Hello, writing from near Inverness, UK...Second Post,...very new to the Board.
I would welcome some comment/suggestions/opinion/advice......your Contributions, that I've read, on PN and everything related, seem to have created an Oasis in a Neuro Desert......thank you so much........ I will try to be brief but clear..

I've copies of MrsD, Liza Jane and Wing 42..(your Supplement Lists) and I'm keen to try the CoQ10, Acetyl L-Carnitine (basically, the supps route) but I am staying aware of the advice that there is no "one-size-fits-all" answer....I would be grateful for comment from any/all who generously/helpfully shared their Lists....

I Take no Meds (gradually stopped Antidepressant Mirtazapine prescription from Doc, (given as a matter of course to Idiopathic Neuropathy Patients in UK), I am 60, 165lbs, 6'1", non-Diabetic, not taking Chemo, not in any Pain now (Cervical Pain for 1st 4-5 months, then stopped..........)..and I know that so many "NeuroTalk" Contributors are struggling with Pain along with the PN........
only Symptom I experience is the overall, very,very slowly progressing Numbness.........feel I've really got to do "something," take advice and act...before it worsens....

initially all left side.....but now...quite intensely.... in both Feet, both Legs, Left Arm,Hand/Fingers (revived Music Career now trashed, as a result), gradually, numbness has slowly appeared in Right Hand/Fingers since January2008..nothing like the numbness intensity of the left hand fingers, so far....

I have been diagnosed with "Idiopathic Peripheral Neuropathy", caused on 1st August 2007, by 30-40mins, bent down to my left side, doing physical, repetitive", "Tugging" and pulling work, to remove a 6ft by 15ft swathe of Stubborn, thick, Bush-like, weed-roots...a lot of repetitive effort on each, individual root clump.....
Caused upper-left, Cervical pain (neck) within weeks of the "causal activity", but now gone, no other pain.
Various Tests, Cervical MRI, X-ray etc. have not shown the site or a cause that could be Treated......hence the Idiopathic tag, of course...

Just not over-confident about how to proceed....

thank you for all the input I have read, so far....

Ray

Hi Ray: Any new symptoms should be reviewed by your Dr again. The numbness is awful and frustrating. But it could stem from a new issue or your PN is increasing. Dont ever hesitate to get a re-exam.

It can be viral attack....

Thanks for your reply....my original post was too long and unclear, I think.....I am simply trying to get opinion/info/advice as to whether the Supplements Route will be worthwhile pursuing when my Neuropathy has been caused Physically...30-40mins of repetitive pulling/tugging (non-disease caused)..not caused be Disease or Treatment of Disease...

ie Non-Diabetic, Non-Chemo (ie for Cancer etc) Non-Med (ie for other disease conditions)...only Major Symptoms are: Foot,leg,arm,hand Numbness, asssociated Balance problems and fatigue (from ME/CFS since childhood, which did'nt initiate the Neuropathy problem, though does'nt help it)...
I don't know what the NHS here in UK would re-exam...my Doc is of no help, says I might be stuck with it and previously dished out Antidepressants (I've stopped them)...when I'm looking for a Treatment Initiative for the real Problem....that's why I've begun Posting on Neuro Talk.

Thank you for your reply Posting.....Not quite sure exactly what a Viral attack is or what it involves....ie what would cause it.....how would I Test for it......

The initial Neuropathy seems to have been caused by prolonged, Repetitive Physical Activity but I am interested in other possible Causal explanations.....Viral cause never occurred to me.....in what way might I have acquired a viral cause of the problem? ie Air-borne, perhaps?

Ray

--of a neuropathy that results from prolonged physical labor is that the nerve compromise stems not from distal peripheral nerves, but from a spinal cord or nerve root mechanical compression. The latter is still considered a peripheral neuropathy, and is termed a radiculopathy--and is certainly a possibility.

Have your had imaging of your ENTIRE spine done, to look for compression? And exactly where are your symptoms now?

Thanks so much for your helpful reply....

Apart from a couple of Initial X-Rays and a Scan of my Frontal Brain....
The only "SPINE RELATED IMAGING" that I have had, has been one MRI SCAN of the CERVICAL (NECK) AREA.....

Presumably this was the only area focused on, because initially, though not immediately, I had begun to experience Pain, during night hours, in the upper left-central NECK..........(this stopped within a few months)...

WHERE ARE MY SYMPTOMS NOW?...The Main SYMPTOMS seem still to be NO PAIN ANYWHERE... but "WIDESPREAD, HEAVY NUMBNESS"..., BOTH FEET,BOTH LEGS,LEFT ARM,HAND/FINGERS, SOME LEFT-BODY, (RIGHT HAND NOT AS INTENSELY NUMB AS LEFT) RIGHT ARM MOSTLY NOT VERY NUMB YET......ALSO FEEL AS IF MENTALLY/PHYSICALLY "DRUNK" WHEN ON FOOT..DIFFICULTY IN WALKING (USE A STICK) TIRE VERY QUICKLY......

I was simply told, with a kind of irritated attitude, that Nothing was found from any imaging work, or any other tests (blood) that would show a "Cause" of the problem....

WOULD "IMAGING OF THE ENTIRE SPINE" BE A HUGELY EXPENSIVE EXERCISE, WHEN DONE AT A PRIVATE FACILITY?

.....THE "GENERAL PRACTICE" DOCTOR I'M SIGNED WITH CURRENTLY, DISCOURAGED ME FROM HAVING MORE SCAN IMAGING!? WHEN I SUGGESTED HIM REFERRING ME (necessary procedure) TO THE "COBALT APPEAL" FACILITY,I DISCOVERED ONLINE, BASED IN Cheltenham,England (Staffed by NHS Professionals with prices I could afford), IMPLYING, THOUGH NOT CLEARLY EXPLAINING, THAT IT WOULDN'T BE WORTHWHILE, WOULD'NT HELP WITH WHAT I WAS DEALING WITH!? ....

IT'S LIKE.."IT'S IDIOPATHIC, OUR HOSPITAL FACILITY TESTING CAN'T SHOW THE CAUSE..THEREFORE WE CAN'T/(ARE NOT GOING TO).. DO ANYTHING FURTHER"......OR HELP YOU MOVE ON FURTHER!!?......that's how it comes across to me!!
SO DEPRESSING........but it sems that this is what PN patients are still having to deal with...all the time....and we've just got to keep on pushing past it and sharing, in order to overcome it...

I apologise if this has all been too much info.....I feel that I'm close to a way forward and still learning how to edit.....
thanks again for your valuable help.....

Ray

--that getting a full MRI series of the spine--cervical, thoracic, lumbar--through a private clinic would be very expensive. But given your symptoms, I don't know why the NHS should be putting up such a fight over this (other than being cheap). The doctors there have to know that extremity weakness is nothing to trifle with, and that it can stem from problems anywhere along the spinal cord, as well as from factors that may be affecting peripheral nerves. (It is one of the sad aspects of neurological symptoms that the investigations into them are long and expensive, as very similar symptoms can result from widely divergent causes.)

If standard neurological testing is showing muscle weakness--and by that I mean the simple pushing, twisting, balance movements all neuros should have you perform as part of a normal exam--they really should be delving into this in more detail.

Sounds like this could have been a job for a Chiropractor early in the piece after the initial insult - however not sure how beneficial that would be now. Perhaps so!

I'd direct you to this site, which is excellent..

http://www.ahummingbirdsguide.com/

This site is run by the daughter of a member of Neurotalk.

Your symptoms sound like Guillaine Barré syndrome. This is brought on by vaccines, or viral illnesses.

I am tending to think your problem has to do with some viral problem. Something you had, that was reactivated.
Viruses do reactivate when you are low in immune status.

Taking some zinc daily may help. I don't know what you have over there, but zinc monomethionine is the easiest to tolerate.

Viruses and vaccines are notorious triggers for some neuro problems. Since you don't show obvious pathology on testing, viruses remain an option.