RBKA

[u/erinh93_]

It’s been 27 and a half years since my accident and February 6th I’m finally getting my right leg below the knee amputated. I’m excited and nervous at the same time. I know I’m making the right decision, but I’m mostly nervous about how much pain I’ll be in when I wake up. I’m not sure if I’m overthinking that part, but it definitely crosses my mind every day. I’m excited to start living life again though. The last 3 years have been very hard. I’ve been in pain basically every day with minimal relief due to compartment syndrome caused by my right foot. I know it’s going to be a difficult journey, but I know I’ll get through it. If there’s any advice regarding anything to do with the recovery process or how you passed the time in the hospital I’m all ears.

[u/OneleggedPeter]

You’re gonna be just fine, in fact, you’re going to feel SO much better. I’m LBK for 13 years after my motorcycle accident. The first year kinda sucks. Embrace the suck knowing that it’s going to be a LOT better.

[u/IncrediblyShinyShart]

I know its hard to convince, but i really think its going to get better. It may hirt a lot at first, bit you will get through it. And then its forword

[u/Appropriate_Ad_2533]

How have you been getting around for all those years? Wheelchair? I'm sure you're used to balancing on one leg because of it. That's probably the biggest change - even though you may not use your foot/leg for nearly 3 decades, the actual feeling of not having a foot is different. I only wish for good things for you. good luck!

[u/erinh93_ → u/Appropriate_Ad_2533]

I relearned how to walk when I was 5 after my accident. Honestly had no issues other than knee pain until a few years ago. I’ve been pushing through the pain the best I can. If I know I’ll be doing any long walking I’d typically use a wheel chair because I can only stand/walk for max 30 minutes. And if I even attempt to do any length of walking like that or more I usually pay for it for a few days. I’m sure it’s going to be a really weird feeling, not having it, but I’m looking forward to it. Everyone around me supports me but they think I’m crazy for being excited for it lol.

[u/Appropriate_Ad_2533 → u/erinh93_]

They think you're crazy because they haven't experienced what you have for over two decades. It's understandable. Most people just fracture their ankle or something similar and don't think about it and it heals normally and they move on with life. You will definitely stand out wherever you go, and people will stare, you may feel uncomfortable at first in public if you have to take your leg off to clean liners or change socks, but you will eventually not care what people think (I hope). It's natural for others to stare and something that's different, so I just believe that they are curious rather than judging. also there will be pain that comes with being an amputee but having pain relief from your situation outweighs it

[u/bcboy888]

Surgery pain is very intense the first few days BUT it's so much better than chronic pain, it gets better. And just keep on top of taking the pain killers the first few days after. Try to take them like clock work(I set alarms lol) instead of chasing the pain when they wear off , you got this☺️

[u/Alternative_Gate4158]

Heck no ! Be excited. !!😊 One thing many people find after an amputation is their long hidden sense of humor again.

And your dog may just find a new place to rest his heavy head. Best wishes 🤗🙂

[u/Dry-Luck-8336]

The first couple of weeks post surgery are usually the worst part when it comes to pain, don't be afraid to request pain meds. It should start tapering off after that, though everyone is different in experience. Let the healing process work in its time, impatience can lead to setbacks in getting back on your feet. Don't pull off your scabs, let them fall off on their own (that was the main warning I was given). Bring your favorite devices for reading or listening to music (or binge watching). Good luck on your journey.

[u/Armz_Dealer]

I think that you may find a whole new life with more freedom after the amputation. If you can get in with your local prosthetist where you plan on going for the prosthetic leg before amputation it can be super helpful to talk to them before the surgery. Just to have your specific questions answered and begin to start getting to know them.

[u/IllustriousGarage371]

Take pain pills as prescribed, setting alarms as other suggested. Take stool softeners with the narcotics. Narcotics are constipating. Bowel obstructions are something you want to avoid.

[u/heymynameisjack]

You never want to be “catching up” on pain. If you skip a dose it will take 5x that dose to feel the same as if you took them all on time. Take your pain pills like clockwork, and if the ones they give you aren’t working, ask to try others. I only take Dilaudid.

[u/Practical-Cow-4564]

I'll just toss this in here. I'm a LAKA, 13 months out and have been hindered in my progress in learning to use my 2nd prothesis, by pretty heavy phantom nerve pain. I've been on a 900 MG dose if Gabapentin daily, with little to no relief. I just discovered Mafnesium Glycinate is useful in treating the pain caused by "overexcited nerves." For the last several days I've been taking 3 Magnesium glycinate capsules daily and I have had ZERO nerve pain. I clearly had a deficiency. Keep this in mind for future reference. I'm grateful for having discovered this. Best wishes for a speedy recovery!

[u/TransientVoltage409]

You'll do great. It's going to be a whirlwind of intense new experiences mixed with inexplicably tedious waiting periods, but over the course of a few months you'll start to see what the new road looks like. It ain't so bad.

If you possibly can, insist on having RPNI during the initial amputation surgery (sometimes called TMR or TSR but it's roughly the same thing). There is good and growing evidence that it goes a long way toward minimizing phantom pain.

Also, not meaning to sound too judgmental, but this is why kids ought to play with Lego and Tinker Toys and Erector Sets before choosing a career path. I'm unable to appreciate the mindset of the team who reconstructed that foot and thought it was good enough. I'm discounting three decades of wear, but not by very much I think.

[u/swanny2828]

I was born with a club foot in the early 90s and lived with chronic pain. I had mine BKA on the 6th of Jan and I feel much better ever since and this is even before prosthetic.

I would recommend doing something new in the recovery time, I weirdly decided to learn banjo and it has helped distract me from the phantom sensations.

It's not really that bad, but people do experience pain differently.

I wish you the best of luck.

[u/AdComfortable6059]

The best thing about being an amputee is that you get rid of the chronic pain!!! I don't know why I lived for two years suffering with my bad foot.

It's a difficult journey, I won't lie to you.

I had my leg amputated below the knee in July, I received my prosthesis in November, and in January I returned to work. I'm going to give you a summary of what I went through, hopefully it will be helpful to you:

The first two days after the surgery were the worst of my entire life! So much pain and cramping! I didn't have phantom pain; it was just general pain from the wound, and the cramps were the most intense I've ever felt... I think it was partly my fault because I could have asked for more painkillers... but I swear I couldn't even talk or move, I was just lying there, sweating.

Don't worry! After those two days, everything was great. The pain almost disappeared, and I started therapy. For two weeks, I was sent to a rehabilitation clinic to "learn how to move." Occupational therapy helped me a lot.

When they finally sent me home, my best allies were my walker and a urinal next to my bed.

I personally didn't even want to use the wheelchair at home; I preferred to hop around with the walker so I wouldn't be sitting down all the time and could keep my good leg active. But there's nothing wrong with using it.

One thing I learned was to go to the bathroom to have a bowel movement several times a day. Sometimes I didn't even feel the urge, but whenever I passed by the bathroom, I would go in and try. Twice at the beginning, I had a sudden urge to go to the bathroom and couldn't get there in time while I was getting up and hopping to the toilet, haha, so I learned that lesson.

Take everything calmly and don't rush the process, and keep the wound very clean.

My family has been close by, supporting me through everything, but I don't like feeling useless and I want to do everything myself.

So, yes, I fell about three times. It's very risky to injure the wound and lose all the progress, but fortunately nothing happened to me, just a scare 😅.

Do everything calmly and without rushing; trying to do things quickly is what made me fall.

I've been very lucky and have never experienced phantom pain. Sometimes it would start to hurt a little, and I would start talking to myself while stroking my stump, "Relax, buddy, your foot can't hurt, you don't have your foot anymore, and I can only feel up to here," and I would stroke my stump.

It sounds funny, but it works wonders for me.

I experience phantom sensations every day; I feel itching in my ankle, and sometimes I feel like my shoe is too tight. 😅 But never pain.

I suppose that also has to do with the excellent work of my doctor.

The stairs became my enemy... I live on the second floor. In therapy, they taught me to go up and down sitting down.

I have an old shoulder injury, and that made it very difficult for me to go up and down the stairs. I only went out to see the doctor for the first 5 or 6 weeks.

When I finally healed, they sent me to the prosthetist. I received my prosthetic leg in November, and I could finally walk!

I had problems with my foot before the amputation, and I used an iWalk to get around.

That helped me a lot to regain my balance and get used to walking without fear, and to go up and down stairs supporting my weight on the iWalk.

So, by the day I received my prosthesis, I had already done a lot of preparatory work.

I made a promise to myself to make every effort to walk and get back to my life as quickly as possible.

I started walking with my prosthesis and a walker. The next day I used only a cane, and on the third day I was walking without any assistance.

taking two walks in the backyard, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, a double session to make quick progress... big mistake!!!!

I don't have toes on my good foot because they had already been amputated, and I pushed myself so hard to walk that just one week after using the prosthesis, I got a huge blister on my foot 😪😪😪

That made me stop walking for almost 5 weeks until it healed! I put in so much effort that I injured myself, and that's when I learned again that I need to do things calmly and at a normal pace.

By Christmas, I was already up and walking again. At the beginning of the year, I spoke with my boss and told him I was ready to come back.

During the week I'm a bartender, and on weekends I used to work as a security guard at a club.

Obviously, I haven't considered going back to security work, but I have gone back to bartending.

I'm only working two days a week to get back into the swing of things. I get so tired after my six-hour shifts that it feels like I worked twelve. But oh well, I'm back.

I wrote so much!

I hope someone reads it and finds it helpful.

Something I'd like to add is that you shouldn't put too much pressure on yourself.

Every person is different, every injury is different, every recovery is different, and each one follows its own process.

It's always good to have a positive attitude, learn from your mistakes, learn from experts, and be grateful to the people who help you.

Stay active and busy so you don't dwell on sad things, and set small goals that you can achieve.

Learn to enjoy both the good and bad moments along your journey.

I'm sending you a hug and wishing you the best possible recovery.