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In agony ..cant walk after amputation.

C

Chrisf1961

Member
Messages
8
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi id be grateful for some advice please.Im a type 2 Diabetic and have recently had a toe amputation only 2 weeks ago.
Both legs pre the op had neuropathy which even though it was uncomfortable i could manage pain wise and get around no problem.Now after the op my pain in my right leg has totally dissapeared and after the toe op my left leg especially in the calf area its unbearable to the point i cant walk more than a few yards without dropping to the floor in agony. Im a carer for my son who has Autism with my wife and i need to sort this out somehow. Im having to use a wheel chair/shopping karts in shops to get around as the pain is totally unbearable...Has anyone any thoughts on what might be happening or what medication i can take (not a medicine type tbh) yes im on Metformin and also anti biotics at present,but since the op the pain is unbearable ...many thanks
 
Sorry Chris I cannot be of any help. Has your GP or consultant provided any guidance as to the cause and how to help? Is it like a cramping in the calf because you have no big toe which your calf is trying to control as you walk?
 
Hi thanks for the reply,tbh Andrew everyone ive mentioned it to simply doesnt even say anything ! i tell everyone even the surgeon and the nurse about it and they all kinda just...well say nothing back! My toe was on my left foot next to the big toe.
Its far beyond cramp id say intense pain.
 
Have you tried a tens machine as this may stop the feedback (or lack of caused by phantom limb if that is the cause)?
 
*shrugs*
Found this and it also mentions TENS at bottom of page but results vary
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Amputation/Pages/Complications.aspx

Think you need to go back to the GP (not nurse) and demand some assistance. They can probably provide a tens machine but I know you can buy them cheap nowadays (from £12 up to £100) on amazon. Have a read of the page and go armed to the GP
 
I used a tens machine when I had a small crack in a bone in my foot. It was excellent. I have no idea if it will help you, but I can't see that it can do any harm. I agree with Andrew though, your GP surely has to help you with this! I hope you get the help you need soon.
 
Thankyou,yes im due to ring at 8 in the morning just moved to an island so it seems appoinments ar few and far between! thanks again
 
Sorry to hear about your pain. I agree with the others, your best bet is to press your GP and specialist for help with this. I'm disappointed that they haven't been able to help so far but the fact is they simply must help you, it's their duty. I know you don't like taking medication but it's possible that something can help you short term, ie for a few weeks. Try to keep an open mind about it if you can. If medication helps you function better while your body is recovering from surgery and getting used to things then maybe it is worth trying it. Another thing that might help is a referral to a physiotherapist. I would have thought the hospital should arrange this anyway but I guess they haven't. Good luck and keep us posted.
 
Thankyou again for your reply ,as to all of you who have im grateful.....ill be honest today has been a day of feeling quite depressed about it,my son loves his buses and i couldnt even get out of the car and walk 2 yards to take him to see them.Yes Cat i know they have a duty of care ,i just feel as if somnetimes it comes across as they dont ......im really struggling and had a little cry to myself,in the car whilst they where watching buses......ive always been very strong on my feet and its only a few weeks ago i was going to the gym each day,really burning calories etc and now well its feels its all fallen apart.Id didnt mention in my original post that when i went back for my for my first checkup after the op,the surgeon who oversees things (he didnt do the op) found that i had still infection in my toe due to the fact that his understudy who did the op left stitches in and this help the infection inside again.I could tell he wasnt happy about this and did say that he told him not to do this and also said he would have taken the whole toe off not just half of it! I guess at the moment i feel at a low eb,lifes pretty hard as you can imagine with looking after a child with Autism ,but i need to get better for my sake my wifes sake and my son. I will when i get the appointment at the doctors push them to help me .I just feel at the moment as if well the ops done ...thats it on your way .....thanks again everyone for your advice its much appreciated.
 
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Aw, hugs to you. I have a feeling that if your doctor knew how much this is upsetting you they would make more of an effort to help. Why not phone the surgery (or the hospital) and ask to speak to a nurse about it? Sometimes surgeons can have a poor bedside manner... they are so focused on getting the technical side of things right that they forget they also need to show empathy, provide reassurance, answer questions etc.

I've had a lot of surgeries and sometimes the follow up care is lacking. They seem to assume that your GP will deal with that, and sometimes the GPs don't know enough about the surgery, or they don't know you are having problems. I suggest you write down all of your symptoms then you call someone and keep asking for advice until you get a decent response. Don't let them away with fobbing you off again.

Do you currently have an infected wound? Do you have a thermometer at home so you can check your temperature? If you have even a slight fever then they should see you immediately. The last thing you need is further surgery because of an infection that is not healing. Early intervention is key here.

I also wonder if you should have a nurse visiting you at home to check on the wound and make sure you are healing up ok.

Isn't calf pain a potential sign of deep vein thrombosis? Maybe tell them that and they will get moving?
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Deep-vein-thrombosis/Pages/Symptoms.aspx
 
Hi Kat and thanks again for taking the time to reply. Yes ive been at the nurse today and had my foot looked at again and changed bandage etc. The wound it self,thankgoodness has responded to the 2 week course im on with antibiotics and is doing really well,so touch wood all will be fine with it. I have considered that it might be DVT,the nurse actually called the doctor in whilst i was seeing her today to look at my blood pressure which is sky high at the moment and he actually is the diabetic doctor for the practice so that was lucky. Im seeing him again tomorrow and will mention re the pains/ache in the calf in the morning so hopefully i can get something to take it down. Again thankyou for replying.
 
Chrisf1961 said:
Hi Kat and thanks again for taking the time to reply. Yes ive been at the nurse today and had my foot looked at again and changed bandage etc. The wound it self,thankgoodness has responded to the 2 week course im on with antibiotics and is doing really well,so touch wood all will be fine with it. I have considered that it might be DVT,the nurse actually called the doctor in whilst i was seeing her today to look at my blood pressure which is sky high at the moment and he actually is the diabetic doctor for the practice so that was lucky. Im seeing him again tomorrow and will mention re the pains/ache in the calf in the morning so hopefully i can get something to take it down. Again thankyou for replying.
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I'm so relieved to hear the wound is healing and the nurse and doctor are listening to you and taking action. Sky high blood pressure is a big concern. Have you had high BP for a while or is this a new thing?

I'm glad you are sounding a bit better in yourself too. Infection and pain wear us down and we can get quite depressed about it, especially when medical people are not doing a lot to help.

You might want to ask the doctor about some medication for the pain. I find paracetamol quite helpful if I take it four times a day, after a couple of days it seems to help. If you need something stronger as well, do ask for it.
 
Hi Cat again thanks for the reply,i went to see the doc yesterday,yes my blood pressure is something ive had for quite a while now tbh again i dont think the docs ive seen have taken it seriously,but yesterday the doc up here has given me another tablet along side the one i take and ive an appointment at the hospital today,just to re check it and ive to see the doctor again oin Monday.Yesterday was quite a bad way pain wise,again i saw the doc about this and again and i only realised it when i came out,he didnt prescribe anything,i spent the whole day on the floor whilst trying to help my wife to tackle the grass.I couldnt go 5 minutes without just falling to the floor in pain. She is coming in with me again on Monday when i see him next,im just going to try and take it easy today,which can be quite difficult... again thankyou for your repy .
 
So sorry to hear about how painful it is. Make sure that doctor prescribes you some pain meds :)
 
CatLadyNZ said:
So sorry to hear about how painful it is. Make sure that doctor prescribes you some pain meds :)
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So sorry Chris. It's unbelievable that diabetes has such blood circulation failure. I wonder if you could be given oxycontin or morphine? Those drugs are good for mental peace too.
 
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