I’ve complained about phantom pain before, it’s an amputee thing. I got torn up 44 years ago, which is a respectably long time but the phantom limb pain never went away like (I’m told) it does for most people. Just lucky, I guess. Thing is, while it can be really distracting – for which read really painful – it doesn’t normally last but a few minutes or an hour or two tops. This particular session has gone on and on, nearly a full day, and now you can add sleep deprivation to my list of complaints. I’m too old to shake off a sleepless night the way I could when I was a young rooster – especially when I wasn’t exactly having fun during the sleepless part. So I’m kind of a mess right now, sorry.
I’ve often thought it gets triggered by long periods sitting around, which I’ve certainly been doing in the past week. We’re in the early part of Monsoon here, plus about a week ago I hurt my meat foot – my only foot – and I’ve been going about in sandals to let the skin heal. It’s healing really well and a couple more days should close the wound, but in the meantime even when it’s not raining I’m mostly sitting around. That can bring the pain. But also sometimes it just comes whenever it damn well wants to, so who knows?
Thing is it never lasts this long, and when it’s bad it’s very hard to work around. It could go away for half a year before I finish typing this sentence, or – since I don’t even know what causes it – it might never go away this time. That’s a cheery thought.
More coffee. Later.
So sorry, Joel! That kind of pain is so hard to deal with, and almost impossible to treat. I’ve heard that wacky-weed works best, but I would imagine you’ve already tried everything. Hope it is gone soon and stays away forever.
Very sorry to hear of this happening. I hope the phantom soon decides he’s had enough desert and goes to visit the seaside instead . . .
Phantom, Murphy’s evil twin brother? You never know when he will strike but he’s always there in the shadows. Sorry to read this. I hope it lets up soon. Hugs.
I presume botox isn’t appropriate?
Sorry to hear it, Joel. I don’t have any input other than you wish you well and hope the situation improves soon.
A curiosity question; If it’s “phantom” pain, do pain meds help?
CH, reports vary. They gave me stuff for it in the hospital (where there were times I thought it’d drive me crazy) but the only thing that really worked for me was drugging me nearly unconscious and you can’t live like that, either. OTC pain pills don’t touch it. It’s damage deep in the nerves that used to service parts that aren’t there anymore. The way it was explained to me those nerve endings are supposed to atrophy and stop trying to do their job, but sometimes they don’t.
I can feel my missing foot every waking moment I think about it. Usually just a crawling sensation, not intense enough to be unpleasant once you get used to it. Usually I just edit it out. But sometimes it’s sudden intense blasts of pain, not “like” anything describable but very intense, usually very short. Sometimes it throbs like a heartbeat, sometimes it comes at irregular intervals until you just can’t relax, waiting for the next one. At night it’s torture; if you manage to fall asleep you won’t sleep long. Mostly there isn’t enough relief long enough to fall asleep. Right at the moment it isn’t too bad. I’ve got to taxi Landlady in through the mud when she gets here, then I’m planning to go to bed early tonight and get what sleep I can.
Thanks for the answer and damn what a literal pain. Good thoughts going out that it quits soon.
Joel, have you ever experimented with a TENS unit? Amazon (or even your local drugstore) might be your friend. At least it’s drug free and it apparently works for some.
https://www.physio-pedia.com/images/0/00/TENS.AMputee.2012.pdf
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=tens
Joel, I hope you are feeling better by the time you read this, but if there is still pain, the suggestion from ML about herbal remediation for nerve pain is a very good one. We used it for Doug’s bone pain during his cancer treatments, with remarkably excellent results.
All best wishes that you are already pain free again.
Ben, that’s a good idea. The unit is expensive (isn’t everything?) and it would take time and experimentation to figure out how to use it optimally, but might be worth a try if this pain becomes more than occasional and transitory. So far, the available literature does not indicate a high level of control for phantom limb pain, but I’ve used it for other chronic pain patients over the years and found it at least as effective as most medications. Be aware that there can be some adverse effects with this tool too, so it is not risk free. But then, almost nothing is. 🙂 Much more study needs to be done with these units for phantom limb pain.
Here is a website offering comparisons and price information on the various units. http://www.thegoodbody.com/what-is-the-best-tens-unit/
So sorry you are suffering, Joel.
I, too, am a chronic pain sufferer (albeit from neuropathy and arthritis).
It’s no fun.
My life seems to be a constant balancing act between pain, less pain and knocking myself out.
Prayers your way, my friend.
gfa
I got a TENS 7000 unit from Amazon cost a little less than 40 bucks.
Link: https://www.amazon.com/Balego%C2%AE-100mA-output-square-Electrodes/dp/B00KVILSP2/ref=pd_sbs_121_2?ie=UTF8&dpID=41PUP%2Bjlt0L&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&psc=1&refRID=M58FFC9KMKQJ6X7S0F24
The unit, 9 volt battery, electrode pads, wires and case. Wow, this one comes with 40 electrode pads that are 2×2. I got eight pads and they are 1.5×1.5 in my unit. You can reuse the pads about a 3 to 4 times, if you follow the direction on taking care of them.
That’s pretty good, Judy. I have not even seen a TENS unit in more than 15 years, and they were much more expensive then. I was using a “professional” model, and was not even aware they were available generally, so this is good news.
Mama Liberty – I read a bunch of reviews on different models before I bought my TENS unit. One of the reviews on the TENS 7000 was by a PT. He said he could see no difference between the ones he used professionally and the TENS 7000 except the cost.
Judy, that’s true of so many things… and yet, there is always the exception. I dealt with a lot of monitors, meters and such devices while nursing. Most were things the families could buy over the counter, and some were not. There was so much variation in quality, effectiveness and durability that it was very confusing and often seriously expensive no matter what one chose. That’s a big reason I like to see broad comparisons of various brands and manufacturers, with user ratings and comments. We can ‘t know for sure if those are honest and random, cherry picked or just plain imagination, but in using such to evaluate products for a long time, it usually is a big help. One of the better examples being Amazon.com.