A One Handed Blog

On Life with One Hand

Archive for July, 2006

The Phantom Menace

Monday, July 31st, 2006 by keiron

Phantom pain is something that many amputees experience, and I’m no exception to the rule. For me there is a constant ache or throbbing in my arm that varies in intensity through the day. At it’s worst it feels like there is pressure squeezing my arm and I feel as if my hand is clenched tightly in a fist and I can’t open it. Every now and then I’ll feel a sharp, stabbing pain that lasts from less than a second to maybe three or four.

I’ve been taking 40mg of Nortryptline for the last couple of months, it was prescribed to help reduce the nerve pain and does a reasonable job, although I’m now trying to reduce the dosage since I’d rather not be taking any medication if I can help it.

It’s interesting that my arm feels most uncomfortable when I’m in a car, as a passenger or driving, and likewise at night when I go to bed. My best guess is that in both cases the rest of the body is pretty much resting and the pain in my arm then comes to forefront.

From reading around it seems people aren’t quite sure what the cause of phantom pain is or even how best to treat it. There are plenty of suggestions, but it seems it’s really down to finding something that works for the individual. I’m fortunate enough that the pain isn’t debilitating and I can get on with every day life and just put up with the annoyance coming from my arm, a bit like living with tooth ache. If it was my leg I can imagine it making it hard to use a prosthetic.

So my hunt is on for something that will help eliminate the phantom pain, I’ve been recommended self hypnosis…apparently it worked very well for one amputee. I’ll keep you posted as I try things out.

Posted in Recovery | 3 Comments »

A Hand, A Hand, My Kingdom For A Hand

Monday, July 24th, 2006 by keiron

Last week I visited Hanger Hanger Orthopedic again, it took a while to sort out the insurance paper work with Kaiser but it’s all systems go again.

My first visit on Wednesday was to take a molding of my arm from which they’d be able to make a test socket. A socket is the part of the prosthetic that fits onto my arm to which the hand, or other such device, is attached.

The first step was to get a gel sleeve onto my arm. This is a bit like a neoprene sleeve (except it’s silicone) that you roll onto your arm; you should be able to see it in the picture. Richard, the guy from Hanger, then used a laser to scan my arm and create a 3D image on his computer. It was pretty cool to see the image building up as he moved the laser over my arm, but, unfortunately due to software issues he couldn’t save the scan…we’ll have to play with that again another day.

The scan would have been a useful record of my arm and whilst it’s possible to make a socket from it, Richard prefers to still take a molding himself using fiberglass bandages. He first covered my arm in cellophane and then a cloth sock, he wetted the bandages and wrapped my arm, molding it carefully to fit its shape. After a couple of minutes it was dry and the cloth sock was pulled off along with the mold. From this Richard would be able to make a clear plastic, test socket.

I was back at Hanger on the Friday (they work quick) to see how the test socket fitted. Unfortunately despite several adjustments the socket was just a little bit too small. It was interesting however to see how the socket worked, using a vacuum to stay on my arm.

So it was back to square one, Richard took another molding of my arm (he had to break the previous one when he made the casting). My arm is a little bulbous in the middle, which makes it tricky to make a socket that can go on, but still be tight and fully make contact with the arm. We’ll see if he has better luck next time.

Posted in Prosthetics, Recovery | No Comments »

We Did It!

Sunday, July 23rd, 2006 by keiron

Well I can report that both Kerry and I survived our 10 day cleanse of no meat, dairy products and alcohol – sorry Rene, looks like you lost the bet! Not only that but I can also report that I have continued and plan to continue on with the vegetarian diet.

To be honest the hardest part of the program was cutting out dairy products. We used soy milk, which I quite like, and isn’t too bad in tea, and we got a soy substitute for margarine…but there are just so many things that contain milk, cream or cheese that it makes it quite tricky when eating out. We weren’t sure about eggs, since they aren’t dairy products, but guessed we should eliminate them as well. I take my hat of to vegans, it’s a committed lifestyle choice. It was interesting when we went out for lunch or dinner to find how limited the choices are in most restaurants, although living in the Bay Area we are fortunate enough to have specialized restaurants that cater to all diets.

So, moving forward I’m committed to staying vegetarian, I’ll probably eat fish occasionally and reduce my intake of dairy products, keeping with the soy milk, and reduce my intake of vinegar, processed sugar and such like. The funny thing is Kerry is quite happy to continue eating meat, chicken at least, how’s that for a 180 degree about turn. Oh, and there’s one thing we won’t be eliminating and that’s alcohol, we just like our wine way too much for that.

I certainly haven’t felt any ill effects and generally feel in excellent health. I lost 7lbs and an inch or so from my waist. Now Kerry and I will start our new ex cerise regime so we can both continue on getting back into shape.

Posted in Life | 2 Comments »

The Best Of Intentions

Tuesday, July 18th, 2006 by keiron

Kerry recently mentioned she’d joined a local "Intenders Circle"…uh? I hear you ask. I must admit I wasn’t really sure what it was either when she first told me. She explained that it’s a group of people that get together to speak aloud their intentions for themselves, loved ones, friends or the universe, believing in the power of intent to manifest reality. After having seen Tony Robbins recently I’m certainly a believer in the power each of us pocesses to change our lives and the world around us, this just seems to take it in perhaps a more spiritual direction. Anyhow, it just so happened that Tony Burroughs, one of the four that founded the "Intenders of The Highest Good" was giving a workshop locally. Kerry was going and so I figured I’d join her, since I’ve developed an interest in experiencing everything I can with an open mind.

The workshop was last Thursday and Friday, from 7:00pm to 11:00ish. There were about a dozen people on the Thursday and 20 or so on the Friday. On Thu I was the only male, but on Friday I was joined by a couple of others.

Tony is an interesting guy to spend a couple of evenings with, very genuine and with some fun stories to share to boot. He has absolute faith in the power of intentions backed by his personal experiences since starting the first intenders circle with 3 friends back in 1994.

Tony’s a spiritual person with first hand experiences of channelling that are weaved into his stories. Whether you believe in such things or not doesn’t make his messages any less relevant, personally I see similarities between what Tony teaches and the teachings of Tony Robbins. One comes at it from a spiritual perspective, the other from a more scientific one, I find both quite intriguing

The intention process is very simple, as copied from Tony’s website (hope you don’t mind Tony):

Say your intentions outloud daily.
Go to an Intenders Circle once a week.
State that, in order for your intentions to manifest, they must serve the Highest and Best Good of the Universe, yourself, and everyone concerned.

And let the laws of manifestation go to work…so be it and so it is! (those in the know will get that one)

Posted in Life | 1 Comment »

Living With Vegetables

Sunday, July 16th, 2006 by keiron

It’s day 7 since Kerry and I started our 10 day detox based on what we learnt during the final day at the Tony Robbins UPW event. The program is pretty straight forward:

Vital breathing – simple breathing exercises
Living waters and live food – plenty of water, fruits & vegetables
Aerobic power – moderate exercise sustained over a period of time
Maximum nourishment – low sugar, acid, and predominately live foods and quality oils
Structural support – get some rest, sun and a massage
A directed mind – create joy, reduce stress
Eliminate processed fats – but get your essential fatty acids
Eliminate animal flesh – enough said
Eliminate diary products – cow’s don’t drink milk, why should you
Eliminate acid additions – sugar, vinegar, nicotine, alcohol, caffeine & drugs

A number of the guys I work with at Kaboodle are Indian and as I described the diet over lunch last week (most are vegetarian, very handy) they explained it sounded very similar to cleansing diets prescribed by Ayurvedic doctors back home. Strange thing was, just that morning on the way into work I was listening to an interview with Depak Chopra by Tony Robbins and low-and-behold if it wasn’t about, in part, Ayurveda.

Anyhow, so far it’s going well, after having rarely eaten vegetables for the first 35 years of my life I’m now making up for lost time. Once I un-linked being a hardened carnivore from my Identity I’ve found I quite like vegetables…my mum would be proud! I’ve had no ill effects, a couple of days I’ve had a heavy head but no loss of energy. Kerry and I have been walking for 40 minutes or so in the morning, drinking freshly juiced vegetables and drinking lots of water. I’ve found my skin less dry, I’ve lost 6lbs and an inch off my waist (not that I was particularly overweight, but I had gained a few lbs/inches the last couple of years)…not to shabby.

Posted in Life | 1 Comment »

Bald Spot No More

Thursday, July 6th, 2006 by keiron

My bald spot has gone!

As you can see from the before and after pictures my hair has grown back and I no longer have a bald spot on the back of my head, just the usual gray hairs. I guess it was caused by a comination of being in the hospital bed, medication, stress and who knows what else.

I didn’t have to do anything special for it to grow back, other than not get stressed about it and I guess it took about 6 weeks to recover. A friend of mine (who’s a hairdresser) thought it might have been Alopecia, from the way it’s desribed this certainly seems possible, I’m just glad it’s back to normal.

NOTE: Thanks to Lori for pointing me to info on Telogen Effluvium, seems to be a close match to what I experienced.

Posted in Recovery | 1 Comment »

On Becoming A Vegetarian

Wednesday, July 5th, 2006 by keiron

For those of you that know me you’ll find this hard to believe…but I’m going to become a vegetarian, yes, yes, I can hear the laughter already thank you. For those that don’t know me I’m about as far from being a vegetarian as you can get, I’ll literally pick the meat out of a dish or eat around the vegetables on my plate, my only concession is I don’t mind salad, but cooked vegetables are a no no.

So what’s prompted the change I hear you ask, well it’s all the fault of that Tony Robbins guy. On the last day of the UPW event Joseph McClendon III, a close friend of Tony’s, took us through "Living Healthy", which consisted of Joseph intermixed with Tony on video.

Basically they laid out "The Ten Fundamentals Of Living Health" and as you have probably guessed, number 8 is eliminate animal flesh and number 9 is eliminate milk, cheese, and all diary products. Now if it wasn’t for the fact that Tony and Joseph exhibit more energy and vitality than you can imagine I’d have dismissed it, but instead I’m going to accept their 10 day challenge and not just follow a vegetarian diet but a vegan one!

I’ll see how it goes and after that I’ll decide if I’m to remain a vegetarian or perhaps even a vegan…I’ll keep you posted on my progress.

Posted in Tony Robbins | 1 Comment »

Superman Has Nothing On Me!

Tuesday, July 4th, 2006 by keiron

Due to the electrical burns on my right leg and the skin grafts on my right and left legs my plastic surgeon recommended I wear Jobst compression garmets to help reduce scarring and help prevent hypertrophic scarring, and for my stump to help reduce the edema (swelling).

When he first suggested the jobst garments I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but it didn’t sound too bad for a short period of time. When I asked him how long I’d need to wear them for he said a year, oh and it works best if I wear them 24 hours a day!

Now that didn’t sound like fun to me. Where we live in Northern California it can get pretty warm during the summer months, tempratures over 100F aren’t uncommon…wearing the equivalent of a pair of thermal tights through the summer didn’t seem like it was going to be too comfortable.

Anyhow I went and got fitted for the garments and about 2 weeks later the first set arrived and I got to try them on. It’s like putting on a pair of thick lycra tights and they use special gloves (they look like very thick washing up gloves) to help pull them up because the material is quite shear and slippery. My leg garments are crotchless (very sexy) and I wear my underpants over the top, just like superman.

I now have two pairs of garments for both my legs and arm and whilst I wasn’t too sure at first, it makes an incredible difference to my wounds. I only wear the leg garment during the day and don’t sleep in it, but they have really helped flatten the skin grafts and reduce scarring, so I intend to keep wearing them for the year as instructed. The arm garment (or "stump shrinker") I wear pretty much 24 hours a day and it helps reduce the endema, flatten the scarring and also provides some protection for my stump.

As you can see from the before and after shots, these garments really do work. I also have a twice daily ritual (morning/night) that I go through to help with the healing. I use vitamin E oil around the scarring on my stump and I use a coco butter-based hand and body lotion on my skin grafts. After this has been absorbed I use Mederma, which was recommended to me by my physiotherapist, it’s a silicone-based solution. Silicone has been shown to help reduce keloids and hypertrophic scarring.