I'm not on any meds yet, but i'm worried if it gets worse then I won't have a choice. I was such a health nut before all this. I only took supplements and always looked for a natural remedy. I rarely even took tylenol. Does anyone know the long term side effects from taking drugs for PN? I'm just scared to be walking around like a zombie and doing long term damage to my body. Or is it not that bad?

I'm pretty sure most everyone is concerned about the potential long term side effects of taking medications. I'm only on Gabapentin at this point, and would rather not be. But, at some point you decide to take that risk in return for the possibility of some symptom relief. Other than the Gabapentin, I'm trying to manage my symptoms with diet and supplements at this point. Seems like things have stabilized somewhat, or at least they are not getting worse as quickly as they were before.

My job is somewhat physical, and requires a lot of driving as well as being in a sharp mental state. If/when I eventually have to take stronger meds, I may not be able to continue working. One of my fears is being too sick to work, but not sick enough to be considered "disabled". I have good disability insurance, but without even having a diagnosis from the doctors, how can I be approved for disability benefits?

I guess thats just one of many "Catch 22" situations this disease can put you in.

Very concerned. However, it gets to the point where u don't have a choice literally. Drs have been trying to put me on med for a year now and I refused. Now the pain is so bad I can't get into the dr fast enough to give me more meds.
I am young it, it scares me to death, but the pain will kill me too. I have to take a take a risk and hope that the meds will allow me to live longer than wthout them.

NO i am not worried because i dont take any drugs At All.

Like most everyone here I held off, debated but the monster won...yet, I still try to eat healthy and exercise () ....like you mentioned NSAIDs wasn't a choice; but I learned a long time ago, we don't always get the choice from good and bad, but bad and worse......

Yes Tunaboy, I am quite concerned about the long-term and short-term effects of the drugs, but I would be in sad shape without them and would not be able to live a fairly normal life. I suggest trying to reverse or stabilize PN symptoms using natural means, I believe your best chance of this is eating an organic whole plant food diet, call it 'vegan' if you wish, frequent exercise, stress management, and social support.

If you really feel the need to eat animal products then cold water fish is a good choice, grass-fed beef & milk, free-range chickens, but watch the definitions of the terms organic, grass-fed, free-range, as these are getting diluted all the time by legislation influenced by lobbyists working for corporations with very deep pockets. There is a lot of money to be made here in this. But I believe, and there is much evidence to support it, that we are better off without animal products.

One of the problems with relying on drugs is that you become complacent about actually doing something to improve your health. Sometimes you have to go to a very bad place before you are willing to make a change in lifestyle, and pain drugs usually prevent us from going to a very bad place.
Ron

No meds unless it's absolutely necessary. The only med I currently take daily is OTC Nexium for gerd related to a hiatal hernia and a nasal steroid due to chronic rhinitis. Oh and a Benadryl at bed time each night.


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I am in the same boat but perhaps a little farther down the river. I too was very healthy before this happened and I never took drugs, an occasional aspirin at the most. In retrospect, it may have contributed to my downfall that I did not supplement my vegan diet enough with at least a multivitamin.

I swore I would never take medication for my PN but as the second year rolled around and I realized it was not going away and the pain was intensifying, quality of life became number one and I realized I could not do it without medication.

My hope is that in the next few years something will come along, a breakthrough that will help treat or reverse damaged nerves so that long-term meds will not be necessary.

I took a low dose of gapapentin for about three months, but stopped. I wasn't sure it was helping, and the next step would have been upping the dosage. I decided I didn't want to go down that path yet.

I'll take meds if/when things became unbearable, but I'll put it off as long as possible. Meanwhile, I'm learning to be comfortable in my discomfort.

Oh, I should add, though, that I do make use of lidocaine patches when my feet are really bad.

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For NP I take ibuprofen. I have GERD as well but ibuprofen doesn't trigger it like aspirin does.