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Severe post-op pain in foot - ?phantom pain? - nothing helps - any suggestions?

Hi
I had surgery 2 weeks ago to try and deal with nerve damage in my foot caused by a misplaced screw during another surgery last year.  The nerve damage was extensive, and the surgeon cut three branches of my tibial nerve, removed the damaged areas, and then placed nerve implant tubes to try and reconnect the nerves that were cut.
I had a lot of burning pain pre-op, and now I have developed severe stabbing-like pains in my operative foot.  I'm also having "electric-shock" like pains.  They can be absolutely excruciating.  I have increased my Gabapentine dose to 3000 mg, and am taking Percocet and Morphine at night, but am hardly getting any sleep.  My GP thinks this is "phantom pain".  I don't really know other than it hurts like crazy.  As it is Christmas, I'm not sure when I can get hold of my neurosurgeon, and what if anything can be done.  I really hate taking narcotics, but I don't know what else to do right now.  Any suggestions from anyone would be helpful.  Also, if anyone has experienced this kind of pain following nerve surgery, I would really appreciate hearing your stories and finding out what you did to get through this.
Thank you!!!
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3050935 tn?1340158031
Hi rose, I'm a lbka, my amputation was delayed 3 years for salvage efforts, some say the delayed amputation increases phantom pain potential. For me it certainly did, the pain is almost unbearable at times! I take 2400 mg of Nuerotin a day with little relief, the lidocaine patches offered some relief, worth a try. The massive amount of opiates, seemed to help but left me with an addiction to deal with as well as the phantom pain, once off the opiates the pain was reduced substantially. While I wait for the approval for my SCS (spinal cord stimulator) my vascular surgeon said to try "pot", shocked coming from this 60+ y/o surgeon, I tried it, It did provide immediate relief. I don't think this is for everyone but it has help me. This was more effective than the Ketamine we had also tried. I hope my situation may benefit you, Good Luck, and I do feel your pain! Jeff
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780133 tn?1236228598
Hi Rose, I am not a doctor, but I have a case that is very similar to yours.  I had surgery to repair my ruptured achilles tendon and have since had all of the symptoms that you mention.  I have a few additional symptoms as well.  The skin on the bottom of my foot is hypersensitive to touch and temperature, but not so much to pressure.  I have also lost all sensation to touch, and lost dorsiflexion (ability to raise) in my first two toes and the top of my foot.  I have been diagnosed (preliminary) to having some neuropathy.  My doctors and I have not yet been able to determine the exact location of the nerve damage, or the cause, but I am scheduled for an EMG in a few days.  I am excited and scared all at the same time.  I want to know exactly what is wrong so we can determine if it can be fixed, but worse, I am affraid they will tell me that it cannot be repaired.  In this case I don't know what I would do.  I believe that I would rather them amputate the foot than to have to suffer this the rest of my life.  I am a 31 year old, former college varsity basketball player, and father of two.  I cannot explain this pain to anyone, because, I have never complained about pain in my life.  They all look at me like I just don't want to go to my 6 figure job and continue to give my wife and kids nice things, pay my mortgage, and my bills.  They look at me like I am crazy for complaining about the pain all of the time.  And when I am not in pain, I am experiencing a half dozen other crazy sensations.  It has been several months since your origianal post, I really want to know how you are doing now.  For 2 reasons, first of all because I know what your pain is and truly hope it is better, and secondly because it may give me some hope.  The doctors are all not commenting and playing everything close to the cuff.  The Neurologists are doing so, without a doubt, because they just aren't sure yet and don't want to incite a riot.  The ortho who did the surgery has made two statements that really alarm me, the first was when I first complained to him about the pain -he said, "we may have got into trouble with the nerve block.", and the second was at my last visit when he said, "I don't THINK I could have damaged the nerve because the nerve runs here, (he pointed to an area about 1/4 to 1/2 inch from the incision), and the incision is here", he later added, "we may have stretched the nerve when we were stretching the two ends of the muscle to reattach the tendon".  Either way, it is obvious that either the Anes. or the Ortho., have screwed up.  Now I am disabled and just want to know if this is a hopeful situation or not.
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