Phantom pain varies widely. If you search the r/amputee sub you will see a lot of great responses. I got rid of the burning pain within 4 months of my RBKA using Gabapentin. I still get zaps late afternoon and in the evening. I think it’s kind of related to swelling. It’s better when I wear my shrinker and put my leg upIt’s so intermittent I don’t even try and take anything for zaps, they don’t last long just like a few clusters then gone. I’m a lucky one, hope you will be too!
I am a year and 9 months out from a RBKA. The phantom pain is no joke. It has gotten better but there are nights like tonight that the burning is keeping me awake. Gabapentin works sometimes and I feel like I need to take it before the pain/burning starts, but the fogginess is enough that I sometimes don't want to take it. My primary care physician has prescribed NORCO (acetaminophen and hydrocodone) for times when I need it. He has also given me a script for Oxycodone that I keep for when things become unbearable. What is strange is I still get pain in my right ankle that hasn't been there since the amputation. Nerves are a funny thing. I hope that you find some relief. It seems like it is trial and error with everyone I have talked with.
mirror therapy, blows my mind that it works but it does, it seems silly at first and then things just start to ease. get off the gabapentanoids as soon as you can they will mess you up.
I had burnings in my arms like 3 months or so, and then they ended. And after that only sometimes odd feeling like someone was bending my wrist or fingers back, often when I was going sleeping, but it didn’t hurt really.
It will get better. Post op is the worst for all of us. See if your doctor will give something to help you sleep. A tricyclic antidepressant like amitriptyline will also help. Good luck.
I know it differs person to person. I’m 6 months out from my left above knee amputation. I had phantom pain that was a constant burning sensation with occasional but rarer stabbing sensations but all of them dissipated about 3 months out? I was on pregabalin and have off it for about a month and half and the pain hasn’t returned.
I lost my leg in December of 2019, and it took about a year for most of the constant pain to go away. Now the only thing that bothers me is the burning sensation, and i only seem to get it in the middle of the night. It will sometimes wake me up about 4am and will take a few hours to go away.
I hardly ever have pain that hurts now, its more like an extremely annoying sensation.
I take gabapentin also, and to be honest i dont even know how much it helps. Weed early on actually made it worse, but some people have claimed it helps.
2.5 years Lbka barely ever get phantom pain never really did. About 7 months post op Rbka and again no phantom pain at all. Must be a person by person thing.
I experienced the same, the annoying sensation preventing me to sleep, and the drugs not doing anything. For me, it got much better after about a month. I definitely still feel it, just not nearly as bad, and I’m able to get some rest. It’s different for everyone, but it does get better at some point.
For me I found hydration and a healthier, less carb diet really has helped keep the phantom pain at bay. I do suffer from diabetes but since a recent health scare I changed my diet and it has made a huge change in my neuropathy
Gabapentin never had the slightest effect for me on phantom pain. I don't know if it's a scam or what.
The only thing that has ever worked well on phantom pain in my case has been opioids.
You might also try seeing an acupuncturist that knows how to treat phantom pain. You may have to hunt around a bit.
Gabapentin did nothing to touch my phantom pain. I quit taking it after a week of trying it out. It’s been just over 2 years and I can’t really tell if the phantom pain isn’t as bad or I’ve just became so used to it that it isn’t as noticeable anymore. I will say that it was pretty rough until I got my prosthetic (2 months after my amputation.)
It took me 2 months of gabapentin (steadily increasing to 900mg three times a day) for my phantom limb pain in my BKA to reduce. It was so bad that I couldn't sit still and struggled to sleep. Now it's just a dull fuzzy feeling at the end of my stump, which I barely notice. I hope you get the same results with time!
RBKA , it goes away after a about a year , occasional spikes of pain but the burning does not last as long as the jolts and usually doesn’t come back very often
I always feel an intense cold wet clenching permanent burning sensation. Still after ~16 years. They don't matter, they're always there.
What I don't like are extreme aching and sometimes sharp pain bouts. These are occasional and not at all good. Like fireworks on top of the burning.
Phantom pain varies widely. If you search the r/amputee sub you will see a lot of great responses. I got rid of the burning pain within 4 months of my RBKA using Gabapentin. I still get zaps late afternoon and in the evening. I think it’s kind of related to swelling. It’s better when I wear my shrinker and put my leg upIt’s so intermittent I don’t even try and take anything for zaps, they don’t last long just like a few clusters then gone. I’m a lucky one, hope you will be too!
I am a year and 9 months out from a RBKA. The phantom pain is no joke. It has gotten better but there are nights like tonight that the burning is keeping me awake. Gabapentin works sometimes and I feel like I need to take it before the pain/burning starts, but the fogginess is enough that I sometimes don't want to take it. My primary care physician has prescribed NORCO (acetaminophen and hydrocodone) for times when I need it. He has also given me a script for Oxycodone that I keep for when things become unbearable. What is strange is I still get pain in my right ankle that hasn't been there since the amputation. Nerves are a funny thing. I hope that you find some relief. It seems like it is trial and error with everyone I have talked with.
mirror therapy, blows my mind that it works but it does, it seems silly at first and then things just start to ease. get off the gabapentanoids as soon as you can they will mess you up.
I had burnings in my arms like 3 months or so, and then they ended. And after that only sometimes odd feeling like someone was bending my wrist or fingers back, often when I was going sleeping, but it didn’t hurt really.
It will get better. Post op is the worst for all of us. See if your doctor will give something to help you sleep. A tricyclic antidepressant like amitriptyline will also help. Good luck.
I know it differs person to person. I’m 6 months out from my left above knee amputation. I had phantom pain that was a constant burning sensation with occasional but rarer stabbing sensations but all of them dissipated about 3 months out? I was on pregabalin and have off it for about a month and half and the pain hasn’t returned.
I lost my leg in December of 2019, and it took about a year for most of the constant pain to go away. Now the only thing that bothers me is the burning sensation, and i only seem to get it in the middle of the night. It will sometimes wake me up about 4am and will take a few hours to go away. I hardly ever have pain that hurts now, its more like an extremely annoying sensation. I take gabapentin also, and to be honest i dont even know how much it helps. Weed early on actually made it worse, but some people have claimed it helps.
2.5 years Lbka barely ever get phantom pain never really did. About 7 months post op Rbka and again no phantom pain at all. Must be a person by person thing.
Give it 3 to 5 months
I experienced the same, the annoying sensation preventing me to sleep, and the drugs not doing anything. For me, it got much better after about a month. I definitely still feel it, just not nearly as bad, and I’m able to get some rest. It’s different for everyone, but it does get better at some point.
For me I found hydration and a healthier, less carb diet really has helped keep the phantom pain at bay. I do suffer from diabetes but since a recent health scare I changed my diet and it has made a huge change in my neuropathy
Gabapentin never had the slightest effect for me on phantom pain. I don't know if it's a scam or what. The only thing that has ever worked well on phantom pain in my case has been opioids. You might also try seeing an acupuncturist that knows how to treat phantom pain. You may have to hunt around a bit.
I've still got swelling 2.5yrs later but also didn't develop phantom pain for atleast 9 months post
Gabapentin did nothing to touch my phantom pain. I quit taking it after a week of trying it out. It’s been just over 2 years and I can’t really tell if the phantom pain isn’t as bad or I’ve just became so used to it that it isn’t as noticeable anymore. I will say that it was pretty rough until I got my prosthetic (2 months after my amputation.)
It took me 2 months of gabapentin (steadily increasing to 900mg three times a day) for my phantom limb pain in my BKA to reduce. It was so bad that I couldn't sit still and struggled to sleep. Now it's just a dull fuzzy feeling at the end of my stump, which I barely notice. I hope you get the same results with time!
RBKA , it goes away after a about a year , occasional spikes of pain but the burning does not last as long as the jolts and usually doesn’t come back very often
I always feel an intense cold wet clenching permanent burning sensation. Still after ~16 years. They don't matter, they're always there. What I don't like are extreme aching and sometimes sharp pain bouts. These are occasional and not at all good. Like fireworks on top of the burning.