Newbie, below knee 4 weeks ago

[aussiejp]

Hi to everyone,

I'm looking for a little bit of help.  Im an Australian guy, just turned 50 (last week) and I had a below knee amputation nearly 5 weeks ago.  I have just been fitted with the JUZO compression sock but I'm really suffering from an over sensitive stump.  Im still in hospital and due out next week sometime but Im still relying on morphine once a day, at around 11pm due to the pain.  That will restrict my exit from hospital I know but I can't take anymore Lyrica due to bad reactions (currently 100mg twice a day) and 75mg Endep (ametriptoline) at night. So.......what happens in the next few months with regards to the prostheses?  I'm asking because the medical staff here are trying to manage my expectations by not giving me time scales etc as to what will happen when.....so is there a document anywhere as to what happens roughly at what stage and times?  Anyone out there prepared to help a newbie to the amputee scene, especially anyone in Oz?  I am really grateful for this forum and look forward to hearing and sharing stories and helping out other newbies step out the process.  Cheers Jason

[stonecutter]

Hi Jason,

Welcome aboard. Sorry to hear you're having issues.

Unfortunately, I'm not familiar with a written document on how long this or that should take. All I can say is everyone's circumstances are different. What I can suggest is that you review what's going on with your care provider and work with them to break down the end goals in to milestones that point you in the right direction. You will make progress, but it seems like 'normalcy' is likely a long way away if you focus on just that. Does that make sense?

Re: pain - I don't know the circumstances of why you ended up in our "some-assembly-required" club, but my situation was a result of an industrial accident. My pain was associated with both the trauma from the accident, infection that came with it and the amputation itself of course. My pain was managed by morphine from the time of the accident for until about 4 days after the amputation. From then on, I managed it myself with Tylenol 3s.

Obviously, this may not work in your case.

Unfortunately, I can't offer anything more Australia-specific - I'm in Canada...

I hope you're having a good day - if you have any questions about anything - feel free to ask!

[john]

HiJason- Sorry to hear about your situation. I can only describe my experience. ABK first socket caused blisters and sores that would not heal. I was frustrated by not able to rely on which medical person. The socket maker just shrugged and back to a podiatrist. He was no help. The orthopedic dude didn't know about prosthetics. It was a classical circle. Prosthetics dude billed $16 K for first socket and $28K for second one. Timeline is 24 months from amputation. Stump has shrunk appreciably and I'm going to argue for third
socket. I'm 73 a