Am I Ready For A New Prosthetic Leg, Arm and/or Hand?
Other questions this blog post addresses :
What are the white gauze for on my residual limb?
What is a shrinker?
What is Phantom Limb Pain (PLP)?
How to deal with phantom limb pain?
Can medication help with phantom pain?
You may or may not even be thinking about a new prosthesis yet with all the edema going on. In fact, getting a new prosthesis and standing might be the last thing on your mind. We cannot blame you if you are feeling that way, either. Either way, before you are ready for a new prosthetic leg, arm or hand, you will need to take care of the swelling that you have first.
If you are reading these blog posts directly after your surgery, you probably have a healing incision, edema and at least some level of gauze (the white wrapping) on your residual limb.
This gauze is there to help protect you from drainage or bleeding from your incision line. Not to mention it is there to be used under a shrinker potentially, depending on your doctor’s protocol and the protocol of the hospital.
A shrinker is a common garment that is used in the prosthetic industry to help treat patients with edema (aka swelling). It is best if a professional in the field gives you this garment as it has to be appropriately sized to your residual limb. Wearing one that is too big is bad. Wearing one that is too small is also bad. More on shrinkers as we proceed later in these blog posts.
You might also have drainage after a surgery. If so, it is best to notify the nurse if this happens. Keeping the medical team aware of this is a good idea. They can help you keep the area clean and do it in the safest way possible.
Many amputees will wear gauze under something known as a shrinker to serve a couple main functions.
- To keep the shrinker clean.
- To help avoid drainage from drying onto the shrinker. This is an important consideration because once the shrinker is then removed, this compression garment can pull on your incision line. You don’t have to be a medical professional to know that is not optimal.
Sensitivity & Phantom Pain
We have talked a fair bit about edema now and the surrounding topics. At this time after your amputation, you may have also realized that you have a fair amount of sensitivity in the residual limb as well. That and possibly some phantom pain. If you are like most people, you actually had sensitivity to the crest of your shin bone, for example, prior to the amputation but you might not have known know it until it an impact occurred.
Major surgeries like the one you just have been through can elevate sensitivity levels. That sensitivity might now become more apparent in the healing process. Pain medication from your doctor might help in the short term, but increased the sensitivity is just part of it after a surgery of this kind. Especially in the immediate days directly following the surgery.
Phantom pain, is another term that you may or may not be dealing with as well. Phantom pain is when you might be having a pain in a limb that is no longer there. For some people, it might be more like a “phantom itch” in the foot that is not there anymore. It just depends on the person.
Sometimes, you may see it referred to as PLP. Phantom limb pain. As you meet more amputees on the road ahead, you might find that they will tell you that their PLP happens when they do a particular activity. Like when they go for a cigarette or when it gets cold outside. This is known as a trigger.
The mind is an interesting place and I do not think there is a cure all to this issue yet. Some people report treating the issue of phantom pain in different ways when they come to our clinic. For example, some people like using a mirror to temporarily make the mind think the leg and foot is still present. They can report positive benefits from doing this process. Some amputees tell us that taking medication for other aches and pains, sometimes helps with their phantom pain as well.
Obviously, it is best to talk with your doctor however about dealing with phantom pain and taking medications. We are not your physician and dealing with this issue can get kind of personal. You are obviously welcome to search online but our best suggestion to you on this topic might be to talk with your doctor about the ideas we have suggested thus far on pain and sensitivity.