Tag: DRG

The Elephant in the Room

The Elephant in the Room

The Reality of Phantom Pain

 

 

It’s real!

It does exist, and it can come out of nowhere and attack you when you least expect it. Phantom pain is an equal opportunity offender with no regard for who it targets.

Phantom sensation is similar but constant. It’s not about the excruciating pain it inflicts, like phantom PAIN, as much as it’s the never ending, always present tingling, buzzing, and throbbing of the missing body part, (in my case, my lower left leg and foot).

No matter what’s going on, how active I am or am not, or even the weather, phantom sensations are always burning in my foot. At first I didn’t think I was going to be able to take it but I can tell you two certainities:

  1. After suffering phantom PAIN, I will gladly take the sensations!
  2. I find that these sensations are a gift in that they help me to find my footing as I walk because my foot feels like it’s there at all times.

 

Just a reminder, all journeys are NOT the same. my pain tolerance might be higher than yours or your phantom pain might last longer and be more intense than mine, we are all different and how we handle them is also going to be different.

Some people choose to medicate to help with the pain, others use mirror therapy or a neurotransmitter.

Others may choose to use tap therapy, or heat/cold therapy to lessen the intensity.

 

I have a neurotransmitter implanted in my back, but it created more pain than it stopped so I have turned mine off, for now.

I also have chosen to stay far away from medication so I know the true feelings of my pain and learn to deal with them naturally as they come. I spent too many years on drugs to help with all the surgeries and couldn’t wait to get off of them, permanently!

 

Like I said, everyone is different. what works for me may or may not work for you. Only you can decide how to attack these phantom issues. It’s always good to talk with other amputees to see how they are dealing with their pain and what works for them but remember what works for them may not work for you.

I say this so you don’t get discouraged if it doesn’t work. You will need to keep searching and trying out new ways to handle your pain based on you. And sometimes something will work one time but not the next time it occurs. Talk about frustrating!!

Phantom pain is for real! It’s vicious, distracting, and debilitating! It can and will try to consume you, and break you, just remember you are strong! You are a warrior!

 

 

This is a tough one.

You will need to get creative and dig down deep!

This is where TRUE warriors are made.

Don’t sit and dwell on the pain, it will consume you and make it harder to bounce back from it.

Find somethings that work for you (I use distraction when I am in a bad pain place-walking, driving in my car, playing music, watching a movie, reading, moving some more, getting to the gym, etc) This keeps my mind active, and distracted. Don’t sit around thinking about it, it’ll only amplify the pain, trust me, I know!

Once you find things you are capable of doing, use these techniques to help you on the rough days. You will find that you will handle the phantom pains better if you have resources ready to be utilized.

And don’t forget to communicate with your family, friends, your support system. Even best laid plans get wrecked, and if you are screaming on the inside, more than likely you’ll start screaming on the outside and the people who you love the most will be casualties to it. Let them know that you are struggling. Phantom pain is invisible to everyone outside of us, they can’t know what we are going through so we must be open and honest, for the sake of relationships.

You’ve got this and you are NOT alone.

Rise up, Precious Warrior, Rise up! Fight your battles with confidence and with the assurance that this too shall pass.

 

As always and until next week,

Be Healthy,

Be Happy,

Be YOU!!!

 

Much love,

Angie

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Nerve of Some People!

The Nerve of Some People!

Extreme Nerve Pain aka Phantom Pain

 

Oh, it’s real alright!! I experienced 3 days and nights of non-stop STABBING pain.

 

It’s MASSIVE pain, no way to control it, mentally exhausting and disabling pain like no other!  It attacks when you least expect it and can make itself at home for days, or weeks on end. I am not talking about what I feel everyday-yes, I said “everyday”. Everyday, I feel my missing foot. I feel pins and needles all day long and into the night, until my body shuts down and I fall asleep. The pain I felt THIS week, for several days, was 100x worse, relentless, and brought my to my knees and into tears- which doesn’t happen often.

I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy. And the unknown of how long it will last is just as bad as the pain itself. Listen in as I talk about my recent journey through ANOTHER “episode” of shooting phantom pain; what it feels like, why I think it happened, and how to push through it!

 

Three things you can do to make sure you get through the struggle:

  1. Choose to keep moving, even when it’s hard, MOVE! Do what you can and stay active as much as possible.
  2. Distract! Distract! Distract!! Everything we go through flows like a river. Whenever things get hard do you look back a realize you made it through to better times? Likewise, when things are going great, then all of a sudden you are dealing with something tough, it just happens. That’s life. The quicker you realize that, the easier it is to know that there will be a light at the end of the tunnel.
  3. Positive self-talk. It’s ok to feel defeated and frustrated when you’re going through something, but it will be easier to swallow if you create a positive environment, with positive words, and an attitude that creates good feelings. It’s hard, and at times I find myself beating me up inside. Don’t go there, and if you do, get out of that mindset quickly.

You will have these moments, how you handle them is up to you. Strive to build a positive aura around you, stretch and flex those mental muscles and soon you’ll find that you can handle it, and maybe, just maybe, come out a better, stronger, happier YOU!

As always,

Be Healthy,

Be Happy,

Be YOU!!

 

much love,

Angie