Hi Elise,

So sorry to hear about your boyfriend. I can only imagine his emotional struggles. I too was once incredibly active, and feel somewhat fortunate that I was hit with the neuropathy later in life. I would have been devastated at his age. Not that I'm happy about it now, mind you, but at least it didn't hit me in my prime. I certainly pass no judgement on him. (I'm also an engineer by the way.)

In addition to the CBD oil, I would suggest getting him on a high quality fish oil to supply good doses of Omega 3 oils. There's pretty good evidence that they're neuroprotective and may aid with healing. And yes, nerves can heal...it just takes time. If it helps, here's the fish oil I get from Amazon:

Amazon.com: Viva Naturals Omega 3 Fish Oil Supplement, 18 Capsules - Highly Concentrated Fish Oil Omega 3 Pills, Burpless, 2,2mg Fish Oil/serving (14mg of EPA & 48 mg of DHA): Health & Personal Care

It's definitely ok to have hope. My symptoms are much more tolerable than they were when I first got hit. I think back on those days, and it's like night and day. The anxiety and stress associated with the sudden onset made it 1000 times worse. Try to encourage positive thoughts that it WILL get better so his anxiety might lessen and all the horrible stress hormones reduce.

If he's like me, meditation would be be difficult, but I do try it just to relax when I'm flaring. I put on my favorite calming music, and just try to let go.

Best of luck to you both. Please let us know he's doing.

Janie

Hi!

I just wanted to thank everyone for the incredibly thoughtful replies. I'm a bit slow with getting back to things right now because its my finals period, but the advice was very helpful and its just nice to not feel alone in this.

Definitely been reading through the supplement thread. We're waiting on bloodwork before adding anything beyond the multivitamin. He's going to try THC/CBD tonight to see how that helps. Melatonin didn't seem to work, but I think we're gonna try valerian root tea to see how that works. Also, we both got tens units- super helpful. It gives him some relief in the short term, enough to get a nap in and that makes a huge difference since sleep isnt really happening much.

Things are still pretty rough. He had a really good week last week, was walking around the house a bit (the standing pain had gone) and even went to a holiday party with my family. But now, the pain is back with a venegence and he had a pretty bad panic attack because he thought it meant he was getting worse. From my perspective, there is so much improvement since November and since I first posted here- but I think its really hard to see on a day to day for him. I think biggest hurdle for him is the emotional toll this is taking- he feels like a stranger in his own body. I'm trying to let him have space to grieve and be angry at all this while reminding him that the pain is going to fluctate and its all part of the process and to hold on hope.

Also, thank you for the tip about the foot balm- his feet have been really dry and I'm worried the skin will start cracking so its another good reason to use it.

Hope the THC/CBD is helping. It helps me. CBD on its own does nothing for my constant antagonizing pain but combined with low THC, it at least takes my mind off of it and elevates my mood.