I am 63 and was diagnosed with Peripheral Neuropathy caused by a sacral adjustment 12 years ago and the pain is getting a lot worse lately in spite of the various adjustments I have made to my sacrum and pelvis. I no longer have any ankle or knee reflexes and my toe nails have become distorted, thicker and brittle..

Until I came to this Forum, I didn't realize that so many people had similar problems and seemed to be getting relief from medicines...

I always thought the remedy was to bring back my sacrum to its original position, but after having had a recent meeting with a neurosurgeon, I have finally come to realize otherwise...

I have no diabetes and a stand up MRI shows no visible problem at the nerves roots at L3, L4, L5, S1, but there is some mild stenosis. However, about a year before the fateful sacral adjustment, a chiropractor had hit the centre ridge of L5 counterclockwise with a couple clicks of his 'activator', which caused the left big toe and the toe next to it to become numb in the following 2 days...

The nerve irritation or damage appears to be somewhere between L3 and my feet, probably in the sacrum/pelvis area....

It all started about 12 years ago in Paris when I had some serious back pain: that was resolved by a therapist who had only 1 year of osteopathic study - as it turned out later - by doing a cranio-sacral adjustment, which consisted of pushing in the top of the sacrum to increase the curvature of the lumbar area...

It worked great for back pain, but 4 days later, when already in Spain by then, the sole of my feet started to burn intensely and it felt like I had a thin layer of chewing gum under the ball of my feet when walking. The muscles along the spine and lumbar area were under constant tension, sexual functions and circulation to the feet were seriously impaired and I could not find anyone to remedy the problems...

A recent X-Ray done to try again some chiropractic solutions shows a sacrum/pelvis misalignment in 2 dimensions: the left pelvis is rotated anticlockwise in relation to the sacrum and is 1/2" higher, resulting in a shorter left leg. I surmise that this was the result of a car accident that happened in my early 20's, when the leading left edge of the iliac was fractured and pushed backwards. I probably lived like that without noticing until the sacral adjustment, which I assume triggered the current Peripheral Neuropathy...

Another therapist in Spain, using a belt around my thigh and pulling it outward managed to improve the blood flow to my feet, which had become very cold. Later on when on my own, I devised an orthopedic gadget that reproduced this effect and gave me some measure of control over the circulation to my feet...

I placed a rounded spacer between my thigh right against the crotch and used an extended foam padded clamp to bring my knees together, thereby opening up the SI joint and helping greatly with the blood flow to the feet. However, one should keep very still while doing that, as sacral adjustments can easily be lost in the process...

Through various stretches I managed to control the muscle tightness along the spine and in the lumbar area and substantially improve sexual functions. However, lately, the pelvis and sacrum adjustments that were keeping me going reasonably well - since I sit at my computer all day long and avoid walking or standing for more than 5 minutes to avoid recurrent pain - are having less effect...

Here are some examples of the effects of such manipulations, which are done by lowering a certain part of my body on a rubber cube and let gravity do the work: pressure on the upper part of the sacrum will cure back pain, if the sacrum came out of alignment; pressure on the upper left pelvis will help with the feet burning but tends to make the ball of the feet number...

The numbness originally started at the big toe of the left foot, then most of the upper part of the feet became numb, including a band just above the ankle, while the ball of the foot became hyper-sensitive. The right foot followed the same pattern shortly after. Until recently, when I rubbed my big toe against the one next to it, I could feel it, but not any more. Also, I could alleviate the symptoms for a short while by pulling my feet behind my chair, as far back as possible for about 45 minutes, but that trick no longer works, either...

The chiropractic attempts at straightening the pelvis in relation to the sacrum have only resulted in temporary (1 day) relief, at the expense of the ball of the foot now becoming also numb. Where the pain only bothered me when walking or standing, I now experience it also at night and have trouble sleeping...

Stretches did help a lot at he beginning: alternating resisted knee to the chest relieves back tension and, lying down with one knee up, placing the opposite foot on the knee and pushing the leg down in a resisted pumping action to stretch the ligaments, does help with the feet burning...

I have also tried deep body massage with a "Thumper" to release the muscles around the back, spine, buttocks, thighs and legs, in case a nerve is entrapped to some good effects, which unfortunately don't last very long

The neurosurgeon I just visited suggested pain killers, such as Lyrica, but this would be a last ditch solution, as I know only too well that the side effects of most medicine are usually worse than the problem they're supposed to cure. I also need to keep in touch with the pain to see if things are getting worse...

I am finally convinced that the long sought perfect sacrum adjustment won't solve the problem and even if it were attained, it's unlikely it would last. I have been looking up the Iherb Website for products that users recommend and found that Benfotiamine appears to be very helpful...

I would appreciate any advice from veterans of Peripheral Neuropathic pain who have obtained good results, as the quality of my life has began to stink to high hell, lately..

Welcome to NeuroTalk Seagem! This is a great community with lots of nice folks and good information. I hope you'll find the info you need and make some new friends in the process.

Thank you for the welcome...

Research on Iherb shows that some products - besides the 3000 mcg B-12, B-6 and Ginkgo Biloba I'm already taking - are producing decent results, according to the users:

- Benfotiamine 250 mg

- Alpha Lipoic Acid 300 mg

- Acetyl-L-Carnitine (from Acetyl-L-Carnitine HCl) 650 mg

I'm also looking into Cq10, Super Omega 3-6-9 and STIM (electric stimulation) therapy...

Any other suggestions?...

I'd suggest r-lipoic 100mg instead of alpha lipoic. It is more potent.

You might want to do some electrostim. I found IFc useful for pain. You can buy a home unit online for about $150.

Also some of us use magnets. If you search the word "magnets" on this forum we have many posts about them.

I just had a root canal, and had alot of face pain afterwords, and used my strong magnet on it for 20 min a night, and it was immediately helpful without strong pain meds. (I only used one Aleve liquigel for it daily OTC).

This recent post has some magnet info:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...hlight=magnets

Also you may try Lidoderm patches over the sacral area. They may work too.

I find that some nerve pain, may be just an old injury refiring.
By blocking that nerve for a few days...with Lidoderm or magnets you may turn that over firing nerve off.

Thanks for the r-lipoic tip, as I was just preparing my Iherb order, which is shaping up as a major one...

I have tons of of magnets - I was trying to make a self running magnet motor a while back - and even have a large gold plated one, 2" x 1/4" with the pole marked: which side do you use towards the pain?...

Do you have a link on the best STIM machine to save some time and how/where to place the pads?...

I'm also going to try a water with a similar composition, PH = 9.5, to that of Lourdes, France, as it's very beneficial to health in general: google 'kykwaterionizers-direct' and see the testimonials at the end of the page...

Btw, I wrote a very detailed account of my symptoms and attempt at curing them because I copied it to the Centre for Restauration of the Nervous System in Cuba, the CIREN, to see if they can help. Of course, if it works, US citizens will have to wait for a change in the law, which is likely to come soon...

Sorry but I'm not allowed to post links yet, unfortunately...

Is the magnet a neodymium one? Mine are ...they are very strong! There are safety tips on that link I put up here, about,
not using if you have an implanted devices, etc.

The south pole is typically put against the body. If your mag is 10,000 or more gauss, you don't have to leave it on for long.
I do spot treatments while reading in bed. My very elderly cat also asks for a short treatment for her neck and back. She rolls over and falls into a deep sleep..she limps and has arthritis.

I put surgical tape on the side that goes against the skin. Some people get "magnet burns" or react to the metal alloy with rashes.

The south pole typically calms pain, the North will stimulate pain.
If you make a mistake, you'll feel it within 5 minutes. (I do).
You should see improvements in comfort within a week, and perhaps a month for major improvements.

I'd do the magnet first, because it is so inexpensive, before springing for a IFc unit. I got mine from Healiohealth.com
http://www.healiohealth.com/tek9.asp...cific=jnnrmmm8

I'll have to search the placement file I saved... that will take some time.

I had a nerve damaged from surgery in my right thigh. It is called Meralgia Paresthetica. I had it for years and it was very painful. 2 weeks of daily Lidoderm patches placed in the correct spot, totally turned that nerve off. Now I only have echos of that problem if I overextend the leg. It was amazing how it changed the pain. That is why I say to some here that you might be able to "turn off" a nerve that is just firing by habit.

For about five weeks now, I have had a weird right side pudendal symptom of nerve vibration upon disturbance of the bladder/gential area, such as jostling or jiggling. It does seem to be a bit worse when my head is forward in the L'hermitte's sign position, or when I bend at the waist. It is not painful, but is tingling/vibrational, like someone is constantly plucking a guitar string.

Oddly enough, though the sensation starts above the root of my penis, in the bladder area, and then proceeds down the right side of it, along the dorsal nerve distribution, this does not seem similar to other pudendal nerve problems I've researched. For one thing, it is not worsened by sitting--in fact, sitting and keeping my lower body area unmoving/rigid will eventually cause it to fade after some minutes.

Walking sets it off constantly, but I don't feel it much as I take steps, but I feel it in full when I stop. This heightens my perception that this is somewhat positional.

Interestingly, I first noticed this after a rather vigorous "session" with my wife, which immediately led me to wonder if I had injured the penile nerve. I know that the pudnedal nerve has branches to the penis (or clitoris in women), to the **** spinchter, and to the bladder. I had a full urological work-up, including rectal exam and PSA--all normal (in fact, my PSA is below 1). It was my urologist's impression, given my tendency to have hypersensitive nerves due to my acute-onset body wide burning neuropathy history (which leaves me very prone to any sort of compressive effects), and given that I often have some sciatic symptoms, that this may be due to problems in the sacral spine. Indeed, I do tend to have on-agian, off-again achiness by the left sacroiliac joint.

I have a two cm leg length discrepancy (left shorter than right) which has resulted in some gait oddness and left leg "instability" but no muscle weakness, and I have just had completely normal MRI of the lumbar spine and completely normal nerve conduction studies of both legs. My speculation--there's some sort of twist or hypermobility in the pelvic or sacroiliac spine area, so that depending on positioning, some of the nerves going through there are getting pressed.

The intergrated orthopedic/physiatric practice I consulted did not seem interested in looking at the sacral area, though. I know the pudendal nerve comes from combinations of the S2/S3/S4 roots, and that sacral pathways also contribute to the sciatic nerve, but they seem to follow the old idea that 95% of sciatic symptoms come from radiculopathy of the L5/S1 nerve roots, which of course did not show on the normal lumbar MRI.

I'd love to know if anyone has had similar problems in that area and what kind of therapy they may have found helpful--I do have a prescription for physical therapy, but I'd love to be able to find a practice that would listen and be a little outside the box in terms of where they'd manipulate. I susepct the best place to start would be a place that does a lot of hands on neural work and myofascial work, and I'm open to advice. The pudnedal symptoms are not painful (yet), but they are extremely annoying, often buzzing for a half-hour at a time before I can quiet them down again, and they are keeping me away from nighttime activities (if you catch my drift).

This is a link toInterferential Therapy unit.
What's the link to the magnets?

Yes, they are strong Neodymium magnets and thanks for the Lidoderm tip...

I realize now that I forgot to include a couple of relevant facts to give a complete picture in my first post: is it possible to edit a post, as I don't see any key for doing that?...

Hi
posts are only able to be edited within 24 hours of making them

you can either just add a reply with the additional info or PM one of the mods of this forum or me with the text you would like edited in and we can do that for you