Hello Everyone, I'm New Here

[journeyhome]

I just joined and wanted to say hi. I am a recent amputee. I had to have my lower right leg and foot amputated. Doing okay I guess. I'm in the process of trying to be fitted for a prosthesis. Got some pain issues though. Well again, hello. I hope all of you are getting along okay to the best of your strength's. I would love to get some advice from you all.

[stonecutter]

Hiya.

There are several BK amputees on these forums. Yours truly being one. Welcome to the forum - ask your questions! We are here to help and support.

This is a considerable life adjustment, but as an amputee for going on 21 years now, I can tell you that life gets better and easier as you persevere through the challenges.

Some questions for you:

1) How came you to lose your leg?
2) How recent was your amputation?
3) What kind of pain issues are you having? Is it phantom pain or still pain from the surgery?

Read around the forum - if you come across any thread you want to post in, please do, regardless of thread age.

Thanks,

[Deleted]

I have become something of a reluctant expert on pain. feel free to write to me. is your amputatiom from trauma? I have done alot of reaserch on this and I am glad to share.

[journeyhome]

Hello again. I had to have my leg amputated because of no blood flow. They tried two bypasses but neither worked. It was amputated on December 10th, 2014. Last year was rough. Four surgeries in less than 2 months. I am having some minor phantom pain but the worst pain is just associated with the end of the stump. I got on the medication Lyrica yesterday and that seems to be helping. Hope all of you are doing well.

[stonecutter]

I'll tell you guys a little strategy I've developed over the years. I apply it to almost everything when I am going through something rough. Whether it be a tough time at work or a tough time with my amputee related situations...

I call it a 'two-check'. I'm sure this is nothing that can be considered ground breaking or original, but what it is is a sequential progress check to see if things are progressing or regressing... It also requires actions on your part to ensure you're moving yourself in the right direction.

While attempting solutions, evaluate after 2 minutes, 2 hours, 2 days, 2 weeks, 2 months and if necessary - 2 years! If at any one of these check points you have supposed to made progress - time to try another strategy!

It's something that's worked for me... also prevents me from giving up on something that may eventually work if I get impatient. You of course need to follow the advice of your medical professionals! But agreeing to apply the above and getting their buy in will help.

[Ann]

Hi Journeyhome

Welcome to the forum sorry to hear you are having the pain problems at the moment, but glad the medication they have given you is helping. Am not sure if its helpful to hear at the moment, but the pain you say associated with the end of the stump, is probably going to get better as time goes on. Its very early days for you a and would imagine, from my experiences as a below knee amp that, that type of pain is pretty usual when you think about the surgery that has been done to it, but if bothering you I would let those treating you  know. Though I think sometimes this is the worse time because you are often between agencies treating you and perhaps having been discharged from hospital, you might not have got to see the prosthetic/rehab team yet, so are left wondering about every different twinge or sensation or whatever and have lots of questions that you cant always get answered.

Do like Trevor's strategy about 'two check', all of this is a process, so things will change and keep checking, although sometimes things might seem like you are taking three steps forward and then a step backwards, just hang on in there, another few weeks maybe a month or so and you will noticing a difference, sometimes its good to keep a journal of these times and when you look back later, you will see how you have progressed.

[journeyhome]

Don't take this wrong but I've already been living like I'll never walk again. Training myself just in case. And I have begun to master that. SO if I do get to walk again, I'll be that much more ahead. Sounds funny I know.

[stonecutter]

It doesn't have to be like that. I can understand not wanting to set your sights too high for fear of being disappointed, but I can tell you that as a below-the-knee amputee for almost 21 years now, life does normalize. Once that happens, new people you meet won't even realize that there's something up, unless you tell them. Well - usually the jig is up on stairs or inclines as you just don't move the same on them as others. (They usually just ask you if you have a bad knee). And the people in your life (family, friends) will realize that life hasn't been fundamentally changed - just only with some aspects of mobility.

Since I've lost my leg, I have:

- started being as outdoorsy as I ever used to be... hunting, fishing, ATV, etc...
- finished my career training, which involves work on construction sites (I am an architectural draftsman by trade and now working as a project manager)
- Got married
- Had family
- bought homes
- sold homes
- vacationed
- traveled for business
- become a Shriner
- hiked through the bush
- been to concerts
- been to NASCAR races
- blah... blah... blah...
- et cetera.... The list can go on in inane detail.

All this sounds very 'regular' right? That's my point. If you are up and walking about, you can live a 'normal' life. Living as an amputee (especially a BK amputee) is as restrictive as you make it. I don't consider myself as having a disability when I'm "assembled" and things are comfortable. The only time I would say I feel disabled is:

a) when other people treat me like I am - this only happens if I have to be out on crutches and people SEE that I have a disability. Then they speak LOUDER and s-l-o-w-e-r to you because they feel awkward.

b) I break my prosthesis, or it isn't fitting comfortably. Keeping the thing in good working order requires some effort on your part, since your prosthetist doesn't follow you around waiting to come to you... you have to keep up with adjustments as you change. Plastic, fibre glass and carbon fibre doesn't change by itself.

I wonder if you are just feeling a bit overwhelmed. I remember feeling the same way. I came really close to not making it out of the predicament that caused me to be an amputee. Being so injured at the age of 19, for a very short time I didn't see what kind of qualitative life I could have. The weekend before my accident, I hiked three miles through rough terrain to go trout fishing in a remote lake - I couldn't have imagined doing that ever again.   I had a look at the situation and decided that life wasn't over and that I would play with the hand I've dealt to make the best of it.  I looked around the hospital and saw people in much worse shape that I was in with a much better attitude about life.   

In the hospital, there was a guy two years older than me.  He was just about to be discharged after a six month stay.  He was in an accident that involved him falling between the tracks and body of a bulldozer.  He lost his leg at the hip and his arm through the shoulder.  After his accident, he had been as low as one could be (to the point of being suicidal) but when I met him he had a great outlook on his future.   He has since gone on to have a career, meet and marry his wife, have a family and owns his own home.    (Again...  all very normal). 

It made it kind of hard to feel sorry for myself.

It doesn't get better overnight, and it's hard.  But if you are willing to keep up your part of the effort - it does get better... It gets great! I could take that hike to that lake again -- if I wanted to... turns out I don't like trout though...  (I fish for other species now...)

Hang in there and keep us posted!  Let us know if there's anything we can do to help.

[journeyhome]

Wow you have accomplished alot. That's awesome. I didn't mean to be negative. Just calculating. An example of what I mean: Say you're lost in the woods and hungry. You've got to find the quickest way to survive right now. That's no time to be particular about anything. Later, when you've mastered staying alive, then you can expand your wants and needs. That's all I'm saying. I intend for my life to be what I am able to make of it. No matter what. I like being here on this site very much. I look forward to it. It's good to have a site to go to where there are people like me. I consider myself as an elite person now. And I like being around elite people like you all here. I had to hunt for a community like this. Glad I found this one. It's a shame there is not more awareness about this. My user name has a reason behind it too. I'll explain that later. Peace and rest to all of you tonight.

[journeyhome]

Good evening everyone. I hope all is well. One question I do have. Did your existing blue jeans or pants fit over your prosthetic once you got it?

[stonecutter]

I usually buy relaxed fit jeans. I found that regular cut jeans get a bit tight and restrictive at the knee and sometimes they even gather at the knee and the pant leg rides up. It's much less obvious with a relaxed fit.

I'm a guy who likes to walk in the store, find my size, buy it and go from there.  I don't always try on my clothes before I buy them.  The goal is to be back in my vehicle in 5 mins or less.  When you have a leg prosthesis - you gotta try on your pants though...  

[journeyhome]

Lol. Thanks pard. Good advice.

[journeyhome]

Had a rough day today. I wanted to get out so I went to a sporting goods store look for some big fishing bobbers for my water thermometer that I am designing. They didn't have a handicap cart only a wheelchair. I decided to use that. I kept bumping into everything and knocking shit off of the shelves. I haven't ever felt so helpless in all my life. I just gave up and left the store. Hard to get used to some of this new way of life. Feeling down tonight.

[stonecutter]

I don't have much advice in that regard other than...

You will learn new skills and re-learn existing ones. Sooner than you know it you'll be navigating sporting good stores with ease!

Fishing? I had a day off yesterday and spent it ice fishing. I can honestly tell you that for the 5 hours I was on the ice, the thought of being an amputee didn't cross my mind once!

Give it time - you will return to your new normal.

Everyone is different, but for me it took about two years to get to feeling "normal." I think that's longer than the norm, but I think it's because I was pretty young and my amputation was due to a crushing trauma that messed with me mentally too.

Keep us posted as to your progress.

[journeyhome]

I've got a new respect for ANYONE that uses a wheelchair after my attempt at it. Those people are a lot smarter than I am on using it.

[stonecutter]

I think it's all in what you get used to. It's definitely a skill that needs to be worked on. I remember when I was still in the hospital and my folks decided to take me out for lunch at a nearby mall. I wanted to see how well I could get around so I wanted to wheel myself everywhere. Man - I was played out in about 100 yards and gave Dad the nod to continue pushing!

[journeyhome]

I'm with you. That is tough. Ice fishing huh? That'd be an experience. We fish off of the bank cause I don't have a boat. But we figured out how to be successful at it. Our method only works in the pre spring time thru the early summer. I'm looking forward to it!!