Amputees Support Group

I should have said "should work" not "will work"

I just came from therapy. We tried mirror therapy. Wow! We put my left, amputated, arm on the table behind a pillow. Placed a mirror on the opposite side of the pillow. I watched my right hand/arm in the mirror while concentrating on my left hand/arm doing the movements of my right hand/arm. My left arm started to lightly spasm as I watched my right arm move, flex and make a fist. When I relaxed my right hand/arm, the spasms would decrease. She would rub/message my right arm trying to ease the spasms. I bought a mirror to use at home and practice mirror therapy. I’ll have Mike try messaging my right hand.

I can see the possibilities of this therapy working. I love the fact that it’s a free therapy. I bought a mirror for a dollar. If this helps in easing pain when I have an attack, I’ll be thrilled.

Right now, I’m working with my PCP to get off the drugs I’m taking. Hopefully I’ll be drug free before or by year’s end., It would be great if mirror therapy is the method I use to help me deal with the levels of pain I have. The minor and moderate pain is not really an issue. I hope mirror therapy can control the extreme pain. What a real pleasure it would be to be drug free and in control of pain.
Janelle

Janelle-
That is FANTASTIC! what great news-- and a low cost, non-invasive, non drug therapy that is accessible to all of us out there! I am soooo glad this is working for you :)

Hi ya'll....I'm not an amputee but my son will be this coming week. I am, however, a clinical therapist and work with the mind daily. I can see why the mirror would work. I would like to make a suggestion though, and would like your feedback for future clients, and my child. Have any of you tried hypnosis, biofeedback, or acupuncture? I used acupuncture for nerve pain earlier in my life and it was quite successful. I know that insurance will pay for hypnosis if a licensed psychologist or social worker (like myself) have been trained and certified. It will usually also pay for biofeedback with the same folks. Acupuncture not so much. Let me know what you think?

Oh...I forgot to add...Bill Moyer did an eight part series several years ago on Mind/Body healing...I listened to the transcript (it is available on CD and in book form) and it was pretty amazing. Most of his research was done in hospitals and rehab centers.

CarolAC175 - I have used hypnosis extensively (especially when I was very young - just after my accident). I was not BKA at the time, paralyzed left leg and terrible pain. My nuerosurgeon did an exploratory and took out a dime-sized cyst from my spine around the injury site (lumbar 2,3,4) and then told my parents (before I woke in recovery) that he "had found the cause of his pain and removed it and your boy would now be pain free". Of course when I woke up I was in as much pain as ever. The surgeon just looked at my parents (he refused to maintain eye-contact or even speak to me - he referred to me in the third person as he, him, your son, etc.) and said "that there was something wrong in his head. Take him to a psychiatrist. I've done all that can be done for hin. He should not be in pain. It's not real. He's using it as a way to get attention and control people around him to do his bidding". Honest to god - this is what this a-hole told my folks right in front of me.
So my dutiful parents sent me to the best child psychologist in OKC - Dr. Donica - for psycho-therapy. We worked for months and months with hypnosis (his specialty) to attempt to retrain my mind to understand that the pain was not real - that it was not there. After almost a year Dr. Donica looked me square in the eyes and said "Matthew, you're pain is real. There is nothing I can do for it. There is a somatic cause to this pain and it will take Dr.'s time to learn and understand the neuro pathway and which nerves do what, before any kind of effective treatment can be found." We spent the next 9 months helping me try to come to terms with my condition, my parents and especially my peers (whom I did not understand - they all acted like a bunch of children). Well, they were children - 17 and 18 years old and they were just doing what teenage boys and girls should do.
Later on in my mid-twenties I tried acupunture and T.E.N.S. (trans electrical nerve stimulation). Nothing worked. And then again, in my early forties I tried acupuncture again for another 7 or 8 months (3 times a week). This was at the urging of my wife, Anny - born and raised and married to me in China. Acupuncture, again, did not help.
None of this helped "me". I encourage you to try every method out there (of course just because your son is having an amputation does not mean that he Will have pain). And if your boy does - it can be everything from an annoying tickle or itch to burning, shooting, stabbing, fiery pain. But, before he tries drugs or surgery or any invasive treatment I encourage him to try the holistic approach first.
And I encourage your son, and you and your entire family to spend at least a few sessions with a grief counselor, family therapist, psychologist-psychiatrist - to help every one come to a better and sane understanding of this new and tragic and (yes) exciting phase of your lives.
Mirror therapy has had great results with Iraqi War Veterans whom have suffered an amputation as the result of a wound. It is almost remarkable the effects that this new therapy has had on anyone who has experienced the sudden, unespected loss of a limb.
I've rambled on and on way too long.

Carol - best of luck and outcome for your son and you and all of your family and friends. I hope your son can become a part of this Amputee Community here at Daily Living. Even though I spend most of my time in the Pain Group, I have found that everyone in the Amputee group is encouraging, helpful and open-minded.
Thank you for your time and very best wishes from me to you and all of yours - especially your little boy (don't matter how old he is - I'm 53 and I'm still my Momma's 'little boy'!
Sincerely and warmly,
Matthew Alsup
mealsup@verizon.net

Hi Matthew...and thanks for the input! I am 56 and my son will be 34 on Wednesday, two days before his amputation which is Friday. Are you going to try the mirror therapy? I understand how this might work to "trick" the mind. Hypnotherapy can be used for relaxation and to "block" the pain also, and I believe that the hypnotherapist and their training has a lot to do with how/if/whether it works. I worked with a psychologist who used biofeedback and was somewhat successful helping people control pain. I believe that most "mental" health issues are medical or pills would not work. I am so sorry you were treated the way you were....mostly cultural stuff and the times...it is changing however, and ",mental health therapy" has changed dramatically. I can't say that across the board however. I had a neurologist tell me recently when he has patients talk about depression/anxiety caused by neuro stuff he shuts down and sends them to me! Pain, however, is so complex that there is no "quick fix" for it...it is very personal and individual and I just keep looking for alternatives. I watched my son become acclimated to the opioids so they didn't help anymore, and Lyrica helped at first as well, then wore off with time. I wish I had more answers for you...I work with a couple of great psychiatrists who are holistic in nature. I'm going to talk to them about supplements as well. I have no clue what might be out there, but I do know that if you ask often of many people someone somewhere just might have an answer. Thanks for the support..and I'll keep looking!