I also take Lyrica and do Anodyne Therapy with a home unit that I bought after going through physical therapy. If you have been offered another 12 weeks, I sure would take them up on it. While I don't use mine every day, if I have been on my feet for any length of time, I use it and can sure tell the difference. I honestly do not see how this therapy contributes to the swelling. I have been on Lyrica for over a year now, and I do not have any swelling, but other people on this board that have tried Lyrica have had to stop taking it because of swelling. So, might just be the medication as you did not mention that this had been suggested to you.

I hope this information helps in some way.

TENS is transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation. Electricity is used to stimulate nerves which helps with pain and sometimes inflammation. It is a small home unit, that most insurance companies will pay for if you have a prescription. It can be used dry with electrodes on your skin or wet whenthe electrodes are put into water and your feet or hands into the water. Seperate water bucket for each hand or foot. What makes you think that anodyne therapy is increasing your swelling? I tried it , it didnt help with me, but it did not increase swelling.

On another note if you are takinga statin for cholesterol, some people feel that their PN was caused by statin drugs, and it is now listed as a side effect. No flush niacin, and zetia are two alternatives to a statin drug.

Yes, any information helps--thanks for sharing. I do not know if the Anodyne helps or hurts the situation but if it is increasing the blood supply which causes the leakage which causes swelling...who knows. Hopefully the neuro will be able to explain this to me better. It is possible the Lyrica is causing this since my dosage was upped and swelling worsened. The thought of taking that med out of my life is scary for me though because I know it does lessen the burning.

Maybe I'm just being too suspicious of the pt group...insurance doesn't pay for this therapy and it's $30/session. Small price to pay if it works, but I'm probably like most people in the fact that $90/week does have an effect on the family finances. They weren't pushy, just offering the service. I had actually thought about getting one for myself since it is something we use on the horses but haven't gotten past the consideration stage at this point.

The tens unit sounds like something that may or may not work. Thanks for the explanation...I'm still fairly new to this and not up on all the various treatments.

The pain IS less now than it was before, but it seems like sometimes it ebbs and flows. I assume that is common...just when I think, "Okay! Now we're getting somewhere" because the pain isn't so bad, then it will be horrible again for a time. I've tried examining nutrition and diet, exercise (I work on concrete and have walk all day) plus if am not totally exhausted from work get on the way-cool workout machine plus I do my horsey thing, other factors like shoes, have I done my ankle/foot exercises, etc. but don't come up with anything I can put my finger on as to a decrease in pain. It seems like sometimes it cycles where the pain lessens some. Definitely the Lyrica and Elavil have helped but maybe this is the best I can hope for.

I'll have to look this up. I take Crestor...don't know if it's a statin or not. I was on it for maybe 6-9 months before the swelling started. Heck, who knows. My body likes to take things for a while before it decides to become allergic...I know this probably isn't an allergic reaction (thank goodness no hugely hideous hives) but maybe the drug is causing it. Will ask gp ito look into if it could be the cause of the swelling 'cause it's so annoying. Until recently the swelling was firm and solid but now that it's getting bigger it is pitting.

Interferential therapy, which is similiar to TENS is what really brought my pain under control. The professional unit at the podiatrist, which is stronger than the home unit, got those ice pick stabs, and burning under control and almost completely eliminated that throbbing at night when you lay down. You probably could get this covered by insurance more readily than anodyne. I think its worth a shot before you get too deep into other treatments.

Crestor is a statin. I dont know if it causes swelling of the ankles, b ut i have not heard of that. It has been associated with PN by many people.

Talk about a bottle falling on your foot, you just reminded me, i have PN in my feet and a horse stepped on my foot. It felt like an elevator had fallen on it.

Before the nerve issue I had very bad swelling in my legs/ankle from edema. I was told to wear support hose and keep them elevated. Especially at night put a pillow underneath. I'm not sure if it would apply here. Also to drink enough water.

A lot of the medications we take tend to make us retain the water, and the more we drink, the more it helps us flush the water out... It doesn't make sense, logically, drinking water seems like it would make us retain more, but it's actually the opposite.

Drink more, you'll flush more! I'm so bad about it myself. As soon as my hands start to swell up I remember it's time to drink about three more bottles! Within an hour or two, my rings start to loosen up again.

Good Luck!

Crestor is a Stantin, all Stantin's can cause very serious muscle weakness.
When you start feeling bad on any med,it's your body saying get this
crap out of me.

Yes dahlek even the third time ha,hugs back

I have Sjogrens syndrone so i drink,drink ect. It takes time,and take
notes so you will be ready for the Dr.,if he starts to walk out before your
done. Stick out your leg in front of him-her and say oh so sorry,a spasm,
Then say just a few more questions please i wasn't done. I've been
know to follow them into the hall. But that might be because i was a
nurse for far to many years. Sue

I have missed a lot of this thread, but just jumping in here to say it would surprise me a great deal if Anodyne therapy increased swelling.

Among other things, it helps the body produce nitric oxide and helps with circulation. So, for most people, I believe, it would help reduce swelling if anything.

rose

Had a different therapist today at pt and asked if there was any way the anodyne was contributing to the swollen ankles. He went in depth pretty well and now I'm sure there is no connection. As usual I flew off on a tangent that I didn't know what I was talking about. I do, however, want to thank all of you for such great replies. It really has helped a lot.

Drink more water...I'll do it and see if it helps but I already drink about a gallon and a half-2 gallons/day. Got in that habit several years ago thankfully. I used to be a big coke or iced tea drinker but forced myself to switch over to water and now I cannot believe how addicted to the stuff I was. Now it just tastes like sugar water--yuk. It probably wouldn't hurt me to cut more sugar out of my diet. PT mentioned that sometimes this helps pn and its something I could do on my own, so I suppose I will be looking closer at a dietary connection next. Before when I looked at my diet v pain I was just looking for similarities or differences in what I ate in general, not specifically at sugar. WARNING You'll probably be seeing a topic related to pn and sugar intake next.

Thanks,
possumtrot