Now I'm crazy
 

I was communicating with my long time GP about the trial and error approach I have taken to determine what makes my feet burn and what gives me relief. I told him that it did seem strange that a narcotic would have some relief for my pain...being that it is nerve related. Would the Vicodin or the hydrocodone be better in the long run (knowing that neither is "good", and both addictive as all can be). He came back with..."Concerning the pain meds, there is only a percieved pain relief between the two."
Well....I guess he told me....nice to know that it is all in my head.

Jak, you do realize that hydrocodone IS the narcotic portion of Vicodin, right?
was he meaning the difference between brand and generic?

Oops
 

My bad....oxycodone.

ah, the oxy is considered stronger by most.....so i dont understand doc's opinion....and you do know what they say about opinions,lol

The pill or the bottle
 

Well...the feet were feeling awfully good the last two days. I had 3 bottles of beer last night. I also didn't take my nightly Lyrica. (Probably should not have done both at the same time). However, today the feet are NOT doing well. Burning...stabbing pain. I'm going to stay on the Lyrica, and avoid all alcohol for a month, and see what happens.

hey jac
 

Please take either pain pills tale Lyicra,dom't take to much of anything
and please no meds/ with beer or any boose with the meds,you burning
feet and everything else that makes you hurt,well your faimly loves you.
That Dr. is losing a nerve or 2. Hugs Sue:):):)

Thanks for the support. I will take your advice.

Jack,
I tole ya......I tell ya....ya don' listen!

Gotta keep Lyrica working 24/7.
(do not miss doses)
It is not an... 'as needed' med.
(Aspirin for headaches, is an 'as needed' med)

Hooch'll make them tootsies talk to ya ....... loud !

Yes you did. I'm just trying to pinpoint the X-factor for turning my feet into a burning funeral pyre. My wife even though that diet soda may be a contributing factor. I usually drink two cans a day. I skipped my dose at lunch and dinner last night (Lyrica). No alcohol....this morning? You could toast marshmellows on those two or three toes. It has never progressed beyond the point where I had the surgery. In fact, from the heel of my feet up to the ball of my feet...they are fine. But from the toes to the tips....yeow! Now, I took my Lyrica this morning.....they've settled down. I just would like to know if I stay off any substance going into my body, would the pain subside without the Lyrica. So frustrating.

Lyrica+beer+no no
 

I'd have to agree with your wife about the diet soda. However isn't Lyrica the med they say to NOT consume any alcohol?

I've been aspartame free for nearly a year now & am amazed how much my health has improved....especially the hair loss!

Curious to know if you take B12?

aspartic acid...
 

aspartic acid (from nutrasweet) and glutamate from MSG, both stimulate the nervous system, the receptors called NMDA receptors. These receptors report PAIN.

Magnesium is a antagonist.
Zinc also, and now melatonin, are also active in blocking this pain receptor:
http://www.ionchannels.org/showabstr...ium+NMDA+block

Ah yes, Aspartame. I do not tell this story in most circles, as I get "strange looks" from the people listening..........

I had severe lower back injuries when rear-ended in the fall of 1986. So bad I could not fly the last year of active duty in the Air Force. Fast forward ten years and I was drinking a lot of diet drinks. Two 44 ounce cokes a day (or Pepsi, whatever was available) and it caught up with me. I think it was a Friday when it felt like metal jaws were tearing the flesh off of my thigh bones (is that the Femoral Bone??). I called my Orthopod and told him what was going on, I could be ready for surgery in fifteen minutes. Never mind the operating room, I knew it would be booked, the back of my Chevy truck would be fine. Heck, the parking lot was ok by me. He told me it was not possible on such short notice and asked me several questions about my diet. DIET?? Holy Mother of God doctor, we have incredible pain here and YOU want to discuss my lunch menu??? Long story short, he told me Aspartame could cause such problems and if I were drinking a couple of 44 ounce drinks a day, that might do it. QUIT the aspartame. Under my breath I traced his ancestors to Darwin's "missing link" and was sure he got his license to practice medicine from a Wheaties box. My son-in-law runs a lab for a major Cancer Center and is into health food. He faxed me page after page of problems caused by Aspartame and convinced me to quit diet drinks all together. Aspartame was all that was available at that time. At least all I could find at a 7-11, etc.

By Tuesday the pain had went away and I quietly canceled my request for surgery. Heck, at its worst, amputation was becoming a thought...... now we all know I am exaggerating a little to make a point, but not as much exaggeration as you might think.

That was about ten years ago and I now drink Diet-Rite Soda, made my RC Cola (or whoever owns them by now). Other than that, I don't drink diet sodas. Period. I drink iced tea (no Equal) or I drink water.

I abused Aspartame and take the responsibility for it. Had I drank a couple of 12 ounce cans a day I might still be using it. I don't know. Every single one of us reacts differently to the environment around us. But if you have any doubts, research Aspartame and don't get blind sided. I don't trust any manufacturers of anything artificial. Anyone on this forum had darned well better start being a skeptic about anything we put into our bodies.
My personal problem is memory. I can't remember things very well, so when mrsD suggests some vitamin, I have to go back and read the thread a few times, write it down and then buy it. Frustrating for both of us, but if my body and brain were functioning normally I would not be perusing these threads for info.

I guess the old saying of, "We are what we eat (consume?)" was never more true.

Yes dllfo, i agree.

Neuropathy has given my some positive things. I thas made me aware of the impact anythin i put in or on my body can have. I now read every label in the products i buy and i avoid taking processed foods as much as i can.I am also careful with deodorant, creams, shampoos and so on. The trend of consuming good and healthy products is not present in Mexico. Some people say i am overreacting and being paranoid. I really don't care. I have read somethings they haven't. I try to avoid all artificial stuff around me. I try to avoid polluted environments as much as i can.

On the weekend i generally go away from the city to calmer places. Yesterday i did. I was inmersed in a pool of some special hot water that emerges from the ground. It has some minerals. It was very relaxing. Today i am feeling great! :), no pain at all!!!

Thanks for a wonderful post, dllfo! I can't stand Aspartame. Never could get past the taste.

I was using Splenda for the past year and after I quit smoking my body went haywire. Then I ran out of Splenda for a bit. I discovered that Splenda was causing blood sugar issues for me. Since I quit using it I've had only one episode of hypoglycemia in the past month or so when before and at it's worst it was every day if I wasn't extremely careful. It was such a dramatic change is why I noticed it. Needless to say I don't plan on going back to the Splenda. I may give the Stevia formulation a try when it becomes available because it's plant based.

Every person is different and some of us are more sensitive than others to things in our environments. I've learned to think about what's around me and what I'm putting into and onto my body, as Monica said, especially when I'm having a flare or if something odd is going on with my body. It's a slow process this learning that I'm more vulnerable than I ever supposed before. I'm learning what are sure triggers and I'm learning *how* to pay attention to my body at a level I wasn't even aware of before. It's kind of like learning to meditate I think in that I've had to learn to pay attention to things on a level I wasn't even really aware of before.

I do not drink or eat anything with any
artificial sweetener, whatsoever!
C&S with coffee, no substitutes in cooking or baking, either.
My wife is diet conscious (lost 50 lbs 3 yrs ago with Weight Watchers, and still goes to a 'weigh-in' once a month) and there is plenty of it in the house, but she doesn't have PN, thank goodness!
I won't touch artificial sweeteners.

Oh God! I can put down the beer....the wine (well, at least one glass every week or so). But, my diet Pepsi? I don't know if I can do that. I can cut down. There are days where I have 3 cans in a day, but no Diet Pepsi? You can only drink so much water. I don't drink coffee after 11 in the morning. I only have tea when I eat Oriental food, and my drinking 3 glasses of milk a day, ended when I was in my 30's. I will have cookies and milk, or chocolate cake and milk. But.....I would rather believe that alcohol is the main offender and not the artificial sweetener.

Only way to tell is trial & error, Jack......trial & error.
(LOTS of errors!)
BTW, if you can cut down on your diet Pepsi,
cut down...... and make it regular Pepsi for a trial period.

Even mixing it half and half, plus pour it over ice. That will help.

:hug:

Sugar and PN
 

Hey gang -

I guess I finally got that pepsi I drank Tuesday night out of my system...my hands and feet felt sooooo much better last night and again this morning. I only drank a half but boy did it did a number on me. That is absolutely the last time I backslide!!

Not to put too fine a point on it or anything--
 

--but sugar is a definite neuroexcitant. A number of artificial sweeteners, such as sorbitol, act that way as well.

For those of us with nerve damage already, a big sweet tooth is often a ticket to a flare.

We'd all be better off consuming less of that stuff, anyway, whether we have nerve damage or not.

I know we've got chocoholics, donut eaters--hey, I think I'm in recovery from Fig Newtons--but we should all try to be measured with our sweet treats (soft drinks included).

triggers..
 

I think triggers will vary from person to person, and maybe even day to day or week to week.

Our bodies are huge biochemical factories...a fact ignored by most medical people.

Because of this there are many variables going on inside us every day. Temperature, fatigue, low or high sugar, or presence of toxins, or foods that people cannot handle.

PN is not a condition where you can pop a pill on Monday and then go about and continue what upsets you.
Jakatak's posts illustrate this over and over. It has been years now that you, Jak, have been posting to us. We read that you are cured! That you don't take meds anymore. Then you say you take narcotics (for 4 years now), then a new narcotic, then you are cured, then your back is the cause, then it is not. You indulge in large amounts of high fat ice cream, or alcohol, and then post you are not doing well.

I will say I think that since you have been on narcotics for quite a while now, that you need to have some testosterone testing done. Opiates depress the hypothalamus and reduce production of male hormones (the effects for women are less studied). Many males benefit from supplemental testosterone, and then FEEL much better. Less nagging over discomforts, and better sexual functioning. So I'd really suggest you get that testing.
And also start working WITH your body, not against it. Things will get somewhat better when you listen to your body. IMO.

I will not respond to your post, other than to say...I am a human being struggling with a disease that I didn't have the first 54 years of my life. And yes....I have had a very difficult time dealing with it for the past 5 years. I've tried to be honest about my frailities and, for the first time....just expose how undisciplined I have been in attacking this problem. I'm working with my doctor on reducing my pain medication over a slow period of time, and this will be a long process, but I am working very hard at this. Prior to the onset of this disorder, I would hardly take an aspirin. I exercised daily, and took my good health for granted. I admit, I have not been the best patient, but I won't let anyone knock me down. I have eliminated most alcohol use...save for the very rare glass of red wine. I have had 5 days of almost being pain free and it is nice. I won't say anymore. I also won't say anything until I get "X" amount of time under my belt. I will provide comment when appropriate, but will not put myself on the line.