Phantom LIMB PAIN IT IS REAL AND SCARY.Do you know anyone???
@moneymoney2009 (53)
United States
June 27, 2009 1:28pm CST
a phantom limb pain is the sensation that an amputated or missing limb is sill attached to the body and is moving approximately with other body parts.Guess what it is a strange feeling and one of my relative has that . he sometimes have his missing leg itch him so much and he doesnt know where to scratch cse the leg isnt there .do you know anyone who has this problem?
1 person likes this
2 responses
@Wizzywig (7847)
•
27 Jun 09
My grandmother had both legs amputated and used to tell me about the sensations of pain and itching that she experienced. Its frustrating enough to have an itch somewhere you cant reach, like the middle of your back, but it must be so much worse to have an itch that simply cannot be scratched. I have met several people through my work who still have sensations of missing limbs - including one elderly lady who had a nasty fall because she could 'feel' her leg and tried to stand. I presume its to do with the severed nerve endings still having some sense of feeling?
@moneymoney2009 (53)
• United States
27 Jun 09
wow wizzywig. that is amazing...falling because she felt a leg that wasnt there.that is scary. i have been told that nowadays they are using mirror therapy to stop the phantom sensation. they trick your brain by placing a mirror to reflect your other leg and trick your brain into thinking that that is your amputated leg and therefore helping your brain match the reality to what it was already thinking. but some other amputees thik that they pain originates in the nerves and if you hold your remaining stump then the ain might go away . so did your grand ma have prosthesis?/
@Wizzywig (7847)
•
27 Jun 09
No, - It was some time ago when the process was less medically advanced and the first leg did not heal well so she didnt have chance to adapt before the second amputation became necessary. She was not a young woman and had other health issues so became bedbound. The people I have met through work seem to develop a determination which often makes them more capable and mobile than some who still have all their limbs intact.
@moneymoney2009 (53)
• United States
28 Jun 09
wow . that sounds difficult. so i assume she was on a wheelchair then. did she take any nerve or pain medication. i m kinda curious. cse people that i have met told me that nerve medecines and pain killers will help most amputees go trough their pain.did she live for a long time with that amputation?
@threnos (216)
• Canada
27 Jun 09
I have heard of this before but I don't know of anyone personally who has suffered through it. I believe that it can happen because of the nerves in the brain and how they relate to the limbs etc... I think that this would be a horrible thing to have to go through. It's worse enough to have to lose a limb but to have to still feel the pain it is in would be awful!
@moneymoney2009 (53)
• United States
27 Jun 09
yeah 2 important elements the brain and the nerves. very tricky and scary. my relative told me he can actually feel his toes bending
