Phantom pain and Tylenol?

[stonecutter]

I used to get really, really bad phantom pains before my revision surgery.  I had a nerve point that was just under the skin.  When I'd touch the area very lightly with a finger tip, I'd feel a hot/itchy/pins-and-needles/painful sensation on every surface of my phantom limb, and it was very intense.  This sensitive place on my stump was either removed or modified in a way that it's not such an issue for me...

Since the surgery, I get phantom pains that are much less intense - they are very mild in comparison to before but when they do come they'll keep me up all night.  My wife has been on me since 1995 to "take something for it".   I never used to.  I couldn't imagine taking a Tylenol being helpful since I perceive phantom pains as something that's all in my head...  recently, in a fit of frustration I started taking Tylenol in the middle of the night and within 40 minutes they subsided enough for me to get to sleep.

Is this something that you guys do?  I've never been on a prescription for anything having to do specifically with phantom pains, so I don't know much about that.  Is my taking Tylenol just a mental placebo?  

Thoughts?

[ann-]

Immediate thoughts Trevor, were related to your other posting about sockets not fitting, because when I have sockets that are not fitting I get increased phantom limb type pains, especially if I am hitting the bottom like you mentioned in your posting, so maybe the pain you are experiencing is due to that.

[cherylm]

I'm not a master on phantom pain...very little of it in my life, thank goodness! However, I do have the very occasional phantom pain session, and I had a very, very clear sensation of a phantom limb for my first year after my surgery. What I've been told is that it is a very real, present nerve ending that can trigger all those phantom sensations. If that's the case, a medication for pain may just "dull" the responses of the nerve ending enough to curtail whatever is going on in the "phantom" area. I've not needed actual prescription pain meds after the first few days following the amp, but I do use Tylenol when I have any sort of pain situation, phantom or otherwise, and it does seem to help.

Perhaps it's a combination of a "placebo effect" coupled with the dulling of the responses in the physical nerve ending...but if it works, take advantage of it!

Ann also has a good point on a socket problem contributing to the pain situation. I know a "bad fit day" for me can have major effects once the leg is off..............