Guest guest Posted August 26, 2008 Report Share Posted August 26, 2008 Sweetheart, I have had peripheral neuropathy for many years now, and it is NO fun ! http://www.neuropathy.org/site/PageServer?pagename=About_Facts What is Peripheral Neuropathy? PeripheralNeuropathy is one of the most common diseases most people have neverheard of…and yet, upwards of 20 million Americans have it. Peripheralneuropathy is caused by damage to your body’s peripheral nerves. This damage disrupts the body’s ability to communicate with its muscles,skin, joints, or internal organs. It is like the body’s wiring systembreaking down. If ignored, neuropathy can lead to numbness, pain,weakness and incoordination. However, diagnosed and treated early,peripheral neuropathy can often be controlled, slowing the disease’sprogression. ABOUT peripheral NEUROPATHY: Symptoms and Signs While every person’s experience with peripheralneuropathy can be as unique as the individual, there are some commonneuropathy symptoms and signs. At first, you may notice numbness, tingling,abnormal sensations, or pain in your feet. Some people feel like theyhave socks on, even though they are barefoot. Over time, this feelingspreads to your legs and hands. You may find it harder and harder to walk. Your legsfeel heavy. You have to drag yourself up the stairs. You find yourselflosing your balance, not being exactly sure where your feet are; so,you stumble into things or fall. To keep your balance, you are likelyto widen your way of walking, and your walking becomes less rhythmic orfluid. As for your hands, you think you have a good grip onsomething, like your keys, but they drop right out of your hands. Inthe worst cases, you can end up in a wheelchair. Some neuropathies canbe fatal. Peripheral neuropathy symptoms and signs canvary in how they begin. Some neuropathies come on suddenly; othersgradually over many years. There are three types of peripheral nervesaffected, and symptoms depend on these nerves and their location: Sensory Nerves: affect sensation Autonomic Nerves: affect internal organ functions; and, Motor Nerves: affect muscles.Many types of neuropathy affect all three types of nerves to various degrees, but some affect only one or two. Here are some neuropathy symptoms and warning signs as described by patients: Weakness in the Arms or Legs Legs: Usually caused bydamage to the motor nerves, leg symptoms often include difficultywalking or running; a feeling of "heaviness" in your legs; finding ittakes a lot of effort just to climb the stairs; stumbling or tiringeasily. Muscle cramps may be common. Arms: In the arms, you mayfind it difficult to carry groceries, open jars, turn door knobs ortake care of your personal grooming. A common frustration is droppingthings. Numbness, Tingling and Pain Sensory nerves, when damaged, can cause various symptoms. Early on, there may be spontaneous sensations, called paresthesias,which include numbness, tingling, pinching, sharp, deep stabs, electricshocks, or buzzing. These sensations are usually worse at night, andsometimes become painful and severe. You may also experience unpleasant abnormal sensations when you touch something, sensations called dysesthesias because they are caused by stimuli. Or, you may find yourself feeling nothing at all, in this case experiencing anesthesia, a lessening or absence of sensation. Impaired Sense of Position When you lose the ability to “sense†or feel yourfeet, you may find yourself being uncoordinated because when you walkbecause you are not sure about the placement of your feet. Patientsmay find themselves walking differently without really knowing how orwhy they are doing so. Chances are they have either widened their styleof walking (in an unconscious effort to keep their balance) or they maybe dragging their feet. “Glove and Stocking Sensation†This phrase describes what doctors call a patient’sodd feeling of wearing stockings or gloves or slippers when, in fact,the patient’s hands and feet are completely bare. Symptoms of Autonomic Damage When it occurs, autonomic nerve damage canpotentially cause: a drop in blood pressure and, consequently,dizziness when standing up; intestinal difficulties such asconstipation or diarrhea; sexual dysfunction; thinning of the skin(with susceptibility to bruising and poor healing), and other symptoms. There are more than 100 known types of peripheral neuropathy,each with its own characteristic symptoms, pattern of development, andprognosis. Approximately 30% of neuropathy cases are linked to diabetes. Othercommon causes of neuropathy include autoimmune disorders, tumors,hereditary conditions, nutritional imbalances, infections or toxins.Another 30% of neuropathies are termed “idiopathic†when the cause isunknown. Click on the links below to learn more about the various types of neuropathies: Types of Neuropathy Autonomic Neuropathy Cancer-Related Neuropathies Compressive Neuropathies Diabetic Neuropathy Drug-Induced and Toxic Neuropathy G.I. and Nutrition-Related Neuropathies Hereditary Neuropathies Immune-Mediated and CIDP Infectious Diseases and Neuropathy Neuropathic Pain **************It's only a deal if it's where you want to go. Find your travel deal here. (http://information.travel.aol.com/deals?ncid=aoltrv00050000000047) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 26, 2008 Report Share Posted August 26, 2008 People with neuropathy Can they bend???? I just keep asking God to help me hang in there until my surgery date There is no describing my body pain I barely am able to put a pair of pants on me I cannot bend and barely can function This is a horrible way to go through life Nightmare Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 26, 2008 Report Share Posted August 26, 2008 Sandy: I have had Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy and Mixed Connective Tissue Disease now since 1992. While some of the individuals affected by their implants may be able to get by without some sort of pain medication, I am not one of them. Neuropathy can cause a lot of pain, particularly burning pain, which can be widespread-in my case all over. Nerves can be hypoactive or hyperactive. Burning is generally associated with small nerve fiber involvement. When this whole ordeal first started, I could hardly even stand for the bedsheets to touch me. I was only able to sleep on my sides. I begged my ObGyn to give me some Darvocet. I think he gave me a prescription for 30. He probably would be shocked to see that I have no problem getting prescriptions in far larger quantities now. Autoimmune disorders can take a long time to develop before testing reveals positive results. Even after long periods, tests can still be inconclusive and diagnoses can be difficult to make when physicians are trying to evaluate a patient based on symptoms only. These disorders are treated by various medications including: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAID's), Plaquenil, Methotrexate, Prednisone, IVIGG'S and some of the other or newer meds (DMARD's) I am unfamiliar with. (Some may have results with various herbs or supplements, but I was not one of those people.) Additionally, there can be pain from nerve involvement, which may only respond to some sort of pain regimen and treatment. I began with the least toxic drugs-NSAID's and had no response to them or Plaquenil, problems with the Methotrexate, and finally, was able to get at least some relief with a combination of IVIGG's, Prednisone and Klonopin along with Darvocet N-100 & Injectible B12. It took some tinkering around with doses to get to a level where I was able to function better. Then I began to cut my doses a little at a time. (In my email, I may have forgotten to mention the IVIGG and B12.) Ideally, what would help would be a physician willing to work with you to develop a medication regimen, if you cannot tolerate the pain you are in. Hopefully, after you have your pending surgery, some of this will subside and you will feel better. I know you really don't want to take any medication, but please understand that there are some of us who really have no other choice. If you should fit into this category, don't feel badly, do what you have to do to give yourself some relief and provide you and your son a life. There may be others on our group who disagree with me on my opinion, but I didn't want to take any medication in the beginning either. After realizing the alternative options were not very appealing, I changed my mindset though and resolved to try to get to the lowest dose of drugs possible, where my symptoms were at least somewhat tolerable. Remember, this is not a contest to see who can go without pain relief. There are no medals given here. Good luck, Cathie **************It's only a deal if it's where you want to go. Find your travel deal here. (http://information.travel.aol.com/deals?ncid=aoltrv00050000000047) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 26, 2008 Report Share Posted August 26, 2008 FAR Infrared light therapy has been proven to help peripheral neuropathy patients. . . . Rogene Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 31, 2008 Report Share Posted August 31, 2008 Cathie, I agree with you. If someone is able to obtain relief from natural sources, that is great, but there are times when nothing else helps - and I'd rather be comfortable than suffer. I take medication that helps my symptoms, and while I know it's masking things and not curing them, I am unable to take supplements. Oddly enough I am extremely sensitive to supplements and herbs, and when I have tried to use them I start getting shooting pains throughout my entire body, dizziness, fevers and actually ended up with Vitamin A toxicity a few years back. I don't get those side effects from the prescriptions meds I take, so I have accepted that for now they are helping, and in the meantime I exercise, eat a healthy diet, and try my best to get a good night's sleep. Sis > > Sandy: > > I have had Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy and Mixed > Connective Tissue Disease now since 1992. While some of the individuals affected by > their implants may be able to get by without some sort of pain medication, I > am not one of them. Neuropathy can cause a lot of pain, particularly burning > pain, which can be widespread-in my case all over. Nerves can be hypoactive or > hyperactive. Burning is generally associated with small nerve fiber > involvement. > > When this whole ordeal first started, I could hardly even stand for the > bedsheets to touch me. I was only able to sleep on my sides. I begged my ObGyn to > give me some Darvocet. I think he gave me a prescription for 30. He probably > would be shocked to see that I have no problem getting prescriptions in far > larger quantities now. > > Autoimmune disorders can take a long time to develop before testing reveals > positive results. Even after long periods, tests can still be inconclusive and > diagnoses can be difficult to make when physicians are trying to evaluate a > patient based on symptoms only. These disorders are treated by various > medications including: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAID's), Plaquenil, > Methotrexate, Prednisone, IVIGG'S and some of the other or newer meds (DMARD's) I am > unfamiliar with. (Some may have results with various herbs or supplements, but > I was not one of those people.) > > Additionally, there can be pain from nerve involvement, which may only > respond to some sort of pain regimen and treatment. > > I began with the least toxic drugs-NSAID's and had no response to them or > Plaquenil, problems with the Methotrexate, and finally, was able to get at least > some relief with a combination of IVIGG's, Prednisone and Klonopin along with > Darvocet N-100 & Injectible B12. It took some tinkering around with doses to > get to a level where I was able to function better. Then I began to cut my > doses a little at a time. (In my email, I may have forgotten to mention the IVIGG > and B12.) > > Ideally, what would help would be a physician willing to work with you to > develop a medication regimen, if you cannot tolerate the pain you are in. > Hopefully, after you have your pending surgery, some of this will subside and you > will feel better. > > I know you really don't want to take any medication, but please understand > that there are some of us who really have no other choice. If you should fit > into this category, don't feel badly, do what you have to do to give yourself > some relief and provide you and your son a life. > > There may be others on our group who disagree with me on my opinion, but I > didn't want to take any medication in the beginning either. After realizing the > alternative options were not very appealing, I changed my mindset though and > resolved to try to get to the lowest dose of drugs possible, where my symptoms > were at least somewhat tolerable. > > Remember, this is not a contest to see who can go without pain relief. There > are no medals given here. > > Good luck, > Cathie > > > > > ************** > It's only a deal if it's where you want to go. Find your travel > deal here. > > (http://information.travel.aol.com/deals?ncid=aoltrv00050000000047) > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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