Things I have found increase my Peripheral Neuropathy
Really don't know why you want to hear of other's neoporphy! I have the
same as you, except I must sleep on my right side, only. My doc 'tol me
amputation was the only cure for my leg cramps and pain. I also ruined
my life with cipro, flomax, you name it! I take one drink of whisky mixed
with diet coke and Ice, each and every day at 5pm, 6pm DST. This is
printed on my medical list I carry. At 83, am just able to get around, but
keep my good nature with whatever the Lord hands me!
Re: Things I have found increase my Peripheral Neuropathy
A pain doctor is probably your best bet anyway. Too many neurologists throw their hands up in the air and give up when they can't figure out what's going on. Even worse, many of them accuse their patients of being "malingerers" (making up pains to seek attention.)
Pain specialists deal with the patients that other doctors give up on, so try to find a good pain doctor in a pain clinic setting, particularly if the pain center uses "integrative" techniques - another way of saying that they look at diet, exercise, and other factors.
You should probably also ask to have your blood checked for immunodeficiencies, viatamin deficiencies, and other syndromes that may mask as nerve pain. Diabetes is perhaps the best known, but there are also conditions such as MS, ALS, and other "alphabet soup" diseases that should be ruled out.
Off-hand, it sounds to me like you have some nerve trauma or entrapment in your cervical vertebrae of the surrounding muscles or other tissues.
However, if the problem isn't detectable in MRIs, CTs, or other imaging tests, a good pain doctor will treat you based on your symptoms, and at that point a definitive diagnosis is less important than effective treatment. There are numerous drugs on the market that have been found to be effective in treating neuropathic pain, even if the drugs were not developed with the intent of treating pain. Many anti-depressants and anti-seizure medications are routinely used "off-label" to treat nerve pain. I think if you can find a pain doctor in an integrative (or multi-disciplinary) clinic, you will most likely find substantial relief. It took me 15+ years to obtain relief for my nerve pain, so be prepared to try many medications and other treatment modalities before you find something that works.
Re: Things I have found increase my Peripheral Neuropathy
Interesting Thread.
Yes, it seems that when you've got PN almost EVERYTHING has to be taken in account for, in order to avoid any PN increasing food, medicine, habit, etc.
I'm on the most numerous cases where the cause is unknown...
Doctors suspect that it is an autoimmune process or that I've been struck by a virus of sorts, but all of Antibody tests came out pretty normal, and not a trace of anything.
I do have high lipids, but no doctor ever related that with my neuropathy.
BUT they gave treatment for it and:
1. Pravastantine: I just couldn't tolerate it, I know that it can cause, PN symptoms even on healthy people so I'm trying to find anything else that could help lowering my lipids, aside from diet and exercise, that are both on the downside with me, the first one because anxiety made me eat like crazy, the second one because with PN I haven't got the stamina I used too, and I'm often end like if I ran a Marathon twice, after a mild exercise session.
2. Flu/Allergies/Infections/Antibiotics. I've have them all my life, and with PN, as soon as an infection starts, I feel bad, BUT as soon as I treat it with antibiotics, I feel worse(PN speaking), it's terrible, I'm really scared of colds.
3. Stomach Issues: Same as above. True that Cipro is heavier than other antibiotics.
4. Coffee/Alcohol They hit hard, both of them. First one almost on sight, the second one during hangover, if you can get a hangover from 2-3 beers and a glass of wine.
5. Bad Night Sleep It's not an immediate effect, but the day after it does leave a mark.
6. Stress/Anxiety Both increase the PN in numerous ways and intensities, and they are a vicious circle where you feel worse, they go up, and you feel even worse than before, and so on.
Exercise has a double effect on me, it's mostly positive, but sometimes I can get a clear increase in my symptoms from it, and sometimes I can get relief, even in a crisis, by doing 10-20 minutes on an elliptical cycle.
Cheers to all.
Last edited by stargrave; 11-17-2010 at 08:32 PM.
The Following User Says Thank You to stargrave For This Useful Post: jwood (04-15-2012)
Re: Things I have found increase my Peripheral Neuropathy
Just a quick note: if you haven't had your Vitamin D levels checked in the past two years, it's a good idea to have the test done. My rheumatologist told me that many doctors are automatically checking Vitamin D levels in people with musculoskeletal pain syndromes and other chronic pain syndromes. Even if you have a well-established diagnosis for the cause of your pain, low Vitamin D levels can decrease your body's normal pain control mechanisms. My Vitamin D levels came back seriously deficient, and within a couple of weeks of therapy, my pain levels plummeted. I NEVER would have expected such a difference, and I've talked to others with similar stories. Right now I take 2,000 IU of Vitamin D each day, and I feel great. I'm 50 years old, and while just a year or so I felt like I was 80 years old, I now feel like I was 30 again!
The Following User Says Thank You to jverive For This Useful Post: jwood (04-15-2012)
Re: Things I have found increase my Peripheral Neuropathy
I have PN as a result of cancer treatment. I took Lyrica for a while, it worked great for pain (my Pn is what they call atypical because it is more painful, like bad charlie horse calf cramps and foot cramps), but I got fat on it so I stopped taking it. Heat is good (hot bath). I agree from a bad night sleep the next day I have numb arms and feet. Or sleeping in a bad positon such as napping on the couch. Or now that it's cold out my feet get that wierd cold numb feeling more. And I notice it especially when I get into bed at night. The good news is my cancer is in remission, but I'm not on maitenence chemo because I already have nueropthay and that is a big side effect from a lot of the meds. I ha ve something callled multiple myelom, plasma celll bone marrow cancer.
