pain help: I have a very difficult decision to make. - Help.com

kimberley
offline Verified (2 years, 5 months) Visit kimberley's shoutbox
Warrior, AL, US

I have a very difficult decision to make.

3 years ago I fell and injured my right foot. After many tests it was determined that I broke my foot and now Severe Osteoarthritis has set in. I am in almost constant pain in the foot and it has caused my sciatic nerve to flare, which is extremely painful. The doc wants to do surgery, which involves removing bone from my right knee. He says he can’t use synthetic bone because it will not heal correctly.Here’s the dilemma, my knee has never bothered me. I had cervical spinal fusion on my c5-6 several years ago and have alot of pain and muscle spasms from that operation. All of this is on my right side. I don’t want to have added pain in my knee and want to have my foot amputated. I figure, lose the foot, save the knee. I can’t take any more pain and don’t want to be on these meds the rest of my life. I am only 42 and will lose alot of the mobility in the foot if I have the operation, plus I know my knee will hurt too. My family thinks I should save the foot, even though it may mean constant pain all the way down the whole right side of my body. I’m trying to make the right decision but don’t feel like my options are good any way I go. Should I have my foot cut off or save it? I just don’t know what to do.

This open post was written 8 months, 2 weeks ago | V/U/S: 254, 7, 2 | Edit Post | Leave a reply | Report Post


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Since writing this post kimberley may have helped people, but has not within the last 4 days. kimberley is a verified member, has been around for 2 years, 5 months and has 3 posts and 18 replies to their name.

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pain, surgery, Amputation (How Tags Affect Reciprocity)

Replies (7)

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My Chemical Romance- offline Verified User (8 months, 2 weeks) Long Term User Shouts: 1 #
An Unknown Location | 8 months, 2 weeks ago (10 minutes after post)

this is a very dificult situation and i am no expert withall this hospital stuff but i say you should think about how you feel if you were to be on cruches all your life then that would be the easyer option than be on so many medications and be in constant pain

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kimberley offline Verified User (2 years, 5 months) Long Term User Shouts: 6 #
Warrior, AL, US | 8 months, 2 weeks ago (13 minutes after post)

Cruches are not an option, the pain in my back from my sciatic nerve makes it where I can’t sit or stand comfortably. Something has to be done. I can’t walk for more than a few minutes.

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beautifulday offline Verified User (1 year, 6 months) Long Term User Shouts: 1 #
An Unknown Location | 8 months, 2 weeks ago (14 minutes after post)

isnt there some way to get a false foot if you had it amputated?
i would be surprised if there wasn’t.

p.s. my sister spells her name the way you do (its not common!) :D

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kimberley offline Verified User (2 years, 5 months) Long Term User Shouts: 6 #
Warrior, AL, US | 8 months, 2 weeks ago (15 minutes after post)

A fake foot is the way I want to go, but I don’t know if it will still have phantom pain.

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kimberley offline Verified User (2 years, 5 months) Long Term User Shouts: 6 #
Warrior, AL, US | 8 months, 2 weeks ago (16 minutes after post)

My family thinks amputation is too drastic, they don’t understand the amount of pain I am in and how bad my quality of life has become.

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beautifulday offline Verified User (1 year, 6 months) Long Term User Shouts: 1 #
An Unknown Location | 8 months, 2 weeks ago (20 minutes after post)

so its like this, am i correct?:

option 1 is to have it amputated. you wont hurt every step you take anymore. you can get a wheelchair and a fake foot and cut lines at theme parks woo. on a more serious note, option 1 is what you want if you dont want to be miserable forever.

now option 2 is to leave the foot there. it will most likely continue to grow worse as you get older. the most you will ever be able to walk on it is for a few minutes and you will probably wind up in a wheelchair pretty soon because of it.

does that sound about right?

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kimberley offline Verified User (2 years, 5 months) Long Term User Shouts: 6 #
Warrior, AL, US | 8 months, 2 weeks ago (24 minutes after post)

Option 1 is the surgery to replace the bones in my foot with bone from my knee, have pain from both. Option 2 is to have the foot amputated and hope for the best. Either way I’m screwed.

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