Phantom Pains: What Are They, Why Do They Happen, How To Prevent Them And How To Treat Them.
What is phantom pain? Why does it happen? How do you prevent it? How do you treat it?
I was shocked when I had phantom pains. I did everything perfectly.
I did not have nerve damage before surgery. All the pain was in my foot bones. It had nothing to do with trauma in the nerves. I researched how to avoid phantom pains. I took all the vitamins, gave up toxic foods, including sugar and caffeine, for more than 6 months before amputation. I also did all the exercises leading up to amputation for optimum blood flow and muscle mass. I detoxed my entire system of chemicals so my body could 100% focus on nothing but healing.
To my surprise and disgust, I have phantom pains! And they are like Chinese torture! They can be as strong as a knife stabbing my foot.
But for me, it is medium to light phantom pains. I have feelings of when your foot is asleep, and it touches something, and you get those prickly pains. Or my favorite is a tens unit on high. So my leg will jerk and constantly seize up until it releases.
So what is phantom pain anyway? According to the Mayo Clinic, “Phantom pain is pain that feels like it’s coming from a body part that’s no longer there. Many experts believe phantom pain may be at least partially explained as a response to mixed signals from the brain. After an amputation, areas of the spinal cord and brain lose input from the missing limb and adjust to this detachment in unpredictable ways.” Basically, a cut nerve sends incomplete information back to the brain, causing a misfire interpreted as pain.
Then can phantom pain be prevented? The short answer is no. Experts are at a loss on how to prevent phantom pain. However, if you have nerve pain before surgery, there are a few steps that can be taken in the hopes of minimizing the pains after surgery. One of them being a nerve block placed in the pre-amputated leg for almost an entire day pre-amputation.
Also, I believe that our bodies are fearfully and wonderfully made to recognize what is wrong and fix it and be in premium condition before a fight to win the fight. Meaning, if your system is toxic before surgery, it will be toxic and in pain after surgery. Even though I have some phantom pain, it is a fraction of what I see other amputees going through. Plus, when I take my vitamins and use my magic holistic potions from plants, I have better days.
To reduce the chances of me having phantom pains, I had TMR surgery. Targeted muscle reinnervation. This surgery “completes the nerve circuit.” Meaning, the nerves are tied into the muscles sending a completed circuit signal to the brain. Rather than a nerve cut and left out in the open with an incomplete signal sent to the brain.
Nerves heal incredibly slowly. I was not prepared for this. I thought because I had TMR, I would not have phantom pain. But it makes sense that the nerves need to heal into their new place to complete their job.
Once I discovered I was having phantom pains, I listened to my body and tried to figure out why. I noticed in my everyday life when I was nervous, my leg fired off! I determined it was anxiety-related. Then I found out one of the medications for phantom pains is an antidepressant/antianxiety med!
I started rubbing on my CBD oils, almost doubled my vitamin intake, did stretches for blood flow, and meditated on controlling my nerves and anxiety. After doing these remedies and allowing my nerves to heal, I have now minimized the pain down to a fraction of what it was.
I have not tried some other holistic therapies yet, like acupuncture, heat, and mirror therapy.
But if you are having a great deal of pain and need medication, get it! That’s what it’s there for. Just make sure you read about the side effects first and determine if it is right for you.
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