Any AKAs here Wanna Lend Some Advice on a Better Knee/Prosthesis?

[Jackstand Johnny]

Hey gang. So Im a left AKA and Im still using my Ossure Total Knee 2000 hydraulic knee with a velcro lanyard suspension and basically the cheapest everything else you can get. It sucks. The sleeve is worn out now so my leg slides off constantly, I have to adjust it eery time I stand up, its giving me very bad gait habits, its uncomfortable, I cant walk in any kind of uneven terrain, I cant ride a bicycle for more than 5 minutes without it sliding off...you get the picture.

The problem is I have no health insurance. Its all gonna be out of pocket and how Ill pay for it I have no idea. Ive got a little saved up and I can make payments so thats a start. Id really love to be more active but I really dont like my leg. I know I shouldnt be complaining but whatever, it is what it is. I only have about 6-8" of femur bone so y residual limb is short. I dont have to wear a belt though. Can anyone suggest a knee I could get used? I really like the Plie 3.0 but only the 2.0 comes up for sale on eBay. Id love a microprocessor knee that uses standard camera or watch batteries like the Plie does. Would a suction socket work for me ya think? If you have one, how do you like it? Id also really like something that rotates at the knee so I can tie my shoe with my leg still attached or something with more flexion in the ankle and especially something that will give some resistance to help me sit down without it having to be a controlled fall or to allow me to stand on the pedals or footpegs of a bicycle or motorcycle.

I at least want to know what options are out there for me and if theres a better setup as far as a socket. Ill keep my weak hydraulic trainer knee if I can get a socket that my stumo doesnt float in and slides off constantly. Literally it makes a FARTING sound every time I stand up and more recently, whenever I take a step. Do you know how embarrassing that is for me? A single 30 year old amputee whos given up on dating and would be happy with being completely ignored but cant because my leg farts every time I take a step. Its as funny to you as it is humiliating for me lol. Any info, prosthesis classifieds, tips, anything would be great. Theres NO places to buy a new lanyard suspension sleeve online Ive been looking for years so thats a dead end. Im more curious about suction sice it seems to be the new standard. Thank you very much in advance.

 

[madlypat]

Hey just stumbled across this post....I'll try to help, 1st off you will probably have better luck on a site for amputees, 2 that I can think of are amputee coalition, and amputee mommy, there may be some groups on face book. I lost most of my leg in 1984, I've had just about every kind of prosth leg there is! My current leg is C-leg, my second one, they are very nice, but honestly they are not a giant step above a hyd unit and they are VERY expensive, even with insurance my out of pocket was more than my Jeep, also my experience is they are not all that reliable. As far as suction sockets go I hate them. they never fit well, are terrible for sitting, and worse than useless in cold weather. Unfortunately suspension sleeves wear out, I go through about 4 a year, and these are also$$$. It is possible to buy cotton "socks" that fit over the neoprene sleeve to make them fit tighter. If it was me I'd work on getting a good fit before I swapped out the knee, the best knee in the world won't help it it hurts to walk. Don't know if this helped or not, feel free to give me a yell if you have any more questions.

 

[cotuong69]

Really useful article, I noted your article.

 

[djm68]

Just saw this post, I am a right AK, about 6" above the knee. I lost my leg to cancer at 20 years old, I am now 48. Until 4 years ago, I used a prosthesis for all my activities; I have very good health insurance, I have a C-leg, spare leg for cycling, etc. Despite this, I grew frustrated with using a prosthesis as it simply limited me in too many ways. Prosthetics are heavy, somewhat fragile (water and sand!), not comfortable, etc. I grew very frustrated with how using a prosthesis was holding me back, in particular in outdoor activities and travel. Somewhat in desperation I googled 'sport crutches' and found this: http://www.sidestix.com

I ordered a pair and started using them for moving around then house, then out with my wife on short walks with the dogs, then nature walks, then short hikes, then medium hikes, then epic hikes. I've done 6+ miles hikes with 3000 feet of elevation gain. At that point, I totally stopped using a prosthesis, including in my daily life. This has totally transformed my life. I am now incredibly active, and can do just about anything my friends do.

I am happy to answer any questions you might have.

Best,
DJM

 

[madlypat]

gotta admit there are days when I really don't feel like strapping this thing on....might try crutches when I retire...it's been decades since I've used them. They must limit what you can do with your hands? Fly fishing for example?

 

[djm68]

Madlypat,

Yes, using crutches does limit what you can do with your hands, but I've been able to find ways to adapt to most things, though if I needed to use two hands simultaneously, I'd put down one crutch and use the other to stable myself -- I put my 'stump' over the hand grip and pull the crutch toward myself. Ultimately, for every 1 thing I might not be able to do on crutches there are 5 things I *can* do that would not do on a prosthesis, so for me this is a better solution. Each of us are different, of course so YMMV.

Cheers,
DJM

 

[lely1103]

so interesting!!!
thank you guys so much for sharing such good information
it really help me alot )