I am only 43 and tend to have the same fears. My neurologist ruled out all underlying causes, and believes it hereditary because my mother had it. I watched my mother suffer for a long time with this and it got worse and worse.

I am not young now, but I did get sick early in life. I was 29 with my first auto immune problem. Not all conditions progress to be terrible, and truely, there is hope. Much has been done recently in pain control. I have had PN in the same spot for years, and it never got any worse. Try hard not to think that your condition will be worse. I am now 60, and have a good crew of doctors in my corner. I hope you get the very best physicians you can, and that they will give you the treatment you need to feel better. Stick around here too, the support will help you to cope. I am here to listen any time you might need. ginnie

I don't know how long ago that was. I watched my mother suffer with debilitating migraines for decades, but that was in the 1950s-1980s, and about the only thing they had to treat her with back then was phenobarbital; there were no triptans (first introduced after she passed) nor preventative medications to speak of. I seem to have inherited migraines from her, but they are much more treatable with more options.

My point is that while there is no cure for PN now, there are some effective treatments, and while there aren't for everyone, advances in medicine are occuring like other technologies - at an accelerated (algebraic rather than geometric) rate, with many new developments in the pipeline. It may only be years instead of decades or generations until we have better medications & treatments.

Just look how far we've been able to come in the past 15 years (advent of WWW). Before that, we had no way of finding & learning all that we have today, not to mention what we now know about supplements and medications that are helping us.

Doc

Attached Thumbnails

 

Do you happen to know what exactly it was that your mother had? Just curious is all.

I began living with neuropathy at a much younger age. I learned long ago that it is I who is in charge of my life and my attitude. This has helped me much!

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do.
It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company ... a church ... a home.

The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past ... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable.

The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude ... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you ... we are in charge of our Attitude." - Chuck Swindoll

I was diagnosed with PN when I was 36 a few months later I was diagnosed with Diabetes. I am on gabapentin but it doesnt always help. My PN hasnt gotten worse over the years that I have noticed it has pretty much stayed the same.
I am new to these forums so if I post out of turn please let me know.

Bravo!

Doc

For everything you said. This means so much to me. It's music to my ears.

I agree with you, l need to keep busy, to get my mind of this and stop driving myself mad.
Today we went out for a drive and it was great to get out and I'd something a bit different. Even though this morning l woke up feeling floaty, and kind of out of it a bit, l still tried to remain positive and move on.

Last night for the first time since getting hot feet l slept without having my feet elevated. Slept well, but wake up too early and go to bed too late, and am exhausted, but still more positive today than yesterday.

My mum is great and she gives great advice, and l need to embrace it.
My husband thinks the same as you, and says to me often to panick too much about things on the web. He knows l can get completely anxiouse reading all the information about PN? He thinks l have blown it out of proportion. That l haven,t even been diagnosed yet.

My poor girls haven,t had much a mum lately as my mind is only on PN.

But after reading what you wrote, l am now going to move on with more hope and positivity and go back to being present with my girls. I am so glad to hear yours hasn't progressed. You have no idea how good it is to hear this.

Can l just ask you how long have you had it?

Also, just your opion, do you think it is safe me to have 1-2 wines tomorrow for my birthday? Do you think l will damage more nerves?

Thanks so much, l really appreciate your views which have made me feel so much better.

Else's stories and thoughts you have no idea how much this means to me. Especially the ones where they have found the cause and haven't progressed.

Also, l have always done mediation to calm my mind but in this past week l just couldn't do it. Need to go back to it, to calm my busy mind.

Sue

Hi Sue, I hope you have a great birthday. I think I'm in a similar place to you, and it sounds like most people go through a phase of being overwhelmed. It really is hard to calm down and it becomes a vicious cycle of tiredness and worry. Like you I haven't even been diagnosed, although my symptoms have been arund for quite a while.

If you are looking for a positive story have a look at the post by Wing42 about "Reversal or improvement of your PN!! (success story's)" towards the end of the page, I can't post a link because I haven't made enough posts.

I'm sure a glass of wine/champers won't hurt especially if it helps you to relax.

I'm curious are you in WA, as I'm looking for a neuro and haven't had much luck

Best wishes for your birthday