[buckeye71]

I've had idiopathic neuropathy in both feet for seven years and have not found any kind of relief through medication or surgery. The pain is limited to the pretty much balls of the feet (it has not spread) and keeps ratcheting up. I've been in a wheel chair for two years now. My pain management doctor is recommending spinal cord stimulation. I'd really like to learn more about this procedure (pros and cons) from someone that has the implant before I make a decision. This is my first post so I'm nit sure sure to go or what to do. Any ideas of suggestions will be welcome. Thanks.

[mrsD]

Please come visit our Peripheral Neuropathy forum whenever
you like.

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum20.html

Tell us about yourself, and you will find some support, and possibly some answers.

[Kitty]

Hi Buckeye! Welcome to NeuroTalk. Please feel free to look around and join in wherever you feel comfortable. There are lots of caring and supportive people here. Glad you decided to join us!

[(Broken Wings)]

Originally Posted by buckeye71

I've had idiopathic neuropathy in both feet for seven years and have not found any kind of relief through medication or surgery. The pain is limited to the pretty much balls of the feet (it has not spread) and keeps ratcheting up. I've been in a wheel chair for two years now. My pain management doctor is recommending spinal cord stimulation. I'd really like to learn more about this procedure (pros and cons) from someone that has the implant before I make a decision. This is my first post so I'm nit sure sure to go or what to do. Any ideas of suggestions will be welcome. Thanks.

Glad you stopped by the forum.

There's a lot of caring people here. Lots of info. Look around.

My mother suffers from diabetic neuropathy, post stroke since 1997. Left-sided paralysis, very bad left foot. Everything bad happens to the left foot. Ummm. I'm treating her foot with light therapy and we see a lot of improvement. She's reluctant to go farther without her doctor's approval. I agree we should find out more about LED and infrrared therapy.

I have obtained a CD from Neuropathy Centers of America, where their doctors are actually advocating these units. But they were saying it could wake things up "and we know what to do about that." So we are in the process of finding out what they meant about that. Mom's afraid if she wakes things up any more she may have pain to deal with, and she doesn't want that, at all. I do not want a painful situation for her either. You can PM me for more info about what I'm doing with the lights and how it's helped my mom so far.

I've not had the experience of a spinal stimulator, except --I'm a court reporter and some witnesses have said it helps and some say it doesn't. One had surgery on his back after the failed pump and his back surgery was successful. Now the only pain he has is from the pain pump in his hip. He's going to have surgery to have that removed. Probably minor but let's pray he doesn't get a staph infection, or some secondary complication.

I hope you find relief soon.

(Broken Wings)

[Darlene]

Welcome to NeuroTalk. Great to see you have come to be with us. Just let us know if we can be of any help. We are all here to assist each other as possible.

Again welcome, looking forward to seeing you around.

Darlene

[MooseasaurusRex]

Buckeye!

Buckeyebuckeyebuckeye.

One big, warm, tight, hug, handshake and howdy, Moose-size welcome to the site. This place is amazing!

I'm not that familiar with neuropathy other than what I've read here (I have MS), but our team can help you with anything that ails you. Even stuff just out of the blue you wanna talk about. So remember;

You are not alone.
You are one of us.
And we are here to help.

I am the MonSter that MS fears.

[azoyizes]

Hello buckeye, and welcome to NeuroTalk! I'm so glad you found us. As you can see, there are lots and lots of very nice and helpful people here, and forums with many interesting topics.

Be sure to take a look around, and feel free to post as much as you want.

[buckeye71]

I have been following many of the posts about “Lyrica Withdrawal” on NeuroTalk for some time and feel that I should share with others my experiences with this drug. I am 81 and have been using a wheelchair for about eight years due to peripheral neuropathy in both feet. My PM doc prescribed Lyrica for the foot pain. I’d been down the road with tramadol, a SCS, TENS, lidocaine patches, tramadol, and topical applications of various drugs for pain without success. Lyrica seemed to be the last resort. I started on 50 mg 3x/day in March 2012 with some pain relief and then last year increased to 75 mg 3x/day. Again with some relief for the foot pain, but then the morning headaches (dizziness, brain fog) or whatever one might call it began and has increased in intensity each month this year. In addition, I’ve been having some difficulty with my short-term memory and thinking through simple problems. The head problem was just getting out of control and I realized something needed to be done. My PM doc prescribed hydrocodene and my GP suggested that I add Cymbalta. In both cases, they wanted to add more drugs. They offered no real solutions. This was about the time I finally came to grips with the situation and realized no one could or would help me. It was going to be up to me.

Last month I decided I just needed my life back and more drugs were not the answer. Other Lyrica users that wanted to quit offered some ideas. I would reduce and (hopefully) eliminate Lyrica from my life. I visited with my GP and we decided to cut back 25 mg every two weeks until I reach zero intake or at a level needed for pain and yet could tolerate the side effects of the head aches.

As of today, I am in the 5th week of the schedule taking 50 mg 3x/day. I can report the head situation is improving and the foot pain level has actually remained the same. I have experienced no side effects from the decrease of Lyrica. Hopefully I will be able to continue with the plan and eventually eliminate this dread drug.

With a “clearer head,” I share my experiences with this drug.