Hi, I don't mean to ask any silly questions because so many of you have problems up the kazoo but I figure, since this is a PN forum, I just have to ask my questions.

As you know, my Alan, who as of late, thinks he's Rocky Balboa, has all kinds of muscles due to his going to the gym three times a week, and feels good most of the time. MOST OF THE TIME!!! So we were satisifed with that!!!
Oh, one more thing. Because of his taking plavix and aspirin, when he comes home from the gym, he has more black and blues on his body than I have ever seen in my whole life.

He has one on his knee that is a deep purple. I know this is bruising and it does eventually go away, right??

But honestly, I'm extremely confused about the neuropathy.

He was initially diagnosed with Idiopathic PN many many years ago and a few years ago when he went to Dr. Theirl, it was determined that the PN was due to his back, bulging discs, etc. etc. and he began the adjustments and the rest is history. Went off the patch, etc.

Now Alan has psoriatic toes (whatever that is, I have no idea and the doctor could explain this to me a million times). He also has foot ulcers that take a long time to heal. But he goes once a week and they do whatever they do to foot ulcers and bandage him up again. (Please note, this does not prevent him from going to the gym, he does everything except the treadmill).

Now here's why I'm confused. Every night before he goes to bed I have to give him a deep massage or use the magnassager because if I don't he'll twitch all night from the neuropathy. I don't know why he doesn't twitch during the day, but once he lies down, forget it. So I would imagine it has something to do with one of the nerves being pinched that is affected by his sleeping position. He asked Dr. Theirl if he could pinpoint the nerve and Dr. Theirl said it would be all but impossible but if he lost weight they might have a shot so Alan, as you all know dropped 73 lbs and looks like Rocky.

So last night as we retired for the night, he starts moaning and groaning, about his feet. I said "is it your neuropathy?" and he goes, "not just that, by I think my Tailor bunion is growing back (He had surgery two years ago).
Now I have no idea if tailor bunions can grow back but I looked at his foot and I saw and felt a big callous over where the tailor bunion used to be. He said "it's killing me". I said "you have a callous, when you go to your podiatrist again (he goes Thursday), he'll shave it off like he always did your othre callouses). So he's moaning and I don't know what to do. So I got a lidoderm patch and wrapped it around that part of the foot.

I also gave him a good deep massage and he managed to fall asleep finally but he was still twiching his legs going "oh, my neuropathy, oh my neuropathy is killing me". Now I should mention that the weather is crazy this time in New York. cold in the a.m. hot in the afternoon, cold in the p.m. So you never know if you need an airconditioner on or a blanket. My sciatica today is absolutely horrible so I believe his neuropathy was being affected by the weather, could I be right?

I also told Alan what I have read on these boards and this is what I said:"they say on the neuropathy boards that when nerves are healing or regenerating, they sometimes have to hurt while they are "coming back" and he goes "really?" and I said "yup, that's what they say".

Now it becomes 4:45 a.m. and he's jumping up and down in the bed going "oh my neuropathy". I said "is it your callous or your neuropathy?" He goes, My neuropathy is killing me" I then sensed it was freezing in the room and I shut off the ceiling fan. I then gave him another massage and he went (in five minutes from being in absolute agony......to getting frisky.....!!

I do apologize for throwing this in but I have absolutely no one to ask and you guys are the experts.

How in the hell can a person go from absolute agony with neuropathy (in the space of 5 minutes) to being frisky??? So (and I'm choosing my words carefully), the frisky part was taken care of and he was able to sleep and got up at 7 a.m.

Now I'm dead from exhaustion, I get up and find him in the kitchen, all dressed and ready to go out for breakfast. I said "are you okay?" and he goes. Oh I feel great, my legs and feet feel great and I put a pad on my callous and it doesn't hurt me at all.

I just stood there going "holy cow, what the heck is this?"

So do you think it was the change in the weather or do you think (because he goes to the gym and does all kinds of back exercises and I do the deep massages every night, that the nerves in his feet are regenerating and this might be a "GOOD SIGN"????

I mean, he was doing so good with the neuropathy thing and all of a sudden he goes "oh my neuropathy, oh my neuropathy" AND HE GETS FRISKY????

I am so sorry if you think this is a joke, but believe me, this is no joke.

I would appreciate if you can explain the neuropathy going from horrible to great in 5 minutes, just because I massaged him and then he gets up the next morning and feels just fine. I am extremely confused.

Any info would help this tired woman, believe me.

Thanks guys!!!
Mel

P.S. Dahlek if you are falling on the floor laughing, I swear I'll punch you in the nosey!!!!

Sorry I haven't been back sooner... I had a horrible week last week.

Now things are settling down better, and I have more time.

2 things:

1) Alan's eating habits, may might be causing low magnesium. With exercise, and all you need to attend to this. Low magnesium is not good for the heart
either. So take a look at the magnesium thread I am building, and click on that link to Linus Pauling Institute and see if Alan is eating enough magnesium adequate foods that are listed there. Twitching is one of the first signs of
magnesium deficiency.

2) Bruising at the gym-- is he bumping himself? Or do you think these are
spontaneous? Is this a new thing, or has it happened all along since he has
been on the blood thinners? Does he take Vit C?
This should really be taken up with the doctor. He should have some tests
to see how his clotting is doing, and a platelet level.
Zoloft...and other SSRIs increase bleeding tendencies...mixed with the
blood thinners, may be a causative factor for the bruising. I would get to the doctor and evaluate this.
Here is an article to print out and take to the doctor if he/she does not know this---it is a relatively new discovery:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...1123113444.htm

Do not use the Magnassager over any bruised or swollen area. That is one of its warnings. While at the doctor's get a magnesium level drawn too, to see how that is doing. Low magnesium levels become more common as we age and exercise also increases the need for magnesium. Check out my magnesium thread on the Vitamin forum here, I am still building that, but it will get you started.

I'm sorry Alan is having problems, and a visit to his doctor is in order I think.

Hi Mrs. D.

Hope you are doing fine.

Alan only has bruising from the gym. They do seem to fade rather quickly. I won't use the maganassager over the bruises. Thanks for reminding me of that. I just asked about his twitching and he said "Melody, my legs don't twitch, my neuropathy drives me crazy sometimes so I shake my legs!!! So there's no twitching. Sorry I guess I thought he was twitching in bed.

Alan takes a multi vitamin and it has 100mg of magnesium. Is that sufficient? The Vitamin C is 60 mgs. I guess he has to up that right?

Here's his diet:

breakfast - veggie omelette with either egg whites or beaters.
multi grain english muffin with low sodium smart balance margarine and a cup of caffeine free tea.

10 a.m. he has a protein whey shake with an added bananna.

Lunch is either a protein shake or a grilled chicken salad with fresh ingredients and low sodium dressing.

3 p.m. another shake and some fruit.

Dinner starts off with a salad, then either chicken, turkey burger (with low sodium tomato sauce with a dash of splenda). Ever since he was put on the fentanyl patch (and even though he's been off of it for over 2 years), he has taste perversion so he puts splenda on everything. If he's not eating chicken or turkey, then he eats fish, with lots of veggies, a baked potato (sometimes sweet potato), sugar free drink (splenda)

After dinner he eats half a cantalope. Then at about 8 or 9 he takes another protein shake. He has stablized at about 187.

His eating habits are good, right???? jeez, he eats more than I do!!!!

His arms are amazing and except for the neuropathy, you wouldn't know he has coronary heart disease.

I will check on the magnesium thing and check his bruising. I will also show the article to his doctor.

Honestly, he's a different guy on zoloft and I'd hate to take that away from him. He almost had a nervous breakdown due to our son's behavior.

Thanks so much.
Melody

good potassium... I don't see a magnesium source other than the dairy, which may not be enough.

The shaking of the legs...can also be interpreted as restless leg syndrome.
And magnesium is used for that. The need or feeling to move when not
necessary. Doctors are being offered DRUGS for this by the drug companies... and one is Requip.
It has alot of side effects.. and so magnesium should be tried first.
We have had posters on both PN and Chronic pain who could not tolerate Requip
or Mirapex or Sinemet... all can be offered by the doctor.

Does Alan take any vitamins? Working out places a need for vit C,
and B6 for the muscles. Not to mention magnesium. Magnesium works with
calcium --they are both needed for proper functions.

3oz of almonds provide a goodly amount of magnesium without taking supplements. (270mg)

Sounds like restless legs syndrome to me! Some people think restless legs is a forerunner of neuropathy, but one way or the other, that's what it sounds like. It can be agony, it can be relieved by massage, and when it's gone, well, it's GONE. And if he's being frisky, not just FEELING frisky, why, then the restless legs wouldn't be in a position to be restless at all.

Without being too glib--sounds like you guys have worked it out. You massage his restless legs, and he feels better, and, in addition to better, he feels bonded to you and connected to you, and ready for fun, the ultimate cure!

Enjoy!

LizaJane
www.lizajane.org

PS. I had restless legs when pregnant, and the only thing that helped was my husband rubbing them hard. Don't recall what happened after he did, however....

I was thinking about Restless Legs Syndrome too. Here is a site, if interested.

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/r...tless_legs.htm

Kitt

Melody, I happened upon your post while searching the Internet. I'm not a doctor, but it's plain to see that your husband Alan has multiple symptoms of the chronic disorders sometimes called the "diseases of civilization":

-idiopathic peripheral neuropathy
-easy bruising: "more black and blues on his body than I have ever seen in my whole life"
-foot ulcers that take a long time to heal
-psoriatic arthritis in the toes
-Taylor's bunions
-coronary heart disease

Your own diabetic neuropathy is also a disease of civilization.

They can--some experts say that a bunion can only come back if the surgery was done improperly or footwear is worn that is too tight or causes overpronation; others say there is no guarantee that bunions won't come back some years later even if the surgery is performed correctly and the person wears appropriate footwear.

The following of your husband's symptoms are associated with diabetes and pre-diabetes, so your husband should have his blood sugar checked if he hasn't already:
-idiopathic peripheral neuropathy
-easy bruising
-foot ulcers that take a long time to heal

The diseases of civilization are theoretically believed to always include the following features:

-chronic inflammation
-immune system malfunction (autoimmune disorders), though it often is not recognized as such

...and tend to include some of the following features:

-chronic pain, tingling and/or numbness
-nutritional deficiencies
-one or more of allergies, asthma, or sinus problems
-insulin resistance or dependence
-the diseases of Syndrome X (which have hyperinsulinemia at their root): hypertension, type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, coronary artery disease, obesity, abnormal glucose tolerance, acne, early menarche, certain epithelial cell carcinomas, increased stature (above average height), myopia, cutaneous papillomas (skin tags), acanthosis nigricans, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and male vertex balding

S. Boyd Eaton, M.D., Loren Cordain, Ph.D., Staffan Lindeberg, Ph.D. and others have proposed that these diseases of civilization are caused in large part by a diet of "modern" (agrarian and processed) foods that is out of step with the types of food that human beings are designed to eat because they ate them for the first 2.5 - 3 million years of their existence. The main foods that humans ate over this time were wild meats, fruits and vegetables. Grains, dairy foods and legumes were not staple foods in the human diet before the advent of agriculture around 10,000 years ago. We have not had time to adapt to the new agrarian and processed foods. Some people have genes that are less adapted to these new foods than others. It has been hypothesized that people from Northwestern Europe (the British Isles and Scandinavia in particular) tend to be less well adapted than people from the Middle East and Mediterranean, because agriculture started much earlier in the Middle East and radiated out to Europe from there, not reaching the fringes of Europe until thousands of years later.

Wrong. The following foods in his diet are all modern foods or include modern food ingredients:

multi grain English muffin
low sodium smart balance margarine
a cup of caffeine free tea
protein whey shakes
low sodium dressing
burger bun
low sodium tomato sauce
Splenda
baked potato
Splenda-sweetened drink

Better choices would probably be something like the following (depending on any food sensitivities he may have):

more cantaloupe and other fruit
green or herbal tea
a smoothie of strawberries, banana and apple juice or homemade almond milk
a turkey burger or grass-fed beef burger without the bun (he can wrap it in lettuce leaves if he wants, but it's easier to just eat it with a fork)
all-natural tomato sauce
honey instead of Splenda (or no added sweetener if blood sugar is high)
some more nonstarchy veggies like leafy greens

The biggest problem with his diet is likely all those whey shakes. Unfortunately, he drinks those because he wants to be muscular, so he may resist eliminating them. Whey contains betacellulin and insulin growth factor 1 (IGF-1), which promote cell growth and division, thus theoretically causing muscle growth. However, bovine betacellulin and IGF-1 have also been linked to various types of cancer. Because they strongly stimulate cell growth and division it is believed there is a risk they can stimulate too much of it, leading to a cascade effect of excessive, unregulated cell growth and division (cancer). The other stuff in the whey shakes is probably not good either.

It is also important to eliminate grains--especially gluten grains (wheat, rye and barley). Here is some information on a connection between peripheral neuropathy and gluten grain consumption:

Psychological and Neurological Illnesses Associated with Cereal Grain Consumption
From "Cereal Grains: Humanity's Double-Edged Sword"
By Loren Cordain, Ph.D.

"Neurological complications have long been recognized in celiac patients and can include epilepsy, cerebellar ataxias, dementia, degenerative central nervous system disease, peripheral neuropathies (of axonal or demyelinating type), and myopathies [318]. A recent study showed that 57% of patients with neuropathies of unknown cause (25 ataxia, 20 peripheral neuropathy, 5 mononeuritis multiplex, 4 myopathy, 3 motor myopathy, 2 myelopathy) demonstrated positive titres for antigliadin antibodies, and 16% (40 times higher than the general population) of this group also had celiac disease [315]. The cause of neurological dysfunction associated with celiac disease and antigliadin antibodies is unknown; however it has been suspected that an immunological mechanism may be involved [315, 318]. Although no clinical trials have yet been conducted of strict adherence to a gluten-free diet, it has been suggested that such a diet may result in stabilization or even improvement of neurological dysfunction [315]."

315 Hadjivassiliou M, Gibson A, Davies-Jones GAB, Lobo AJ, Stephenson TJ, Milford-Ward A: Does cryptic gluten sensitivity play a part in neurological illness? Lancet 1996;347:369.371.

318 Auricchio S: Gluten sensitivity and neurological illness. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr 1997;25:S7.S8.

The complete report can be found at http://www.thepaleodiet.com/articles...%20article.pdf.

Good luck!

Wow, you are thorough aren't you????

Well, I bought honey yesterday, so I'm starting off on a good thing, there anyway!!!

Alan has just had a battery of tests. All negative. No gluten thing, no auto-immune thing. His neuropathy is not from diabetes. All this is absolutely certain right now. They know he has severe spinal stenosis and they are tending to believe that the PN comes from that. And because he is so much better after going to Dr. Theirl, his chiropractic/neurologist, well, many docs now feel that his PN is due to his lower back stenosis thing going on.

Also, you mention that he eats multi-grain and splenda and whey shakes. Believe me, he got MUCH BETTER after he changed his diet to eat this way.
18 years go when he started to get the PN, he was eating red meat, no veggies, white break, macaroni, sweets. starches, etc. etc.

We went to a nutritionist about two years ago who put him on the plan he's on now. The black and blues after the exercising were from the plavix. He no longer gets them often. Maybe once in a while. He is very careful not to bump himself.

And the not healing ulcers on his foot are NOT CAUSED BY ANYTHING TO DO WITH DIABETES OR A PRE-DIABETIC CONDITION. He has had all the tests.
The podiatrist took x-rays and found there is a bone near the ulcer that is inpinging on the ulcer so he might have to have that shaved down but as of yesterday the podiatrist looked at the ulcer and said "look at that beautiful foot, it's all healed"

So we are waiting to see how his next podiatrist visit goes. IF the ulcer comes back, the doctor will then determine if he indeed will shave down the bone that's doing the problem. Also, the tailor bunion on the other foot never grew back BUT Alan has a tailor bunion on the foot that has the ulcer and the doctor said he can take care of this at the same time.

So I do thank you for all your concerns and good infomation. Hope I got to clear up some things for you.

My husband is a new man thanks to these whey drinks. He drinks only one a day now. He eats like a horse and he looks great. He also execises like a banshee and wouldn't have it any other way.

You do what works for ya!!!!! This works for him.

Sincerely, Melody

You will probably think this is dumb, but I haven't had much time for movies lately... Exactly who is Rocky Balboa?

Cathie

i'm not mel but...

sylvester stallone...in the "rocky" movies from the 70's i think it was. the boxing movies. he has another one coming out.