After being in such great shape my whole life....running marathons....exercising daily....always being in great shape....I contract this crappy foot condition....nobody has the answers....I get two nerves sliced out of my feet...and they just get worse....my wife says....there's nothing we can do....you have to deal with it.....I can't...I'm not a warrior....I don't like the 24/7 pain and burning....I'm sick of it!!!!

did the Drs slice nerves out of your feet??
are they sure it is PN only and not RSD too?
we have a RSD forum if you would like to read about that.
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?t=247

How horrible. I went through the same thing...from runner and backpacker, to decrepit. Those early years were horrible. Fear of what the future held and being adrift with no direction or hope was as bad as the pain.

There is nothing in your profile about where you live. If you put it in as part of your profile there might be a good doctor or pain program in your area that somebody here can tell you about.

There are other things that can help you cope and help you heal. I've harped on the Rebuilder for years, and don't want to be like a broken record, but it's worth a try. After less than a month of my use of it, the sharp edge was off the metatarsal pain, though I still couldn't really walk. At least I was sleeping most of the night. These electric units cause the release of endorphins which quiet the nerves and promote healing.

Just know that we care about you, and will do all we can through this weird cyberworld to support you and to promote your recovery. Please be patient. You're wounded from the surgery and it takes time to heal. You've hit bottom now, but things will get better.

David:
I have a question about the rebuilder. I understand the principle behind it. You put your feet in a basin of water, you put the electrodes in the water, and a gentle current does something and helps the nerves, right?

Now how is this different than the snakeoil people who were trying to sell a ionizing foot bath thing (the video of this is on my thread about foot patches). Someone put in a link that shows a video of two ladies in white lab coats preaching about this water basin that you put your feet in and they put in two electrodes and the water changes color which tells you that toxins are coming out of your body.

So here you have essentially the same scenario. A water basin, electrodes and feet. The only difference is the rebuilder doesn't change the color of the water and it supposed to help the nerves.


In the video (with the lady in the lab coats), you have the exact same scenario, a water basin, feet in the water and two electrodes.

So how is the rebuilder different?

Thanks much.
Melody

Not sure of answer... but?

You are using language inaccurately so your thinking is not accurate.

Putting your feet in a basin of water with electrodes is a procedure, not a principle.

The principle behind the Rebuilder, TENS, and similar apparatus is to apply a gentle direct electric current of specific shape and frequency to 1) stimulate the nerves to fire in a specific pattern which has been experimentally found to be healing, reestablishing of synaptic integrity, and/or pain relieving, and/or to 2) stimulate certain muscles to fire with a specific pattern and amplitude to exercise them, heal them, and improve blood circulation. The Rebuilder and other electric stimulation units are often used with pasted on electrodes rather than the water bath. I think that the water bath works better because the current is spread more evenly over a wider area, and you absorb a small amount of the Epsom salts which is therapeutic in it's own right.

You do not have the same scenario, "essentially". One is a sales pitch for a procedure of unknown effectiveness. The other is the real thing you do at home or that a physical therapist does to help relieve pain and help healing. It works for animals with damaged nerves or nerve endings and I don't think they fall for sales pitches. The water changing color is a feature that the Rebuilder, TENS, etc. don't have. Too bad, that would be soooo coooool!

You do not have "the exact same" scenario. One difference is that one is bogus and the other not. You breathe in and out, "the exact same" as John Edwards. Does that mean you are extremely wealthy, male, have great hair and a million dollar smile? Of course not. Nobody but John Edwards breathes in and out "the exact same" as John Edwards. The words are "the exact same", but the reality is that they are not "the exact same".

You can say that a tabby cat walks and hunts "the exact same" way a leopard does. That isn't true. Just because the words "loose jointed walk" and "stalking and pouncing" are used for both doesn't make a tabby cat a leopard. In other words, don't confuse words with reality or pictures with reality. Words and pictures can be the exact same or similar, but the reality behind them can be as different as Adolf Hitler compared to Mel Brooks playing Adolf Hitler in "To Be or Not To Be."

There is a lot of experimental and clinical research with positive results using electric stimulation to heal and reduce pain in damaged nerves and nerve endings. You can get an idea from reading the sites at http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&s...on&btnG=Search

Here's a few thousand medical and biological journal articles if you need more convincing: http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=...r=&btnG=Search

I'm sure that other units works as well or better than the Rebuilder. The difference is the good experience of me and others on this and the previous forum with the Rebuilder. I can't recommend others that I haven't tried. Some people in the old forum had good results with the similar Rejuvenator, but that company seems to have gone out of business.

My physical therapist used a great unit that concentrates the stimulation in an area between the electrodes, in an interference pattern. But, the ones my physical therapist use cost several thousand dollars each, require certification to buy, and training to use properly. In contrast, the Rebuilder costs hundreds and the only training needed is the video that you found so amusing.

Risking having my note to you ignored, yet again, I will offer the same suggestion, for others to read at least, if you still are unhappy to hear advice.

Cymbalta is a very good medication for those of us who are down, discouraged and in pain. It helps both mood and pain. If you are finding yourself demoralized by the pain, that will make the pain worse, which will then make mood worse. The SNRIs seem particularly helpful with this. Effexor and Cymbalta are those. Provigil added to an SSRI also works, but most insurance plans probably wouldn't okay it if one of the others hasn't been tried first.

There, Jack, I've said it again.

You can buy an IFc unit fairly inexpensively:

http://www.healiohealth.com/tek9.asp...cific=jnnrmmm8

I have one. (there are 3 other types on that site)

If I'm not mistaken...didn't you also have neuroma surgery? I'm thinking, that you chunk out a piece of nerve in both feet...and my right foot became infected..so they opened it up again, and packed it and put my on IV meds for three days. Taking that packing out was the worst pain I have experienced in my life....but it healed and the scar tissue has left my second and third toes spread far apart. Residual nerve damage? Peter paying Paul?

Jakatak,

I didn't have a neuroma. My PN started as itching that rapidly turned into incredible pain between the metatarsal heads, mainly between the 3rd and 4th toes in both feet. A podiatrist evaluated that I didn't have a neuroma, but he didn't know what was wrong. The pain of that exam was memorable as he deeply probed with his fingers between the metatarsal heads.

In the old forum, I urged you to try everything else before surgery. Surgeons exaggerate their success rate. To many surgeons, greatly increased pain is still a success because the thing was removed cleanly and didn't grow back and you didn't die or loose your foot. Maybe your surgeon botched the surgery, but maybe not. Increased pain and phantom pain is fairly common after nerve resection as patients report in the various forums and blogs. Here's some links:
http://www.myfootshop.com/Discussion...2%3Bt%3D000614
http://www.triplecitizen.com/AT/foot.htm
http://www.medhelp.org/forums/neuro/messages/30626.html
This isn't the whole story. Many other people report complete or partial success and are happy with the results of Morton neuroma removal. Either it was botched, or you idiosyncratically reacted poorly, as some do.

The thing with surgery is you can't take it back. The issue is, what to do now. I would treat it as PN whether it is or not because what helps PN also reduces inflammation and promotes healing in general. That would involve a big commitment from you to do whatever is needed for the rest of your life to live a good life and to get healthier. You'd have to be unstoppable and be willing to try different things and never give up. If a doctor is all doom and gloom, you'd have to find another doctor.

There'll probably be no single magic thing that makes it better. You're probably going to be dealing with this for a while. Who you are and how you approach living with very sore feet is the choice you have now. Part of that would be seeking pain relief, but it would also involve doing what promotes healing, learning to be happy, being on an emotional even keel, and having a rich, active, and rewarding life in spite of the agony. There is light at the end of the tunnel, but it's up to you to get to it.

Your story breaks my heart. To be clear, I'm not blaming you or anybody else for your pain and suffering. What I'm saying is that this is your one life to live. You have choices, pain or not. You can choose happiness, pain or not. You are not the pain, not the disease, not a patient. That's the process in pain management: from patient to person. We each have to find our own way to do that.

You are at rock bottom now. I'm confident you can dig your way up from this misery if that's what you are totally committed to do.