe walk around a little or come on the internet. Anything that takes our mind off of not being able to sleep. No rules that says we all have to sleep at night, and taking a nap when you are able is a big help. Fernlady was the last person to share the great post about not being able to sleep hope you can find it and read it. Wishing you well and hope your pain and resltessness subsides soon. Barb
Sorry that you are having such a rough time of it again Barb.
Hope some hugs will help.
I am having trouble sleeping too - but more related to the pre-surgery pains of hip #2. Any suggestions on activities that helped with this or to prepare for this second surgery?
Take care.
Almost four weeks post THR. I have been going absolutely bonkers with the restless legs. In a bizarre way I feel better knowing I'm not alone. Taking a magnesium supplement seems to help a little bit....but not every night. Really hesitant to take the narcotics.....but may have to. You have all given me hope that it will get better. Praying when I meet with the surgeon on Wednesday he...at the very least....lets me sleep on my stomach
Hi
I am exactly 18 days post Rtha, I am finding the same issues! Recently got my lift back, and now feel like I want to just stretch this new hip along with my back and legs when getting tired and ready for bed. I do take meds at bed time, sometimes it helps and sometimes it doesn't! I've learned to slowly drop my back down as weeks go by from a reclined back sleep to a more flat one, this seems to help with the restlessness and the need to kick my leg until I stretch it out, I am a nervous nelly so my anxiety fan is always on, I feel if I turn it slightly to be hitting my face it relaxes me. I am a strange bird!!! Also no one mentions arms/hands? I have found while on my back slightly raised if I place pillows right next
To my hips bilaterally,-me ruck them under my armpits it seems the pressure helps
Relieve whatever is bothering me. I have been sleeping longer increments but by 6-7am, sometimes 4 or 5am. I have to get out of
Bed and move
To the parlor on the couch because all I want to do is turn into my side. Small achievements and progress is accomplished and coped with daily
I hope
Some tricks help. And this forum helps
Me to calm myself cos sometimes I just want to scream HEY WORLD,DO YOU KNOW WHAT THEY JUST DID TO ME? OH MY, now I have to recover
From that manslaughter! I'm hip 2 b squared
Take
Care
Time
Helps
hi neena,
warm welcome to this wonderful hippies forum - well,as you already noticed, you are not alone anymore - personal experiences and stories are shared here and wonderful tips sprinkled like fairy dust - all very valuable -
In the first couple of weeks post-op I thought uninterrupted sleep for 3 hours was heaven !!! it is all so relative - the out-and back in to bed numerous times during the night to visit the bath room didn't help then either -
how are you doing otherwise, neena?
big warm hug
renee
oh Vettech, you are so RIGHT !!!! if not for this forum nobody would even care .... they stopped even pretending to care after THR no.2 ..
I think I might be suffering from PTSD -
Hi, do you find the tonic water helps? I am only managing to sleep for three hours at a time due to the restless legs despite taking painkillers Tramadol, and a sleeping pill not a strong one. I am getting very tired during the day and keep napping which does not help really.
I don't knw whether it really helps, but together with that and calf exercises I haven't suffered from restless legs for about the last 4 weeks (am now week 8 post op). I still don't sleep well (just couple of hours at a time). But I have found doing the bed exercises relaxes me and I go back to sleep quite quickly. I couldn't take painkillers stronger than paracetemol and am avoiding sleeping pills so never went the tablet route. Does mean I am in bed soon after 9pm! Good luck finding something that works for you.