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Post by jim3000099 on Oct 19, 2013 12:25:58 GMT -7
Hi I'm very new to this, just had a below knee amputation 3 weeks ago because of diabeties ( which I didnt even know I had). Does anyone have any helpfull sugestions for dealing with steps?
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Post by stonecutter on Oct 19, 2013 17:39:30 GMT -7
Hi Jim,
Welcome to the forums.
Are you in any sort of rehabilitation program? How are you coping with the change? It's hard - we know... How old are you?
The best advice I could give is:
1. get your mind right with the idea of being 'short' a foot and get on with life! 2. push yourself to get stronger but try not to overdo it... you're going to be healing for quite some time. Sometimes you can easily overdo it and end up with a bit of a setback.
I'm going to have to cut this post short, as I have to get my daughter to bed, but know that we are here to answer your questions... Fire away!
T.
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Post by jim3000099 on Oct 19, 2013 19:58:07 GMT -7
I'm 48 and unfortunatly no rehab. I live in the US and no insurance is a problem but I will automaticly get some the 1st of the new year. I kinda knew the amputation was coming so it wasnt quite as hard on me, in a way its a bit of a relief since I have been in pain a while. Right now I'm getting around with a walker, just get tired fast. Any advice anyone has is good since I'm kinda self rehabing.
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Post by cherylm on Oct 20, 2013 1:01:31 GMT -7
Hi, Jim, and welcome to our little "family." At only three weeks, do you currently have a prosthetic leg? Or are you just doing that ever-so-fascinating "amputee hop" with your walker? If it's that "walker hop" that's getting you around, I do have a couple things to mention. First...feel good about being able to get around at all that way...it's an exhausting way to travel and you've just recently been through a major surgery! Secondly...if you have ANY problems related to diabetes and your eyes, be very, VERY careful about hopping with a walker for too long a time. That hopping motion can put a fair amount of strain on your upper body and can cause retinal bleeding in anyone with diabetic retinopathy. (I'm speaking from experience here...spent three months living on my own one-legged and totally blind after trying to hop quickly to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Not fun...but you'll notice that I made it, and you will too.)
Was your very first question about "steps" to recovery or just navigating physical steps? Stairs can be a tricky thing at first, so if that's the focus of your question, let us know specifically what has you puzzled. You'll get answers!
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Post by allenuk on Oct 20, 2013 1:37:22 GMT -7
Jim: I'm in England, so my knowledge of what you're facing is different. Do you get NO physical therapy at all, then? Do they just cut off your leg, take you to the main door of the hospital, and say 'Goodbye'?
How about a prosthetic leg? Do they supply that?
Do explain the process (or if any other US amps are reading, jump in and tell us what 'normally' happens).
Have you been in the military? If so, then there are probably Vet organisations who could help, I would guess.
But you DO need physical therapy at this stage. Your body has had a hell of a shock, and needs 'rehab' to strengthen what leg muscles remain. Plus of course when (?) you get a false leg, that needs more help in a new sort of walking.
The best thing (here in the UK) about going to physiotherapy and 'limb-fitting' was meeting other amps who'd been through the same process last month, or the month before, and so on - then you can SEE what progress most people make, and life becomes a lot less bleak. So my main suggestion is that you find amp groups in your area - maybe Vet groups, maybe just attached to charities, or churches. But meeting other amps will help you a lot.
Tell us more about what help (or lack of it!) you get.
Allen.
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Post by jim3000099 on Oct 20, 2013 8:20:22 GMT -7
Yes I am just kinda hoping with a walker at this point. No I do not get any phisical therapy ( in hospital 1 came in for 10 minutes and I went from the bed to a chair with a walker and she said your good) After the new year I will get insurance but for now what I have I can only see general doctors in there office. Fortunatly for me I am strong enough to get around some with the walker.
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Post by cherylm on Oct 20, 2013 23:58:22 GMT -7
Allen, Jim is an example of the worst aspect of the current US health care system...there are, indeed, folks who do not currently qualify for any sort of medical/health care insurance, for a whole wide range of reasons. Most people receive insurance through their employers, as part of their job compensation...but even there you will find exceptions: a newly hired employee may have a specified waiting period before being granted coverage, or someone working fewer than a specified number of hours per week may not qualify for any coverage at all...or (in my mind the very worst of the lot) a person may be employed on a part-time basis by a number of different firms (working, perhaps, 20 hours per week for three different employers) but working that 60 hours per week will not result in health care coverage because none of those three jobs will INDIVIDUALLY meet the minimum hourly requirement for coverage. There is some level of government funding for insurance for the very, very poor, but that is limited and many folks you might expect to qualify do not. (Don't get me started here........it's truly disgusting....!)
These uninsured folks generally find themselves getting their medical care through low-cost community clinics and/or hospital emergency rooms, places where they legally "have to be treated" (and will be billed for that treatment) and places that have very little available in the way of anything beyond diagnostic services through a single doctor. There are some possibilities available through charitable groups, but there is no single place where one might find out about these options and not much in the way of information on how to go about applying for these services. We're supposed to be "the greatest nation in the world," but we still treat health care for our citizens as a "special privilege" rather than a "basic right." (A lot of us are wondering if the newly passed Affordable Care Act--nicknamed "ObamaCare"--will prove to be a measurable improvement on this situation, or just another bureaucratic mess.)
So, I have wonderful health insurance that covers doctor visits, medical testing, prescription drugs, physical therapy, mental health, surgeries, prosthetic limbs and supplies, just about anything...for a very reasonable cost....and others--even some who have worked for my own employer, for just as many years as I did--have no coverage at all. UUUURRRRGGGGHHH!!!!
I'm sorry for hijacking your thread, Jim...it's just such a lousy situation, and it makes me so darn mad! I'll back off and let you get on with it...............
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Post by allenuk on Oct 21, 2013 2:30:23 GMT -7
Cherylm: thanks for that explanation. Grim. And to think there is a move in the UK to abandon free health care and adopt the 'American System'. Blimey.
Jim: how about the false leg? The usual process is that after 6 or 8 weeks they fit you for a prosthetic leg, and to some extent that's when your need for physical therapy really kicks in. We can probably help a bit, by remembering specific exercises we were given when we first had our plastic legs.
Is there any chance that you can hook up with other people with amputations? It will help both psychologically and practically - and they might remember their exercises, too!
A
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Post by allenuk on Oct 21, 2013 7:04:20 GMT -7
Thinking more about your condition, Jim, following on from Cherylm's remarks earlier about you being careful of your sight.
Your diabetes must have been pretty serious for it to result in amputation, so she's dead right - be careful, certainly of your eyes, but also of your body during this healing process.
Ideally, you should have your stump inspected by a nurse or doctor at least once, if not twice per week, to check for infections. You can help by keeping it very clean - don't scrub it, just bathe it in warm water with (preferably) a medicated soap.
And keep off it! By all means keep active, but not very active. Your stump needs time to heal before you can get a leg fitted - if it's not nicely healed up, no leg.
Patience is probably a good motto for the next couple of months, I'm afraid. Rest, don't do too much, get to those doctors that WILL see you, to get both your stump and general health checked out.
And don't forget that my only qualification is helping to run a message board! I have absolutely zero medical training, at all.
We'll help as much as we can, Jim, but keep looking locally for any organisation that offers assistance to people in your position.
Best wishes,
Allen.
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Post by jim3000099 on Oct 21, 2013 9:36:25 GMT -7
I will end up with insurance eventually but it is a process, basicly I need to get disability first then they give you medicare. I guess I shouldnt be in such a hurry to get moving around, I have just never been a sit around type person. Right now I'm pretty happy that I am more or less out of pain for the 1st time in months and I can actually sleep at nights.
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Post by allenuk on Oct 22, 2013 3:56:01 GMT -7
Jim: fair comment. Pain is a killer, you are quite right.
Just keep an eye on the stump in the meantime - any signs of seepage/bleeding etc. through the dressing, get to a doctor. A little bit is okay, but at this stage it's not something to ignore.
Sleeping (without pain) is a Good Thing!
Allen.
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ann58
Female Member
Posts: 278
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Post by ann58 on Nov 4, 2013 11:41:55 GMT -7
Jim, have you been working right up until you had your amputation? And did they {not} offer insurance...have you been paying into workers comp. and medicare or working for a company that did not offer insurance. Why didn't you apply for medicade to cover your health needs.
I assume you are trying to get on SSI disability from what you have told us. I had insurance but pretty much had the same type of amputation you did. After BKA, spent one day in hospital and was sent home with no information at all other than to come back into surgeons office in a week to have stitches removed...then had about three weeks of physical therpy {3 times a week} and fitted with leg. After that I was on my own going to the prosthetic office. Of course I had a great family helping me, but I was devastated and of course they had no idea what I was going through. I hope the forum can help out.
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