[RogerB54]

I am a new "old member" - was last on the site when it was part of "harvard forums" I think - 2004-5? [I introduced product called Super blue Stuff to the group as an aide to my night-time feet pain. I'm back because of some recurring pain and a question whether spinal compression could be the primary cause of my PN. Here's an update: My PN continues to be primarily stocking type - although I have noticed hypersensitivity in hands at night sometimes. Although I have numb feet to some degree all the time, my most concerning problem is the burning/numbing pain that I experience when I lie down, and often even when I sit down in chairs to watch tv during day. The sensation starts within minutes of laying down, whether on my side or back, but seems to be quicker onset and worse when on my back. Unless I take meds (Naprosyn usually, occasionally Neurontin - but hate next day side effects), I typically wake up within 2-3 hours with increased pain/discomfort, and then constantly have to reposition my legs/body the rest of the night trying to get some sleep. This has been really wearing on me over the last couple years, as I am wary of taking NSAIDs every night to cop 4-5 hours of sleep. Based on forum advice, I used to take B-complex (B-right) and 1000mg B-12 (methyl, sublingual), alpha-lipoic acid, and ? (something else), even though B-levels tested normal. I seemed to stabilize after use of supplements at least to where it was not impacting sleep as much so stopped them probably 5 years ago. 2 years ago, with some recurrance, I tried chiro txs for about 6 months (spinal adjustment, pulsing electronic TENs in epsom-salt bath, and foot massage - did not do the cold laser he encouraged b/c so expensive) - that seemed to have some positive effects. This chiro claims high degree of success with PN patients who he treats, particularly with the cold-laser (or K-laser?).

So here is my question: As i look back to the start of my PN, it seemed to coincide or begin shortly after I started a period training for long-distance road-bike rides. Road-bikes require constant leaning forward on the hands/forearsm and sometimes "drop" position that is even lower. I have not ridden much over the last 4-5 years and wonder if that may be reason for lesser symptoms. The question: How likely is it that the PN was caused by spinal nerve compression and may still be the/a primary cause of my ongoing symptoms? And if that is the case, does it make sense that I should be focusing on mechanical solutions (eg, chiro, surgery, laser) rather than systemic meds?

Thanks in advance for your thoughtful replies.

[Chemar]

Hello
I think you may be referring to the old BrainTalk forums. We formed after they had a long lasting database crash in 2006.

Here is our PN forum http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum20.html

[Darlene]

Roger,

It is great to have you come and be with us. You will fine a great number of dear friends to listen when you are in need of ears. Please, just let us know how we can help you out. You will find out we are supportive and relaxing place.

Please keep us up to date on your situation. Again welcome, looking forward to seeing you around. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

[glenntaj]

--is certainly possible, but if this has been going on such a long time, have you had any types of extensive work-ups that might provide clues?

It would seem that if you suspect spinal issues to be a the root of the symptoms, some MRI's of the spine would be in order.

Neurological symptoms that stem from spinal/nerve root compromise can be exactly mimicked by those that come from more systemic origins (this is the reason that searches for causes of these is often rather long and expensive--and not always fruitful).

Often (and you might have seen these on the Braintalk forums as well), we refer people to the LizaJane spreadsheets--www.lizajane.org--to examine the very long list of tests that could be considered for neurologic symptoms (it's also a good way to track test results over time and look for patterns). You may want to look those over, and also look over our list of serologic and other tests for neuropathy:

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread177.html

--to see what's been done and what may have been left out.