Burning Pain

Incidence and Timing

For the experience of burning pain, the search terms used were “burning”, “fire”, and “ring of fire”.

The duration of time since the osseointegration surgery was reported by 19 of the 31 respondents, with a median time of 22 weeks post-surgery (range: 4 weeks – 234 weeks).

Symptoms

Although the symptom reports varied, many of the respondents described a burning-type pain around the distal end of their stoma. It was described as a burning or aching sensation in the majority of cases, and in one instance was attributed to a neuroma that was in the area. This type of discomfort was attributed to muscle pain in several cases as well. One respondent indicated that they lost sleep from the “fiery pain” in their stump. Another respondent described their stoma as “constantly on fire”. In another case a respondent attributed their burning sensation to the stoma “sliding up and down on the pin”. One respondent said that they had burning pain if they applied oregano oil mixed with water to their stoma [1].

What People Have Tried

A number of medications were used to combat burning pain, with Lyrica [2] being the most frequently mentioned. Other drugs that were reported as used by respondents for relief of this pain were Oxycodone, Tylenol, gabapentin, xylocaine gel, CBD gel, Resolve cream, oregano oil mixed with water and cortisone shots. A couple respondents also indicated using instillagel. One respondent also used a pain cream that they reported contained 20% each of lidocaine and ketamine. Another respondent indicated they use a topical cream as a lubricant between their implant and stoma. One respondent had a targeted muscle reinnervation (TMR) procedure done, which is a surgery that reassigned nerves. Another respondent reported burning pain due to a suspected infection, so they used an antibiotic cream as well as some Vaseline for relief of their pain. It was also noted that maintaining good hygiene around the stoma was important. For more muscle type pain, light exercise such as walking was used for relief, as well as stretching out the affected muscles that were tight. Using the prosthetic leg less and getting ample rest also seemed to help some of the respondents who posted about burning muscle pain. One responentd shared they had granulation removed to reduce rubbing. Someone else indicated that they found sleeping on their stomach helped reduce their pain.

Fact Checkers

[1] Oregano oil is extracted from the potent herb oregano and has many therapeutic properties (mAlive, 2017). Oregano oil can be used for treating wounds but it must be diluted before it is applied to reduce the risk of skin irritation. Oregano oil can irritate and even burn the skin.

[2] Lyrica (generic name pregabalin) is used for pain relief (Nevins, 2018). People taking Lyrica may experience a multitude of side effects, one of which is suicidal ideation. Due to this risk it is important for people to use this drug with caution, extra caution should be used for people with a history of suicidal ideation or depression.

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