Things All Amputees Should Know

1. Every amputation is different. You can have totally different reactions with different ones. 

2. Go into the procedure expecting the worst pain of your life. If it is, then you were counting on it, and if it isn't that, you'll be surprised and happy. I was surprised and happy. :)

3. When they take off the cast, you'll probably be shocked. I was. Both times. Expect to cry. I didn't but I'm used to seeing nasty medical stuff.

4. It takes about 2 months for the incision on a BK to heal completely. 

5. It takes about 2-3 months after amputation to start walking with your new prosthesis.

6. If you think you can't afford a prosthesis, you might be right, but that doesn't mean you can't get one. Most states have vocational rehabilitation offices that will aid you in your quest for one as long as you are, or are planning to become a working member of society. 

7. Your residual limb is very sensitive. This is a good and bad thing. 

8. You should be aware of 2 communities out there. Devotees and Pretenders/Wannabees. Devotees are people sexually interested in people with amputations and sometimes other "handicaps". People often come of the opinion that the devotees are perverts, but in reality they can't help their attraction. Most are actually very nice normal people, but the community itself has a bad reputation because of the few idiots among them that treat others disrespectfully. Pretenders/Wannabees are people that pretend to be have a medical handicap, and sometimes they go through with trying to attain it. For instance, I spoke with one who managed to fuse his own knee by wearing a brace for 5 years. Serious pretenders/wannabees can have BIID which stands for Body Integrity Identity Disorder. 

9. As an amputee you can do just about anything that an able bodied person can do, you just need to find out what kind of compensation is needed. They make every type of arm and leg device you can think of now a days. You just need to ask your prosthetisis what will work for you.

10. Don't let amputation get you down. Look at whats happened and tell lady luck to fuck off cause you can take whatever shit she throws at you. Just to prove it, you're going to take your new prosthetic and do everything she said you wouldn't be able to. 

Post-Op Amputation Pain You May Endure

Of course with every surgery there is pain involved, but I must say that compared to some of the others I've been through, this wasn't that bad. The majority of the pain that I felt in the begining was really due to the cast locking my knee up, or the swelling from inside the cast. There are however a few other types of pain that can occur.

When getting amputated, the majority of what gets cut is skin, muscle, nerves and bone.

The skin will most likely not cause you much pain at all after cast removal, and prior to, it may just be from swelling and constriction.

When dealing with damaged skin this changes but is still easily controlled. I had one spot with a lot of scar tissue that was quite sore. The soreness became apparent whenever it was touched. After the wound closed, I began to massage it and that pain went away. After the second amputation, I've experienced this pain too but much worse as that leg was BADLY damaged prior to surgery. It was almost entirely comprised of grafted skin, and scar tissue. I massage the parts that I can and they feel better for awhile, but need to be massaged many times a day. Since I haven't gotten my prosthetic yet, I don't know how this will change over time, but I have hope that after I'm walking again, the blood stimulation will help this issue.

The bone feels like any other bone break. Some light medication will ease it.

I cant say I've had much muscle pain at all.

The majority of the pain or sensation involved though is related to nerves. 

The first leg was mostly just tingly. As long as I was distracted though, it wasn't that big of a deal. At night before bed I'd pop a pain pill just to chill it out so I could sleep. After getting my prosthetic the tingles practically vanished. With this leg I also experienced phantom sensation. I kept feeling my ankle. Totally normal to feel this for a few months. If it lasts longer, you should consult your doctor.

The second leg is not going as easy.  Instead of tingles, I have sharp random pains, and intense tingles. During the first couple weeks I also experienced a sensation as if all of my foot muscles were contracting but that stopped. Some times theres a very strange sensation that I get (it's only happened maybe 4 times) and its quite un-describable. The best way that I can put it is, prior to surgeries and medical procedures they sometimes give you drugs through an IV that make your mouth taste like metal. You can't actually taste it on your tongue but you can taste it none the less. This strange sensation feels as though the insides of your leg can taste that metal. It's very weird...

My nerve meds have been bumped up twice to help control this. At this point, a month after surgery, I take nerve meds 3 x a day, and pain meds 1 x day. The second bump came today after I called my Dr.s office because I was getting tired of thids hassle with my leg. I will now take the nerve meds 4 x day and hopefully that will omit the pain meds from my regiment completely. I'll keep you posted.