So if increased blood cirlcation improves his PN, makes me wonder if magnets could help him as they increase blood circulation to, i mean strong magnets rare earth magnets are cheap and do the job, about 3,000 gauss reading, works fine for me.
might be worth a try, never know.
Brian

I have the three balls in the magnassager, they pop out.

I'll take them out, put them on Alan's thighs and put something around it so they don't fall off.

Will update.

thanks so much.

Melody

P.S. I just googled poor circulation and a whole bunch of stuff came up on Peripheral Vascular Disease.
Now Alan was checked for that when he went years ago to Coney Island Hospital. The worst place in the world by the way. They did a doppler (or something down by his legs) and the guy said "you have 20%". That's all I can remember but the guy said "this is not what is causing the PN".

I copied and pasted.
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What causes poor circulation to the foot:
Poor circulation is most commonly caused by a progressive blocking of the arteries in the leg (athersclerosis). Those with diabetes are more likely to develop poor circulation to the foot. Other risk factors for developing poor circulation include a lack of physical activity,smoking, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

The effects of poor circulation (peripheral vascular disease) on the foot:
The biggest affect of poor circulation on the foot, is that its problems (such as sores, infections, cuts, etc) develop, they do not heal as well as they should. In many cases they do not heal at all without special care. The reason for this is that the blood carries vital elements (eg oxygen) that the bodies tissues need for vitality and healing.

Treatment of poor circulation:
Poor circulation can be treated by your doctor or vascular surgeon in a number of ways:

* Good control of the blood glucose level is very important if diabetes is present.

* Other risk factors - such as lack of exercise; high blood pressure; smoking; and high cholesterol levels also need to be addressed.

* Drugs can be used to prevent the blood clotting (antiplatelet agents and anticoagulants).

* Angioplasty can be used to enlarge the narrowed peripheral arteries.

* A vein from another part of the body can be used to bypass the narrow or blocked artery can be used by the vascular surgeon.
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Now, I know that this is a stretch, but the fact that Alan had to get a stent in his chest because of a blockage, and because when I massage his thighs and his calves, he goes to heaven, could this be a POSSIBILITY!!!!


Now Alan is already going to the gym, he lost weight, he's on plavix, and I have no idea if indeed they will find out it's his circulation (BECAUSE ULTIMATELY IT HAS TO BE SOMETHING THAT IS DOING THIS?', right??

I'm sure whichever doctor he goes to now will test him for Peripheral Vascular disease. Is there a definitive test so that when the doctor gets the results, he will go : "Aha, Alan, now we know, this is what you have". or OH SHOOT, YOU DON'T HAVE IT!!!"

Thanks guys,
Melody

I don't think the Magnassager balls are magnetic themselves. The unit is an electromagnet
field producer, and hence moves the balls around.
That is why it is so heavy.

Brian,
There is an MRI now that shows what's going on when you are standing up. It is actually called a standing MRI. I just found out about it.

Billye

Well, so much for the balls!!!!!

lol

Melody

Yeah, Mel......leave Alan's balls alone ..... !! LOLOL

As for the Lyrica, I take it and have no ill effects.
IMHO, its great, but I didn't have any problems with Neurontin either.
I've heard both sides- some who couldn't tolerate Neurontin, do OK & now swear by Lyrica.......and some who took Neurontin OK, can't take the s/e of Lyrica. I guess ya gotta try it to see what happens- a 50/50 shot?.

Thats interesting, i never knew they had vertical ones now, so there might be something to it after all.
I have had 3 MRI's thats going back a few years, they were terrible then, like being stuck in a sewer pipe for what feels like an hour or so,, but i believe they are a lot better these days and you can actually see a lot more of whats going on outside, i believe.
thanks for the info Billye

The stand up MRI is by a company called Fonar.

http://www.fonar.com/patient/

I am patiently waiting for one to come to my city. ...Sue

Melody, when my feet hurt at their worst, at their very worst, applying pressure to them would help. I came to think of it this way. There's really nothing going on in the foot to cause the pain fibers to be firing; if I could send a REAL signal back via sensory fibers, it replaced whatever defective one my brain was getting. So a foot massage would remove the pain.

Even now, I think that replacing one sensation with another is sometimes adequate for a LOT of pain. For my back, for instance, I use a TENS unit at times. It sends a pleasant buzzing feeling. When its firing, it overtakest he pain sensations. That's kind of the theory behind it.

But physical therapy, myofascial release, mainly, has lead to real improvement in my neuropathy. And I had TOS until my PT worked under the armpit and freed those nerves. I do think compression is an under-rated cause of nerve decline, and it's incredibly important to never stop validating our own experiences and what we can learn from them.

If relieving pressure helps Alan, it might help again. If rubbing and massaging help, that's good to know. (I have a friend who just bought himself one of those compressive calf and foot massagers, kind of like what they use in the hospital.)

Good luck.

About three years ago, Alan's sister bought him one of those things that you pull over your legs and onto your feet. You pump it up, and the you turn it on and it's like an air compressor.

When we saw it on the infomercial we told her and she's the kind of person, if you tell her you saw something, the next day you find it in your mailbox.

Believe me, I've received food processors, leg warmers, gloves, (oh yeah, last month it was a clock radio),WHATEVER!!

She has to be the most generous woman on the planet.


So we get this thing (I think they called them air compressor boots, or something like that). The purpose when you them on, is that they compress different parts of your legs at different stages. I can't fully remember but it seemed like a good idea at the time.

Well, he puts them on, turns them on and they do their thing and Alan looks at me and says "what is this supposed to do for me". I burst out laughing. It did absolutely nothing. We returned them, and she got a refund.

I can't wait till the next thing arrives.

Two weeks ago, I must have mentioned something about Alan and slippers and no sooner do we go to the birthday party on Saturday and we are downstairs, does she whip out two pairs of mens slippers for Alan. and two magazines for me. And a necklace and pair of earrings for my birthday. She always says to me "my brother would be dead if it werent' for you".

I just stared at her. She is one amazing lady.

So I'lll just continue to massage his thighs and calves. It really does make a difference. I don't want to do his feet because he gets ulcers and I don't want him to bleed.

be well
melody