Who suffers from neuropathy?

[Southern Heritage]

Going on 15 years. i have bad days weeks and months. Then I have great days weeks and month. Gabipedent gave me terrible side effects with short term memory so I bailed on it.
I have remote control bed that helps a lot. I use a pillow between my legs and heavy blankets help.
mobic helps when I have bad flare ups Ill take it for 30 days.
I did have carpool tunnel surgery and they lengthened some tendons in my elbows. No it didn’t cure anything but it sure helped my hands and elbow pain more then they thought.

 

[Broomd]

I've been dealing with something very similar since Oct 14-15th of last Fall. Yes, I have it down to the exact days. I killed a good bull elk that week--with all of the exertian that required, and put up our Winter wood--did lots of saw vibration and heavy lifting.
I also banged my forehead on the stock trailer doorway moving cows that week.

Since that time I have pins and needles down my right arm, can't sleep on that side at all, and when I tilt my noggin around in the mirror, shaving etc, looking up, etc, I get the arm, face and shoulder numbness.
Crazy, I had none of this prior to those days and it hasn't subsided since. I'm working with a spine center now trying to figure out where the exact problem lies...C5, C6, C7?
The craziest thing about this whole scenario is the face and neck tingling I get around the windows and glass doors of the house--especially over last Winter. Can only figure that the temp change of the glass openings activates the nerve endings near the skin and sets them off.
Crazy sh!t, and tough on the psyche for sure.

 

[Beendare]

I have had it in my feet for about 8 years. I mostly just grit my teeth...no medication. When I was first diagnosed the doc was poking my feet with needles....and I couldn't feel it. I've been tested for Diabetes many times- nope, thats not it.

One supplement that does work for me is Alpha Lipoid acid, 300mg 2x per day.

I just started playing with the supplements recommended in the Michigan Foot doctors vids but its only been a couple weeks.
EDIT; how could I forget my number one tip?
Beirkenstocks. Take your shoes and socks off and put those things on and it’s heaven.

 

[butcherboy]

Sapcut, have type 2 diabetes cause I’m fat…….

 

[GSPHUNTER]

Sapcut, have type 2 diabetes cause I’m fat…….

I have half your issues, not diabetes.

 

[Sapcut]

Sapcut, have type 2 diabetes cause I’m fat…….

Seriously, I'm asking you because the majority of MDs either do not know the cause and cure of diabetes or they know and choose to not tell you. Probably both. Very typically, doctors simply prescribe meds as per the diagnosis they came up with. Medicene is what they were taught in medicene school designed and created by medicene companies. It is a revolving circle of repeat customers and coinage.

Your doctor, as a doctor that you went to for answers, I'm assuming like most folks do, should have told you that constant high blood sugar from eating carbohydrates has made you insulin resistant. And if you stop eating carbs you can get rid of diabetes, high blood sugar and your meds in a matter of time. Then by knowing the truth you could have made an informed decision whether you wanted to fix your issues or not.

I will everything just short of guarantee you that if you wanted to bad enough and were able to eat very low to zero carbs and only eat the other two foods, quality protein and fat, diabetes would very very likely disappear among other things.

 

[butcherboy]

I know all the reasons why I have it and how to lower my A1C. I’ve been working on it. You haven’t said anything different than my Dr has told me many times before. It’s up to me to make the life change.

 

[Mosby]

My wife is undergoing an aggressive form of chemo every two weeks and is dealing with neuropathy that may or may not become permanent. Not much she can do about it.

 

[ztc92]

I have had it for several months now. Dr started me on 100mg of Gabaentin, that didn't help much, so he went up to 300mg. Max would be 800mg, That has helped a lot, but not total relief. I don't ever expect to total relief, and there is no cure for it. I was just wondering who else has it and what you do to help get some relief? Before I started on gabapentin, I some times had to sleep with pillow under my calfs to keep my heels of the bed to stop the stinging, since starting meds I no longer need to do that.

@GSPHUNTER and anyone else in the “I have peripheral neuropathy and don’t know why” camp - There are LOTS of things other than diabetes that can cause peripheral neuropathy and with proper work-up and testing we can usually determine the cause. Some of the other fairly common causes include thyroid disorders, certain medications/toxins, and Vitamin deficiency (B6, B12 and E). There is also a whole list of other more rare disorders.

At a minimum you should have your primary care physician do a thorough exam to determine the extent/pattern of the neuropathy and ensure there is no evidence of more serious issues with your nervous system. They should also obtain basic labs including:
- CBC
- CMP
- Fasting Blood Glucose (if not in CMP)
- TSH
- Vit B12

Your primary could also consider a more advanced test called serum protein electrophoresis to rule out abnormalities of monoclonal proteins (antibodies).

If all that is normal and you still want answers or feel the treatment options are not adequate, then you should be asking to see a specialist, ideally a neurologist.


One other point of clarification - Some in the thread have suggested you could have an issue with your spine, which we would refer to as radiculopathy as opposed to neuropathy. For anyone else that sees this in the future, this distinction is important as it changes how we test and treat the problem. Generally, radiculopathy will follow a dermatome pattern, meaning it affects a certain group of nerves that exit the spine and presents with a predictable pattern of pain in the area those nerves provide sensation to. This is in contrast to neuropathy, which is damage to nerves in general, meaning it occur for a variety of reasons and present in a variety of different ways. The prototypical neuropathy we all think of is peripheral neuropathy from diabetes, which usually affects the longest, smallest nerves first (feet and hands) and then gradually spreads toward the trunk as the damage increases.

For those who like sources, I would suggest the reference article below, though be warned it is dense. I’ve attached a few highlights from it including a list of common medications/toxins that can cause neuropathy and a list of recommended testing as well as the disorders those tests are looking for. Finally, the photo of a man shows general dermatomes to highlight how radiculopathy usually has a specific pattern to the pain/symptoms based on where the spinal nerves are being affected.

Peripheral Neuropathy: Evaluation and Differential Diagnosis

Peripheral neuropathy, a common neurologic problem encountered by family physicians, can be classified clinically by the anatomic pattern of presenting symptoms and, if indicated, by results of electrodiagnostic studies for axonal and demyelinating disease. The prevalence of peripheral...

www.aafp.org

Best of luck and hope you get some relief!

 

[fivebikies]

I have it post chemo ,it unfortunately only kicked in when I had finished chemo.
4 years now.
Feet really bad and hands with a combination of arthritis not too much fun.
To get a reasonable sleep tried a few drugs but didn't like them.
Have settled for the following.
Warm bed in winter, fingerless compression gloves, Injunji socks and medicinal cannabis.
This now gives me most nights a sleep from 10:30 or thereabouts to 5-5:30 in the morning.
The cannabis is the low THC stuff.
I take it about 7-7:30 pm.
It works for me most of the time, if I struggle to sleep I get up read for a bit then back to bed.

 

[Marble]

My wife is undergoing an aggressive form of chemo every two weeks and is dealing with neuropathy that may or may not become permanent. Not much she can do about it.

I feel for you and her. It's super tough to go through for both the spouse and patient. The neuropathy socks, but like said above, it's better than the alternative.

Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalk

 

[Yarak]

Mine is from a surgery
It is from the top of my right shoulder to the bottom of my shoulder blade and goes down my right arm to the elbow
The most aggravating thing is to have a itch and nothing will relieve it until it just stops
Its the weirdest feeling to know I'm scratching the spot but cant feel anything except the itch

 

[Mosby]

I feel for you and her. It's super tough to go through for both the spouse and patient. The neuropathy socks, but like said above, it's better than the alternative.

Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalk

Thanks. She finished her 5th treatment of 12 last week. This is her second go around with it but she is fighting through it. It's just something you have to grind out and accept the suck. We were told by a Dr. that over 40% of chemo patients quit. Not something we are going to embrace regardless of the side effects.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

@GSPHUNTER and anyone else in the “I have peripheral neuropathy and don’t know why” camp - There are LOTS of things other than diabetes that can cause peripheral neuropathy and with proper work-up and testing we can usually determine the cause. Some of the other fairly common causes include thyroid disorders, certain medications/toxins, and Vitamin deficiency (B6, B12 and E). There is also a whole list of other more rare disorders.

At a minimum you should have your primary care physician do a thorough exam to determine the extent/pattern of the neuropathy and ensure there is no evidence of more serious issues with your nervous system. They should also obtain basic labs including:
- CBC
- CMP
- Fasting Blood Glucose (if not in CMP)
- TSH
- Vit B12

Your primary could also consider a more advanced test called serum protein electrophoresis to rule out abnormalities of monoclonal proteins (antibodies).

If all that is normal and you still want answers or feel the treatment options are not adequate, then you should be asking to see a specialist, ideally a neurologist.


One other point of clarification - Some in the thread have suggested you could have an issue with your spine, which we would refer to as radiculopathy as opposed to neuropathy. For anyone else that sees this in the future, this distinction is important as it changes how we test and treat the problem. Generally, radiculopathy will follow a dermatome pattern, meaning it affects a certain group of nerves that exit the spine and presents with a predictable pattern of pain in the area those nerves provide sensation to. This is in contrast to neuropathy, which is damage to nerves in general, meaning it occur for a variety of reasons and present in a variety of different ways. The prototypical neuropathy we all think of is peripheral neuropathy from diabetes, which usually affects the longest, smallest nerves first (feet and hands) and then gradually spreads toward the trunk as the damage increases.

For those who like sources, I would suggest the reference article below, though be warned it is dense. I’ve attached a few highlights from it including a list of common medications/toxins that can cause neuropathy and a list of recommended testing as well as the disorders those tests are looking for. Finally, the photo of a man shows general dermatomes to highlight how radiculopathy usually has a specific pattern to the pain/symptoms based on where the spinal nerves are being affected.

Peripheral Neuropathy: Evaluation and Differential Diagnosis

Peripheral neuropathy, a common neurologic problem encountered by family physicians, can be classified clinically by the anatomic pattern of presenting symptoms and, if indicated, by results of electrodiagnostic studies for axonal and demyelinating disease. The prevalence of peripheral...

www.aafp.org

Best of luck and hope you get some relief!

Lots of good useful info. thanks