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Post by tam1026 on Nov 11, 2010 5:53:29 GMT -7
HI , I am new at the forums..they are not exactly like the regular e-mails..I hope this gets out.. I am a RBKA..this happened to me in 2008...I am not getting a prosthesis that is fitting correctly..due to I have a bend in my knee..still pushing on , trying to be strong..getting a little aggravated now..The clinics keep telling me it will get better...we will see. I just wanted to get on a forum and be able to talk to someone who is like me and can understand.. I hope no one takes this the wrong way..but, unless you have this problem in your life you cannot understand it at all... I did try out a few of the forums and the problem I had is :: no one really gets on line and talks..if you look at the dates of when the post were put on here..I will try again and hope for better results.. I look forward to hearing from anyone.
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Post by allenuk on Nov 11, 2010 8:49:09 GMT -7
Hello Tam.
Where abouts are you, US, UK? Tell us more of your problems. It's true that BKAs sometimes take a couple of years to settle down (stump shrinkage, getting used to prosthesis, etc), so 2008 doesn't sound too bad. I've been BKA since 2005 and I'm STILL settling down!
Anyway, tell us more about yourself.
Allen, bka, London.
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Post by stonecutter on Nov 11, 2010 9:28:28 GMT -7
Hi Tam,
Welcome to these forums. I think you've come to the right place. The people who frequent this particular forum are great people.
I am a LBKA since 1994. I can't say a generalized statement like, "It takes ____ months/years for a BKA to get fitted properly" All I know is that for me, it took about 30 months to be comfortable and to start to seem normal.
In those 30 months, I was back and forth to the clinic weekly, sometimes every other day or so trying to make it more comfortable. What I found frustrating, was that when you're a relatively new amputee, it's hard to describe to your prosthetic professional what you're going through so he/she can find a solution for you. I still have that problem sometimes - sometimes it helps to be asked the right question.
Like Allen said - tell us some more about yourself.
Again - welcome aboard. Go through some of the previous threads - if you have any further questions or comments to add to them - please do so, regardless of the age of the thread.
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ann58
Female Member
Posts: 278
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Post by ann58 on Nov 11, 2010 15:32:38 GMT -7
tam1026, it seems as if it will take forever to get fitted sometimes....I took along time to feel confident with my leg....BTW I am a lbk amputee caused from a blocked aorta. But no kidding it really did take around 3 years, but that is just me. And yes I got so irritated I wanted to scream.
Welcome!
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Post by barclay on Nov 11, 2010 21:43:53 GMT -7
Hi Tam Welcome to the forum! I'm LBKA since Nov. 2007 and I am on my 5th (or so) leg because my stump shrank so fast (it can't shrink much more). I haven't had the troubles with the fit but each leg takes a couple of months of tweaking each time until the leg fits well. This board gets pretty quiet too sometimes. I am one who comes and goes. You will get good advice though and the people are pretty nice.
Best to you!
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billf
New Member
Posts: 31
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Post by billf on Nov 12, 2010 7:46:34 GMT -7
Welcome Tam! Tell us a bit more about your ill fitting socket as related to a bend in the knee. Is your knee problem caused by constriction and needs to be stretched out again or is it related to something else? Look forward to your participation in the forum.
BillF
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Post by cherylm on Nov 12, 2010 19:43:07 GMT -7
Hi, Tam, and welcome! I have the same question as BillF...what's causing the knee bend and how is it affecting the fit of your socket? A contracture can be a real problem for a BK amputee, and if that's what you have, exercises to stretch the knee out straight will help you a lot.
It helps if you can avoid trying to set a deadline for "returning to normal." "Normal" comes in odd fits and starts for most of us...sometimes you know you've made real progress, and sometimes the improvements come in such tiny bits that you feel like you're just "standing still." That's when it helps to try to look back at where you started and see just how far you really have come.
I've been a LBK since March of 2005. It took me seemingly FOREVER to be fit for my first leg...then I went through one socket after another for a number of years. (Five in three years!) It's only been the last couple of years when my stump has settled down long enough for me to stay in a socket for more than six months...and during that time the constant tweaking of my sockets kept me feeling only "semi-normal."
I've now had a fully "settled" stump for about a year and a half, and it's made a tremendous difference in how active (and therefore how "normal") I can be. So hang in there, try to keep the lines of communication open with your leg guys, and know that progress can happen in many, many ways!
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