To my knowledge, PN has nothing to do
with memory loss or cognitive abilities.
That is definitely a s/e of the meds.

Nide, I was thinking of M.S. when I mentioned cognitive abilities, I am not leaning toward thinking I have M.S. though.
The rheumatologist called me Monday morning and he was very vague, he said "a lesion measuring 6x14 mil. mumble mumble, not really large, atypical of M.S., hmm but still doesn't rule that out, mumble, mumble. evidence of demylation, radiologist recommends further testing given symptoms. Well Janna I don't know much about the brain so I am sure Dr. Lindsay will go over this with you and even show you the pictures. I don't feel qualified to answer any questions, he is the neurologist. so keep those for him. And quit smoking, you know I am going to nag you every time I see you, let me know if you need additional help with that."
Dost thou leave me so dissatified, so I get to wait nine more days to get the real picture from neuro. In the meanwhile I am starting a journal of symptoms and pain so I know what to ask, I hate to focus on this but I think a journal will help me remember things like the ends of my fingers going numb and then "zinging" every time I touched something. All I want is a definitive answer, I hate being idiopathic, it is like not knowing your enemy!
I'll keep you posted and by all means let me know if you think of questions I should ask and I am always open to suggestions.
Janna

Idiopathic is frustrating. Knowing the cause is a kind of 'closure'.
Since there are over 200 known causes for PN, finding the right one
can be a 'needle in haystack' search. Endless testing to see that you are negative, since it is a process of elimination.
No one test finds a smoking gun.
But ideopathic or not, the treatments and meds are 95-99% the same !
Since there are about 75 meds currently Rx'd for PN - take your pick.
We are all different. We respond differently.
Same with response to the Rebuilder, TENS, Rejuvenator, etc.
But you must have a specialist neuro who has many satisfied PN patients.
Most neuros don't 'cut the mustard'.(no matter what they say- ask for patient referrals and ask the receptionist & nurse to tell you, about how many PN patients the doc sees - not 'a lot' but an actual estimate of numbers)
Good luck on your search.

I do believe I posted earlier in this thread and will reiterate that...IF you feel outta a tree as a kid, or got a concussion in a car accident or whatever even YEARS ago...those things do show as 'lesions'. That is why it is important to get and find keep hoard whatever copies of your prior films and reports on that brain of yours.
A few years ago I'd had a MRI and the 'readers' asked me about 'accidents' .. It'd been soo long ago [15+/-] years I really had to think about it? You tend not to think that things that long ago can affect you now? Once I recalled a solid concussion and how I'd fallen etc...the docs just went...OK That's that ... but we will 'watch' it. Essentially it means, that if IF you fell off the rocking horse in front of the K-Mart when you were 10 years old...YEPPERS it'll show up now. Key here to keep in mind, is that those 'lesions' do not change! Who could ask for more?
I agree with Many that you should see a specialist...but depending on where you live a GOOD or KEY specialist might not be available.... While a good NEURO PN specialist is ideal, often they aren't available? Maybe consider [and Bob please don't condemn me here?] a MS specialist? They are familiar with the old DEMEYELINATION word and could rule out MS fairly readily...maybe steer you to someone who can really zero in and help treat you. Honestly I don't think a Rheumy or an Immunologist will be much use with the whole NERVE issue, unless they are surprisingly enlightened?
There are docs out there who can help! Trick is finding them! 's and HOPE! - j

Also, just a thought. One type of specialist that hardly
anyone thinks of, is a physiatrist, usually found under sports medicine.
But if you can get one who has experience with neurological problems,
it could help.
Their job is to see the whole picture and coordinate between
all of your docs, meds & tests.

Re: Physiatrist

At Methodist, Alan was referred to a Physiatrist by his neurologist. I had never heard of such a specialist before.

We were able to get in that same day.

She looked at Alan, watched how he walked, stood on his toes, his heels (whatever Physiatrists do.....this was a LONG time ago).

But the interesting thing was that she asked him if he had been at Ground Zero on 9/11.. Alan told her "no, I have had neuropathy much longer than 7 years".

She said: "do you know how many of my patients were there on 9/11?" And how many have come down with neuropathy??"

There HAS to be some correlation here. Exposure to toxic materials, etc.???

I DO NOT HAVE M.S. I have a bit of gray matter where white matter should be, probably happened as a baby when I started separating the gray matter from the white matter. Other than that, my brain is in pretty darn good shape for my age....I've lived long enough to have "for my age" added to conversations....ugh.
He agreed with Dahlek, my zings are probably from stopping lexapro, he wants me to take the lesser dosage of 10mg. for awhile and come back in a month.
On the very bright side, we mortgaged the farm and bought a Catalina swim spa, it is 1/3rd hot tub, 2/3rd's swim spa. Hubby has rheumatoid and I can't handle the heat but I love water exercise. It is going on our back deck, we poured concrete yesterday, the crane is setting the tub on Thursday and by Friday after work I should be in heaven. We were very nervous about more debt but hey with our health we might not have the golden years so we better make the best of it now. I feel so excited I have been wanting this for years...