INTRO TO PN!
And I want to welcome you all. Each of you! I wish I could do it personally, but, my own life is interfering with my strengths and abilities to address and research each of your issues and problems and frustrations directly.
To start with, I know that each of us 'sort of' old-timers here has and does give and share a good deal of their knowledge and experiences in dealing with this painful thing called PN [and a WHOLE lot of other names as well!].
I hope that each of you will read the following web sites and learn the lingo, so to speak about how any neuro diagnosis is done and why...then find out about the different 'causes' or aspects of neuropathies. THEN find out about all the different tests that are done and learn about WHY some are done and others aren't.
The first:
http://www.neuroexam.com/content.php?p=2
The second takes the diagnosis process a bit further:
http://www.aafp.org/afp/980215ap/poncelet.html
The next, is the LizaJane WorkSheets put together by many before my time, and I am grateful to every single person who has contributed to them! The compounding of experience that they have all suffered in terms of diagnosing properly THEIR NEUROPATHYS is an incredible resource to YOU as you go down that diagnosis road...there are many forks in that road[s] and knowing what the good, viable, and medically accepted roads are helps us who start out not having a CLUE:
http://www.lizajane.org/
All this practical and sensible stuff is IN the 'stickies' at the top... but there are lots of bits and pieces in the 'stickies'... I do admit tho that the stickies have gotten packed and jumbled to a newcomer tho...I was once, one as well. Just finding this group of good, smart, kind and dedicated people has taught me to keep learning, fighting the pain, and that a life can be HAD for the taking if you keep on persisting.
Whining about pain, on occasion is useful, support is here for that. Learning about what all is causing the pain, how to live with it, deal with it, and get on with LIFE is what I think so many here are about! Talking about that dreadful thing is a good thing.
For new folks tho, learning the whole doc/pain/medical lingo is the hardest part. Please read those sites in blue I posted above. Click them on and a new window will appear. Learn we can help you, but, you first have to get the feet wet!
to each of you. - j