[StevenD]

Below is the link to an abstract in the January 2017 issue of "Gynecologic Oncology".

http://www.gynecologiconcology-onlin...569-4/abstract

It documents a study of laser treatments (vs sham treatments) on several people with chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN). The study was done by a company named Realief Neuropathy Centers and the Gynecological Oncology Clinic at the University of Minnesota. (Note: Realief does treat peripheral neuropathy due to any cause. Treating people with CIPN was done because that was the group made available to them for the study.)
The abstract does indicate improvement using the treatment but it does not follow up after treatment stops. I have a copy of the full article, but the abstract does include the key information.

I am only providing the information and the link. I am not endorsing laser treatments in general or Realief in particular. But I will relate my experience. Keep in mind that, as usual, it is unlikely this is covered by insurance.
So here is my experience with laser treatments. 5 years ago, when I developed neuropathy due to a negative reaction to Lipitor, I searched the web for help. This forum was one of the first things I found. But I also found the Relief Neuropathy website. At the time, they had two locations, one in St Louis Park, MN, and the other in Oro Valley, AZ. By the weirdest of coincidences, at the time I lived in St Louis Park, MN, and wintered in Oro Valley, AZ. I was tempted to think of this as a sign. But since I had yet to try any conventional treatments and I am somewhat suspicious of chiropractors offering unique procedures, I decided not to investigate.

About 3 years ago, I went to a pain clinic to get some Tramadol at least for the really bad days. They also offered laser treatments at $50 a session. I had 10 sessions. The session involved a nurse waving the laser at constant frequency over my feet for 20 minutes. I am sure she tried to be thorough, but there was no exact pattern to it. She just moved it around trying to cover all surfaces of my feet. I did get some improvement, but they didn't last long after the treatment stopped.

About 2 years ago, a friend of my wife told us about her son-in-law who had PN. She said he would crawl to the bathroom in the middle of the night. It was agreed that I could call him on the phone to chat. She said he got great results from Realief and thought they should win a Nobel prize. I got permission to call him. When I did, he did not talk much about sensory symptoms but he did have them. Instead he focused on the fact that he needed a walker and had to go up and down stairs one step at a time with both hands on the rail. After treatments Realief he said he no longer needed the walker and has little trouble with stairs.

This excited me so I decided to go check out Relief in Oro Valley (which is now my permanent home). The chiropractor took down my history and then tested me with pin pricks and a tuning fork. He plugged the data into his computer and the results recommended 14 treatments at a price of around $2200. He offered a 10% discount for payment in advance but said he would refund the difference at any point if I decided to cancel. (If you have neuropathy in your hands as well, the cost and/or number of treatments would most likely increase.)

The difference in treatments at Realief is that their K Laser is programmable. The proprietary software tells the operator how long to treat each part of the foot and it also automatically goes through several different frequencies. Realief continuously tries different things at their home office and adjusts the software accordingly if they find things that improve results. Another difference is that besides my feet, they also go over a part of my back, presumably where the peripheral nerves enters the spine.

After the treatments, I did not experience the miracle that our friend's son-in-law experience, but I may not be as bad. And as far as I know, I only have sensory issues, not motor issues. However, I did find that I experience much less comfort when wearing shoes. In reality, I am retired and wear fuzzy slippers around the house and lined Crocs at other times. The only times I wear tie shoes (tennis shoes) is the 3 days I grin and bear it and do an hour's worth of aerobic exercise (bike, treadmill). But even with that, the shoes come off the second I get home.

I am pretty sure I would lose what benefit I gained if I stopped treatments completely. So, now I still get a treatment once a month for $80 or a longer treatment for $120 after two months. I am lucky enough to be able to afford it, so I do it even though the benefit is small.

Both my first treatments at the pain clinic and my current treatments at Realief really fire up the nerves on the day of treatment. However, I find that 600 mg of gabapentin help them calm down. I can’t take gabapentin every day, but occasional use is helpful in situations like this.

In summary, the laser treatments only give me some small relief and do not appear to last more than a couple of months at most. Also, there probably are other places doing similar types of things with the laser so this is not an endorsement of Realief.