Jan,

Having PN does not mean you couldn't benefit from PT. I'd listen to the pain management doc and go to PT for evaluation. They won't do anything if they don't think they could help. My experience with getting a lot of PT over the years is that unlike doctors, PTs are miracle workers who actually help you heal. Doctors don't understand what PTs do. Insurance usually pays for a limited number of PT sessions, so it's important to get set up on a program to maintain and even improve your progress in flexibility and pain reduction.

Now is exactly the very worst possible time to turn into a sweet freak. Most of us with PN have metabolic syndrome ( http://www.americanheart.org/present...dentifier=4756 ) . Excessive sugar intake makes our PN worse in the short and long term. Going on a sugar binge (including fruit and fruit juice) sets up about three days of intense pain in my sorry experience.

Most of us can take powerful action to either start healing our PN, or stop its progression. What helps our PN also helps reverse metabolic syndrome and heart disease. Two of the things that will help our PN are maintaining a healthy diet and doing a daily exercise program. Your PT and possibly your physician can help set you up in both. Best is a program with a support group, such as a coronary rehab group. My support group is my wife for diet and my dog for exercise, as in "Walk me, walk me, walk me pleeeeeaaaaase". My wife was a Jackie Sorenson Aerobic Dance instructor for years and is still a physically fit exercise enthusiast at the age of 60.

It turns out that a diet and exercise program good for people with arteriosclerosis and heart disease is also good for people with PN. Google links to both subjects are http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&s...et&btnG=Search and http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&s...se&btnG=Search
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