phantom pain
- Thread starter farmcats
- Start date
Wow, sorry to hear it. Seems I've heard of it, but not sure what to do about it.
lam2
tickled~pink
My father-in-law suffered with phantom pain after losing his leg due to cancer. It was unbearable for him at first but after consulting with his doctors they were able to come up with medication and other treatments to help him cope. There is some very good information here...
Phantom pain - MayoClinic.com
I wish your son the very best of luck.
Phantom pain - MayoClinic.com
I wish your son the very best of luck.
Hoover
New Member
I had a few patients that suffered from Phantom Pains in amputated limbs - they tried different things that they felt worked. Its the muscles contracting to compensate from the loss of stretching from the previous limb. It is painful. I am sorry for your son's loss. Please make sure you tell his doctor about this - they can prescribe meds and rehab.
Absolutely, its caused by having the nerves severed. If you've ever had a tooth pulled and have felt pain in the area it used to be its kinda the same process.
What happens is the nerves are "used" to talking/working around the "tooth" but now its gone so the nerves have to "re-route" their travel; but in the mean time you encounter pain.
Same (kinda) with an amputee. The nerves are used to following the leg/arm etc its entire route but instead are "re-routed" due to the severn. Although they really arent "re-routed" they are stopped short of the route and therefore causes the pain.
It is absolutely unbearable for now but will get better. In the mean-time (if the doctor allows); I'd suggest muscle relaxers and something to increase the circulation in that area. The reason you want to increase the circulation is because it encourages rejuvenation and the healing process to the surgical area.
One thing I've noticed that irritate phantom pain and RESTLESS LEG SYNDROME are decongestants. Something about the decongestant (which causes you to dry out)...good for allergies... but bad for the central nervous system. It seems to upset the issue. No one can absolutely relate it but somehow its tied to anthing that would help to release fluid retention too!
Sorry to ramble on; but this is something I've studied and paid close attention to thru the years.
What happens is the nerves are "used" to talking/working around the "tooth" but now its gone so the nerves have to "re-route" their travel; but in the mean time you encounter pain.
Same (kinda) with an amputee. The nerves are used to following the leg/arm etc its entire route but instead are "re-routed" due to the severn. Although they really arent "re-routed" they are stopped short of the route and therefore causes the pain.
It is absolutely unbearable for now but will get better. In the mean-time (if the doctor allows); I'd suggest muscle relaxers and something to increase the circulation in that area. The reason you want to increase the circulation is because it encourages rejuvenation and the healing process to the surgical area.
One thing I've noticed that irritate phantom pain and RESTLESS LEG SYNDROME are decongestants. Something about the decongestant (which causes you to dry out)...good for allergies... but bad for the central nervous system. It seems to upset the issue. No one can absolutely relate it but somehow its tied to anthing that would help to release fluid retention too!
Sorry to ramble on; but this is something I've studied and paid close attention to thru the years.
Toxick
Splat
I haven't personally been through it, but my grandfather had lost his legs to arteriosclerosis (among other things), and he went through this.
He also used to get itches that couldn't be scratched, due to the fact that the parts that were itchy were no longer there.
The nerves are trying to adapt to the new pathways, and lack thereof. And they're relaying hokey messages to the brain because they're confused and don't know what to make of the new lack of expected stimulus. My grandfather died years ago, so I don't remember how long that sort of thing lasted, but they did subside and then disappear.
U
USMCBulldog
Guest
I haven't been through this myself - but a lot of Iraq/Afghanistan Vets that have, apparently do have the pain.
We are all sorry to hear about this tragedy... Good luck with everything...
We are all sorry to hear about this tragedy... Good luck with everything...
SoMDGirl42
Well-Known Member
Sorry to hear about your son.
Thankfully you still have him. My uncle lost his leg in a motorcycle accident. I think I remember him mentioning decongestants as well.
Absolutely consult his doctors. They deal with this everyday and I'm sure they'll know exactly how to treat it or hints that will help.
DiamondGirl
New Member
Massage Therapy for Phantom Pain
Trish is a massage therapist that works with veterans at Walter Reed a few times a month for phantom pain and will teach family members how to do it to help out. You can reach her at
patden25@hotmail.com
Trish is a massage therapist that works with veterans at Walter Reed a few times a month for phantom pain and will teach family members how to do it to help out. You can reach her at
patden25@hotmail.com
bcp
In My Opinion
I know another person that had an amputation, not from an accident though.
he had what they kept telling him what was phantom pain and it would go away, after it never did, he went to another doctor that did tests and whatnot and discovered that there was nerves that used to go to where he no longer had anything that were still sending signals from the nerve ends near the amputation.
they fixed it somehow but evidently the brain was tricked into thinking that the pain was coming from his foot that was not there.
I hope your son gets over this and can move on with his life.
greyhound
New Member
This might not be much help, but my uncle was part of this study in the link below.
Morphine-Like Drugs Could Offer Relief For Amputees
Morphine-Like Drugs Could Offer Relief For Amputees