Welcome Alkymst.

I have done Anodyne therapy and had great success with it, so much so, that I have a home unit that I bought a year ago. I was lucky that insurance paid for 2/3 of it. Anyway, I used it every night for three months and then 3-5 times a week. I know what you mean about the cold feet. What I do when this is really bad is wrap my feet in a heating pad on medium until they warm up. Works every time. If I am taking a shower, I put the stopper in the tub and let the warm water build up around my feet and ankles. This is a tip I got from someone on this board and sure works also. I take Lyrica 150mg twice a day and use Tramadol for pain. This is the only pain medication I have ever been on and works for me and I usually only need 4-6 per day. I also have Lidoderm patches that I put on the top of my feet if I am going to do a lot of walking or be on my feet for any length of time. You will meet a lot of great people here that are much more knowledgeable than I am and you will learn much from them.

I am struck by the "hammertoe" comment.

This often results from muscles in the calf that do no relax properly, and
are stiff and pull the tendons. My podiatrist looked at my feet years ago..
and said off hand..."I can fix those surgically for you". $$ in his eyes!

Switching to a wider shoe, helped me alot. But what really helps is
magnesium. You might try some daily epsom salt foot baths. This will allow
your feet to absorb the magnesium and relax those spastic toes.

If it works for you in any way...improving feeling, or reducing pain, I'd start
oral magnesium as soon as possible. I have a magnesium thread on
our Vitamin forum here, that goes into detail. Many people do not get the RDA for this mineral, and our muscles/tendons and bones suffer as a result.

Needless to say, I don't have those hammertoes anymore, either.

Melody
Thank you for the info about Alan - I'm sorry to hear about his symptoms but it's great that your massages bring him so much relief. I'll look into the Reflex Roller - it must be quite something if your husband was pain free.
thanks again
Alkymst

Hi LizaJane--Thanks for your warm wlecome and suggestions. I'll check the stickies and will certainly follow-up to your website to check on the tests.

I also think that peripheral nerves can regenerate but I know that it is a process measured in many months and years. As a prediabetic I'm working to create a more healthy environment but it is the rest of a lifetime job to fix a lifetime of injury. I'm glad that you and others are better now than you were at diagnosis - that is hopeful. You mentioned supplements, I've seen some really good clinical studies about N-acetyl-L-carnitine and I've read that the antioxidant affects of alpha-lipoic acid can be useful. Do you have any experience w/ these?

I'll need to spend a lot of time just reading posts and other forums just to catch up. Thanks again
Alkymst

Hi and welcome, I can't understand them saying your Idiopathic or Prediabetic,
as being prediabetic is a definate cause of PN and idiopathic meaning no cause found
I am glad to see that you are working on your Prediabetic state, because you don't have to have full blown diabetes to get PN, the peripheral nerves will regenerate if they are in the right inviroment, i was diagnosed as being prediabetic as the cause of my mostly small nerve damage and its taken me about 3 years to get were i am now, that very close to a full recovery.
Exercise is a problem when your feet hurt so badly, but i found that just simply walking up and down a lane in our local swimming centre is a great exercise, it doesn't hurt your feet, none weight bearing and its a great cardio exercise too, i used to go to the pool early when it first opened and there were plenty more people doing the same thing for all differant medical problems.
If you do all the right things you can reverse that prediabetic state and hopefully your nerves will start healing, its a roller coaster of a ride with at times worsening of symptoms but the end result are well worth it. it does take time but they can a do heal.
I was also low on B12, and have mainly supplemented with Cynocobalamin, some Methylcobalamin and shots of Hydroxocobalamin [ Methylcobalamin is the preffered B12, but if you can't get it there is nothing wrong with Cynocobalamin.
good luck
Brian

Thank you for the info about hammertoes. I went to wider shoes a while back and they didn't improve things significantly however I have not tried the Mg. I'll definitely check that out, probably w/ the epsom salts 1st and then oral if things improve. I'm fortunate thus far that the hammertoes and claw toes are still somewhat flexible but nonethless still painful. It was good that the only one of 4 podiatrists I saw who commented about the toes said he wouldn't recommend surgery until they were rigid.
I'll check into your Mg thread at the vitamin forum - thanks again for the suggestion.
Alkymst

Brian,
Thank you for your reply - the "confusion" w/ regard to idiopathic vs prediabetic comes about from the following. After the extensive blood, NCV, EMG, and MRI work-ups I had the 1st 2 neurologists concluded idiopathic. My FG is normal and OGT was 1 pt below prediabetic but I was "normal". I looked for a 3rd opinion and it wasn't until I got to UPenn and the neurologist there who agreed w/ me that 1 point higher for OGT would be prediabetic. Together w/ some other factors his diagnosis is prediabetic PN and is treating it as such - makes much more sense to me. Hope that clears things up - I realize this is somewhat convoluted.
We'll have to talk more since your experiences w/ prediabetic PN will be very helpful to me. I'm looking into water exercises for exactly the reasons you list. I did try oral B12 supplements for a few months but no shots. Maybe the time was too short.
Thanks again for your thoughts - what time is it in Australia now, early AM??
Alkymst

they regenerate in centimeters! Read up under the 'Vitamins, minerals, supplements' thread and thru prior postings here all about it.

The B-12 can and does take a loong time before it 'kicks in', but you will know when it does.

Controlling diabetes or even pre-diabetes numbers is critical to providing an 'environment' preventing further nerve damage and encouraging growth.

Did you have any blood or spinal work-ups done for auto-immune issues? Eliminating that possibility would be a plus, if it was done.

Pain free moments to all! - j

I also was struck by the description of hammer toes and Big toe being pulled. Most on one side of my family have Charcot Marie Tooth, so I have seen many feet like that. Did they rule out Charcot Marie Tooth?

Best wishes,

rose

Hi Dahlek and thank you for your welcome. I'll certainly go to the VMS thread to read up on nerve regeneration. I've read several recent and encouraging articles from a group in Utah about the positive affects of diet and exercise to promote intraepidermal nerve fiber growth in prediabetic patients.
My B12 is normal ~400. When I was at Johns Hopkins I had heard that values <400-500 could sometimes be considered low so I talked w/ my PCP about a B12 supplement. I was taking 1g/day for 3months - maybe much too short to be effective.
No spinal work done yet but SSA/SSB and antiHU antibodies were normal.
BTW - Dahlek is not the usual spelling from the old "Dr. Who" series is it. Remarkable what one can do with a little money for props and a set but a lot of imagination.