Jody,

I have the same problem with phantom pain though I am still under a year of being amputated. I am also prescribed the most RANDOM anti-depressants that is supposed to help with my pain. I have yet to understand it so I choose not to take them.

I weened myself off pain medication all together even though somedays it hurts very much. I also have bouts of insomnia due to phantom pain/chronic pain.

I found a glass of wine helps :-). It makes me feel a lot better than all that other junk. Hope that helps!

Denise

Hey Jody,
I took neurotin to help w/ some of the pain after my last revision, it seemed to help some, but like you I didn't like the way it made me feel... I'm wondering would it be something to consider if your bone keeps growing for them to staple your growth plate... I have been an amputee since an infant, but when I was younger, they stapled my growth plate in my knee so that my stump wouldn't keep growing, I might would ask and see if that would be a possibility for you so that you don't keep having revisions... I hope things get easier for you!

yeah I hear ya with the pain meds.. touchy subject but I quit them all about 6 weeks ago; it wasn't all to pleasant and the pain worsened exponentialy by the day.. then I started agressivly (in mind) attacking the pain, kinda telling myself "just ignore it etc; dont be a .." and after about 2 weeks things got better, then after a while pain lessened to the point where it was less than with the meds.. I believe the meds made me more sensative to pain in a wierd sense, they also messed with my hormones and other things as such. Nevertheless I don't condone them, it's a choice everyone must make on their own. They made me feel like a member of Aldous Huxley's Brave new world that was on soma. It's really worth a try stopping them. Sure there are days where it hurts like hell.. chris

I used Lyrica for a while. It was over-priced crap. Then I took Nuerontin (cheaper generics and worked better). Then one day the pain just stopped and never came back. Occasionally I have to stomp out a phantom pain, but nothing regular. If it's your left leg it is the worst because of the sciatic nerve running down the left side of the body. Also, nights are the worst because if your in bed all you have to think about is the phantom pain. Reading till you pass out helps for that. Hope some of this is useful. Good luck.