Hi, I am Dave and it is nice to meet you. It will get better after a while and you may need to wear your shrinker even after you get your leg. It took months for the muscle to atrophy in my stump. It is and can be painful because the intent is to kill the muscle tissue in order for it to shrink. Edema is excess fluid in the stump which is caused mainly by allowing the stump to hang down when you sit. This is not the only reason, but that allows the fluid to build up. What also has to be done besides removing as much fluid is to tightly wrap your stump or wear a shrinker sock to help kill off part of the muscle. Too much flesh in your socket will cause many, many future problems due to its mass. I am talking about potential, sores, cysts, dry patches, skin breakdowns. hey all can and often happen. There are ways to help avoid some of these things and you can find the relief you need when they occur and they will. Some folks can escape these problems, and many will not. Thankfully there are some products now available to help in these areas. I not only wore a shrinker sock, but I also wrapped a couple of ace bandages around my stump as well. You need to be careful not to wrap them too tight as to cut off circulation, but tight enough to make a difference. Then, once you are able to wear your leg consistently you will continue to lose fluid and mass in your stump as well caused by the constricted area of the socket and you body weight resting on the stump. I had to get a new socket within 3 months of my first leg sue to the shrinkage which occurred and this is normal. The insurance has to pay because of medical necessity, so don't let that dissuade you. When it comes to phantom pain, there is a product I could recommend to you if you want, but email me privately about it and I will tell you what works for me. I will send you my personal email in another private message if you want the information. I hope it all works out for you...Dave

Thank's Dave for the imfo.it would seem that I have a double edge sword here I have two spots on my stump that are slow in healing.Just today my doctor told me that he wanted me to start not wearing the shrinker at night so that it could get air,breath if you will,I am taking lyrica for phantom pain it has worked to a point and has one side affect 3 hours after taking it makes me sleepy aiding in falling a sleep.Between phantom pain and the soreness of the end of the stump I end up taking a lot of pain pills which I do not like at all.I hate taking med's I like to deal with things naturally if at all possible.Please send any info to papertrucker@comcast.net

You may want to see a wound healing specialist - they are usually vascualar surgeons

With the slow healing wounds I was on a wound vaccuum. Otherwise it was wet to dry bandaging three times a day and using hydro gel on the open or slow healing spot. BE CAREFUL with those spots my friend they are major problems waiting to happen, and ALWAYS use a hand sanitizer or wash your hands before touching these spots. Infection is the last thing you want. I hope you can get this resolved. As far as phantom pain, I can't speak on it as I rarely have it, just tingling and burning sensations.

Hi papertrucker: nice to meet u and good luck!
iam a new amputees to,i got my leg last of Fenb i think.
But i have never had what u would call pain, some time i get the feeling my toes r all bunched up, but that is it maybe iam lucky . never had a sore of any kind. and i wear my shrinker from the time i take my leg off at nite till mi put it on in the morning. dont sleep with the leg yet.. lol. it is hard to believe how much the short leg realy shrinks. i need a new socket bad now, but good luck my friend . i think u have found a good place to get help, very nice people on here..

My Daughter is really having probs with a leg they have tried every thing but even man made artery plug up last nite they sanned her arm to see if she had an artey there that would work. i do feel sorry for her.. another story , bye for now :: old Joe

Me again i was reading my posting lots of typos.
I blame that on to waking up one morning blind in one eye and cany get use to it lot of times i hit the key beside the one iam looking for. hope everybody can figure it out .. sorry folks::: Old Joe

Just a short note to let you know how I dealt with the shrinker. I would rub the bottom of the stump and see what nerves went where and concentrate on the area that seemed to stimulate the area i was experiencing the discomfort in. Finally the sock was more bearable on those areas. I wish you good luck and hope this helps you. Sandy

try gabapentin for nerve pain and phathom pain, it really helps. I have been on for a month 1/2 and it makes a difference. Big time, I take 900mg, 3 times a pain. You sock should really not cause that much pain, so yes, but not enough that you can't sleep. my problem is my other knee, my good leg it hurts all the time I am awake, any suggestions would be great. Thank you hang in there