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

Everyone's done a far better job of answering your questions than I ever could.

And, really, I didn't start laughing until I read your PS!!!!!

Have to admit - THAT made my day! - j

Okay, here is what I posted in my reply to Mrs. Doubtfire's response to me:

" 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."


Now why is this called restless leg syndrome? I thought restless leg was a disorder complete unto itself. Alan only shakes his legs to get rid of his neuropathy. He says it moves the blood down to his feet. Now when he walks anyplace, he is just fine. However, when he lies down and something in his back is obviously pinching something, and he moves is right or left foot back and forth for a while, IS THIS CONSIDERED RESTLESS LEG SYNDROME??

boy, if it is, I most certainly never knew this. I am going to look up restless leg thing.

Oh, I looked up sources for magnesium in foods and it said green leafy vegetables. Well, believe me, we eat this every day. I am going to buy him almonds tomorrow, be assured of that.

And Dahlek: I'm glad I gave you a laugh. I'm glad I gave somebody a laugh because believe me at 4:45 in the morning, nobody gave me a laugh.
I DO NOT WANT TO BE AWOKEN AT 4:45 IN THE MORNING, I don't care if it's Paul Newman. Okay, maybe Paul Newman, when he looked like Paul Newman (you know what I mean), then maybe.............

love you all.
mel

Well, okay, at least I have my answer to the Restless Leg thing. I clicked on the restleg leg link and I read all about it. The following paragraph is from that site:

"Chronic diseases such as kidney failure, diabetes, Parkinson's disease, and peripheral neuropathy are associated with RLS. Treating the underlying condition often provides relief from RLS symptoms"

I then went inside to Alan and said "Alan, do your legs ever feel like you have insects crawling on them, or feelings of discomfort that you feel you have to move or shake them in any way". His response was: "of couse not, it's my toes that kill me, not my legs".

I then made absolutely sure so I read him the thing about restless leg syndrome and he said quite distinctly "Melody, the problem is not in my legs, my legs have never given me a problem, it's in my toes, that's why I'm moving my feet when I lay down".

And because his Chiropractic/neurologist said his PN comes from the pinching of the nerves in his back, well, now I'm totally confused. I'd like to believe that all he has is PN. he really doesn't need to find out something else is wrong with him. I made sure he understood what the restless leg symptoms were and he said to me "never in any part of leg, just my toes". I do see where they can be so similar though.

How on earth can you differentiate between PN and Restless leg when (on the restless leg site), it mentions that you can have the feeling in your feet? And Alan's feet only kill him at night when the barometer changes drastically, (like it did the other night).

So how does one make the definite diagnosis?

I just told Alan tomorrow he's eating almonds and he said "Oh no I'm not, I have diverticulosis and I can't eat almonds". I then said "okay, we'll buy you a magnesium supplement" and he goes "I'm not taking anything unless Dr. Fred says it's okay!!!

So tomorrow I call Dr. Fred...................and believe me, if this guy wakes me up during the night, he's going to be one dead person, that's all I can say, neuropathy or no neuropathy!!!!!

Well,

love ya,
melody


P.S. Oh, guess what I did today for the first time in over 45 years?. I RAN TO CATCH A BUS. I actually ran somwhere. I'm 59 in two months, I have degernative joint disease, two bummed out knees etc. etc, but since I lost all the weight, I can walk much better. So I was at the supermarket and I see the bus two blocks away. I had to walk one big block to make it to the next bus stop. So I decided to run. I figured I might need to get a stress test someday so what better way to stress my heart than to give it a good run.
And boy did I run. I made it to the bus stop. Was I breathing hard? Of course, I'm almost 59 years old. Lasted all of one minute. Sat down on the bus and was just fine. My knees croaked but my heart was just fine.
Then when I got home, I went out for another walk.

So the day they put me on a treadmill for a stress test, I guess I'll pass. I take Doppler tests every year of my carotids and they are alway fine.
My health HMO won't pay for a stress test and I can't afford the $1500 so I guess I'll just keep walking until I drop. Lost another 5 lbs so I'm good to go!!
Not bad for an old hag!!!!!!

unsalted ones of course... you and Alan may be very surprised!

here is another reference on food sources...

greens is a general term... this breaks it down better.
http://www.hoptechno.com/book29l.htm

It is the rare person getting enough magnesium these days.
about 70% of the US population is low in this mineral.

When we were hunter/gatherers we ate only whole foods. Today,
this has dropped tremendously.
Nuts remain the best source for me. I do almonds every day. If I skip like when traveling I feel it in my legs/feet and even get cramps.