"Does that trick my brain that's feeling an itch in a place that literally doesn't exist? Yeah, our bodies are pretty cool!" I wish i had your positivity lmao.
Something else that can work.. The way that we know where our limbs are even though we can't see our limbs is because our brain has kind of mapped out where our nerves are in our body. Depending on the nature of your amputation, sometimes the musculature and consequently nerves get rearranged a little bit around the nub. The brain doesn't necessarily realize that the mapped nerve has moved within the body. I've talked through this with a guy I used to ride on buses with. He was a double below the leg amputee, and he had said that sometimes he could alleviate phantom pain by squeezing on his nubs. Or that he could alleviate phantom itch by scratching the back of his nubs. I do have another bit of anecdotal evidence, I'm going to try really hard to avoid the gory part of this one. I have a buddy who had suffered a disembowelment injury. Unfortunately, he had to carry his parts that were sticking out while he made his way to a safe location. He said it was the most peculiar and disturbing sensation, because despite the fact that he was holding these bits outside of himself, it felt like he was grasping inside his body. In both cases, the brain is so used to those particular nerves being in a set location that I don't think our brain necessarily realizes that those nerves have moved. So our brain is projecting the sensation where it thinks those nerves are rather than where they actually are.
That's super interesting. Its kind of like how if you rearrange the furniture in your house you tend to bump into things more often after the rearrangement, because you're so used to walking a certain way in your own house. We do have the term "muscle memory" for a reason. Or in this case it would be "nerve memory" I suppose.
I think it’s less that it gets used to it, and more that that is just ‘how it is’ to the brain. You don’t really ‘get used’ to breathing air, it’s just what you do. If you were submerged in some science juice that can be breathed like air, you would be unable to not freak out because breathing water=drowning is hardwired.
I have nerve damage from my mastectomy so I have no feeling in my chest skin so when it itches I can do absolutely nothing about it. It’s the worst. Or it could be a phantom itch too.
I know you've been going through a lot, like most of us are, but you ARE a very BRIGHT light in this World and I see you and care about you too. Many Blessings
RAKA-I'll get an itch just below my limb. Even 4 years out (I last walked into the ER with the circulation stopping below the knee, today. My amputation was on 5/24/2018), I'll still scratch air trying to get it. The worst is the top of "the foot." I'll try to scratch it with my other foot. Jo, I found your channel when I was at a personal low. I moved to Kansas for my wife (her home of Wichita) leaving my home state of Arizona. To keep my "roots" my socket is wrapped with an Arizona flag! On my 4th socket in 4 yrs and an expert with Hanger is recommending a 5th due to a 35 lb weight gain. I also had bypass surgery last October. I jump to your channel, just to know I'm not alone. And you do bring a smile to my face, as well as tears. Oh, I have a 4 year old grandson, who now calls me, "Grandpa Robot!"
I've been watching you since ten months ago. I lost my first foot/ankle/tib/fib midway, on August 21, 2021. I lost my Charcot foot foot on February 16th this year. Mirror therapy doesn't work anymore, they're both absent (from the fake feet phenomenon)....but I do scratch my socket, or fake foot, sometimes those help. If they don't happen to do the trick, I gather and combine randomly, a great number of curse words and full curses from several languages....yep. I'm bad. I know it....but I'm still another amputee chick, and you inspire me. Thank you. You really are a driving force as I try to hide from the world. You are very, very, very much appreciated as a human being.
I knew about phantom pain, never heard about its unwanted cousin, phantom itch. Just goes to show we can alter our body due to choice, medical necessity or accident, but our brain is in charge and always has the last painful or uncomfortable word. After amputation, there should be a bio-feedback class in "how to tell your brain _____ (insert body part(s) here) is/are not there anymore". I do appreciate these information #Shorts, which always contains data I did not previously know.
I think the origin of phantom pain is pretty interesting. Since the limb isn't telling the brain it's not in pain, the brain assumes it is. In other words, our brains want us to suffer and need constant reassurance.
Our brain is hard to trick. From what I've heard it takes at least 2 or 3 years for the phantom leg to calm down and stop bothering. Even if you try to trick it it always remembers there is no leg. You only escape the phantom pain and itch when the brain understands there is no leg.
What ever works!!! I can only understand what an amputee goes through!!! Great ingenuity on trying to itch your prosthetic to telieve the phantom itch!!!
You look great today! thanks for sharing your fun personality with us. I once heard a story of a man that had very severe phantom pain from a hand that he lost, and he said it felt like his fist was clinched so tight that it felt as though his fingers and nails were digging into his flesh. A brilliant doctor created a device using a box and some Mirrors where the patient could look into the box and see "Both" hands from the mirror refection of his remaining hand, and the patient simply "Looked" into the mirror box device and Unclenched his hand bringing immediate relief of his particular phantom limb condition that as far as I know was permanent and changed his life.
The way you describe your phantom pain and how you handle it really reminds me of dealing with pain and itches from /near scars and fibromyalgia pain. None of it “makes sense,” and relief solutions feel random.
I had a step grandfather that had to have one of his legs amputated as well. I think it was his left leg "I could be wrong". He got gangrene in it from a splinter and he had diabetes as well. He had to get it amputated around the knee or a little above it. Some times when I watch a video of yours I think of him. Even tho he wasn't my grandfather by blood he always was told me the truth and didn't believe in lying to me about where my sperm donor was unlike my grandmother did.
I saw a video by Donna Eden that talked about working with amputees and their energy to relieve pain and other sensation from a missing limb. The energy remains even after the limb is removed. Very interesting stuff! Hope this helps!
Using VR to treat phantom sensations (pain, itching…ect.) is actually a really hot topic in research rn. There’s some really promising results, the main problem is test groups are usually really small, and everyone has a different experience with their missing limbs.
That's where the mirror therapy comes in. Separate the amputated limb from its mirror opposite by placing a mirror in between. Then cover the nub with cloth or a blanket so you can't see it anymore. Then look into the mirror while having somebody else scratch at the phantom itchy spot on the amputated part, but only on the remaining limb. This is known as the rubber hand experiment. Check for it on yt, it's easy to find.
Funny thing that I, being not an amputee, also have this sort of itch that's kind of in my body but at the same time is isn't. And it can drive me insane sometimes because there's nothing I could scratch which would help) Glad you have your own means against your itches)
I got this from about two months until six months after a surgery I had a couple years ago (not an amputation but something that has similarities) and there was no way to scratch anywhere to trick the brain, but I found an icepack wrapped in a towel actually helped. Having an itch like an inch away from one's skin is a really weird feeling, though!
The best success I have had with phantom itch and sometimes even phantom pain is to put a mirror between your two limbs in a way so you see the reflection of your good leg and scratch or massage your real leg. It might sound stupid but the mirror makes all the difference in the world for me it's my hand but it was a game changing experience. I'm over 20 years in and in my experience anyway the phantom symptoms have almost completely resolved themselves.
My dad lost his leg mid thigh in 1997 and up until he passed last year he still had phantom itches. It's so crazy that that happens even after so much time
Oh, I saw an experiment where they had some people, put a silicone arm, made sure it looks like it's their real arm and hides one of the real arms. Then, they started massaging the silicone and the hidden arm, after that they smashed the silicone arm and a lot of the people actually claimed that they felt it or screamed.
While I was learning how to change colostomy bags I wondered if people who had their colon removed had phantom sensations. Turns out phantom rectum/phantom poo is a thing. Like you scratching the prosthetic the recommended way to deal with it is to sit on the toilet for a few minutes. Bodies are wild.
I’m not an amputee but I lost over 100 pounds and had 5lbs of loose skin removed from my stomach and I swear I can still feel the itching from the skin folds I had from losing weight. it drives me insane 😖 no matter where I scratch on my stomach it feels like the itching is just out of reach
Have you tried rubbing the area with a washcloth? I'm not an amputee or a skin amputee, so just ignore me if you think it's dumb. I just have a skin condition where it makes me itch a lot, and it seems like sometimes a washcloth is more soothing to a large area, and maybe that would trick ur brain into "reaching it." Again, ignore me if you think it's dumb. Thanks for sharing regardless. Congrats on your weightloss and surgery! That sounds like you worked hard to get there and that's super inspiring ❤️
I had an itch while watching this vid .. and tried as much as i could not to scratch it .. and boy it's hard .. i also tried to scratch the opposite side it didn't work with me 😔 .. not being able to scratch the itch away is way harder than what i thought.. I like your channel btw so informative 🌼
Most annoying thing about itch is that it itches so damn hard and all you can do is try out different methods. I had like 9 itches in almost 1 year and all of then were very very bad. Literally made me mad from those.
Hey, this may be a weird question, but my legs only itch if I let the hair grow in, so I was wondering, how is it to shave your leg. Like presumably the hair growth changes direction because of the way the surgery was done. 🤔 is it tricky? And if it was really hairy would the prosthetic fit as well?
I have something worse. When you get eye surgery your not aloud to scratch your eye for MONTHS. It feels like there’s a beach in your eye but no water. Just. SAND. If you scratch it you’ll have to go through surgery all over again. So the thing is, you are able to scratch your eye it’s just you have to willingly not scratch it.
I am not an amputee, but someone who suffers with severe sciatica, a dear friend of mine had a partial foot amputation, and was experiencing phantom pain, which he treated with a hot bath, as hot as he could possible stand. He swore by it, and I discovered that the almost overwhelming sting of getting into a bath at about 112 degrees shocks the system into forgetting. I hope this might help someone else, especially you, Jo. Thank you for the insight into the world in which you live. You are an inspiration, and enlightener. Keep up the good work!
Try the mirror trick put your whole leg in front of a mirror so that it looks as of you have your other one and itch also should help with phantom pain
This is something completely different, but I got the Nexplanon implant a year ago and had an absolutely horrible time with it. One of the WORST parts was that it would itch SO BAD. I literally wanted to scratch that evil little thing out of my arm like a meth addict going after the bugs under their skin. I had it removed in October because there were many many reasons that I just could not stand it anymore and I still get itchy from time to time and when I think about how awful those 5 months were for me, my arm aches where it was… I’m just glad that it’s out, but man! Just a lesson in not letting a doctor convince you to try something that they probably get a commission for. I knew what I wanted going in and I ended up with Nexplanon instead…
I'm a bka myself, I find it helpful to remove my prosthetic and drum my fingers on my residual and tell myself your leg ends here you do not have an itch.
Hey love the videos can I just ask can you drive with a prosthetic leg, and also how did you loose your leg if you don't mind me asking and where or what did you do with ur leg.
I became a double amputee when I was a baby. I'm in my 30's and I had to deal with phantom itches my whole life... until my latest revision. The phantom pain is different and sometimes worse now but no more itchy toes! 😅
Sometimes I have a leg itch that even though I itch it it won't go away. I figured out if I go above it and itch their it works, going around the leg like a itch ring seems to work best!
i’m not an amputee but i have phantom ich and it’s hell. absolute hell. especially when i feel the ich on a virtual object like something in a youtube video
Omg phantom itching is the absolute WORST! Ever since a surgery a few years back, Ive had nerve issues on my back where one side basically cant feel anything apart from pressure, or well shouldnt feel anything but then decides to give me phantom itching at the worst times. So far ive tried a bunch of different itching tactics, none of them seem to work (scratching on the other side, applying lots of pressure or ice or heat or anything to distract from the itch, etc etc). Right now my new pain doctor prescribed a patch that seems to be helping though! The phantom sensation is not gone, i still have another 3 weeks of treatment, but at least now I only seem to have the itching once every few days instead of it being a constant daily occurrance.
Happy to be seeing more posts Jo! This'll sound weird but my wife mentioned a Greys Anatomy episode where someone stabbed their prosthetic to cure phantom pain. I'm curious what would happen if you used a mallet or rubber band that would normally hurt, but wouldn't affect the prosthetic.
@@whycantiputaname4944 Yes, the stabbing of the prosthetic in the show is very dumb. The idea of simulation of stimulation is a real thing. There are probably better examples, look it up if you don't believe me
Good to know. I'm expecting to join the cyborg club at some point because of cronic incurable health issues, so learning these tricks ahead of time is great
Have you seen those videos where they put a divider between a person and their arm and give them a fake arm, eventually making them feel pain in the fake arm? wonder if that would work for your leg.
Have you tried scratching on the amputated leg? For me personally, if I have an itch I can’t scratch for whatever reason, like a new tattoo for example, I scratch around the area, and that tricks my brain into thinking I scratched the area. Maybe scratching somewhere on the keg itself, even if it’s not the right spot, might help 🤷🏻♀️.
I can't imagine this. I'll get these itches deep into my tissue that I just can't get and that's unbelievably irritating. I can't imagine dealing with this it's gotta be to where you just wanna bash your skull in
Your nemesis and mine as well Jo. I was just telling someone, who’s not an amputee, about this maddening phenomenon last night. As. I. Was. Experiencing. It. Myself!! AAAHHHHHHHH!! 😫😖😫
I'm really curious about this: would a temperature change work when a phantom itch starts? If you put a hot or cold compress on your leg stump during a phantom itch would it help at all? I know the reason that ice on a minor injury helps with the pain is because temperature signals are processed faster in the brain than pain signals because extreme temperature changes can lead to injury(cold also helps with injuries because it reduces inflammation so the sensation of irritation is reduced as well, & really cold temperatures will make you go numb) so when you feel cold the brain prioritizes that information which dulls other sensstions. So I wonder if this would apply to itches & phantom itches as well.
I heard about this. I heard people can feel pain that is not there too. Like a computer looking for a senser that is not there (kinda maybe). Lol lots of love.
Do the closet mirror thing where you put your prosthetic in the closet pull the door up to you so that you see 2 legs it's 2 legs and the mirror and everything goes away works for me
Do antihistamines work? I have chronic itch (neuropathy) but I'm not an amputee. Really sorry if this makes me seem like a douche! This question is in ernest. Love your channel it really helps me feel less awful about being disabled
What about a pat-pat instead of a scratch? (Not an amputee, just curious) I have skin issues and my doc says that scratching with my fingernails is harmful to the skin (maybe just because of my condition) so most of my itches I try to either rub with a washcloth or give them a little pat-pat. Very different sensation than scratching, but sometimes it works for me. Anyhoo, just thought I'd throw it out there ❤️🤟
