pn at my wits end
 

pn pain in both feet numb burning hot then cold taking lyrica helps but puts me into a fog cant work taking so have to put up with pain must work to live help iamso confused as what to do thanks

Hi John7685,

The short answer is: Start reading. There's a LOT of good information, links, experience, and advice on this site going back years from people like us - the sufferers. No guarantees, but probably/possibly better answers/info than you may get from your docs.

Do you have a specific dx?
Do you know the specific cause or is it "idiopathic"?
Tried any other meds, supplements, therapies, treatments?

Welcome aboard!

Doc

Dear Dr Smith
 

[QUOTE=Dr. Smith;737274]Hi John7685,
I live in a small town in Australia, not much choice of doctors, i am 55 year old male and symptoms came in one foot then the other one in a matter of weeks at Christmas time. General health good, not diabetic, good blood pressure, work hard in a physical job. Doctor seems to think its idopathic. What supplements and help could anyone please suggest.

Hi -

For starters, near the very top of this PN home page on the right hand side is a link that says Peripheral Neuropathy Supplements.

Read the list of what KWinkler is taking, and what MrsD says in response. MrsD is the supplements guru at this forum.

Good luck, and hope you can start a regimen of at least some of them soon. If you send a private message to MrsD, she can recommend the dosages for each.

I've really been helped by taking some supplements; namely B12 as methylcobalamin, B1 as benfotiamine, CoQ10, R-alpha lipoic acid. If you can't get them where you live, MrsD can suggest good on-line brands.

Good luck,

Sheltiemom

Hello John, and welcome to NeuroTalk.

Can you think carefully what might have triggered you so quickly.

1) what drugs were you taking then? Any and all drugs.

2) did you injure your foot somehow?

3) did you get a vaccine injection?

4) Were you ill with an infection or virus?

5) were you exposed to chemical fumes or solvents.

6) do you drink alcohol excessively?

7) do you smoke?

8) have you had blood work at the doctor? Has he/she tested your B12 and Vit D3 levels? what are they? (don't accept general statements like "normal". Get your real numbers).

Can you tell us about yourself? Age, habits, type of work, other general health details?

Im at my wits end
 

Mrs D - Thanks for your reply. Have taken 2x20m Cipramil for approx 7-8 yrs; I have had Planter Fasciitis in my right heel this time for approx 6 months, I have also had it in the past many years ago. I have very high arches and I wear orthotics. Had 2 cortisone needles in the last 6 months. Have had no other vaccinations or injections and have had no infections or viruses. I am a non drinker and a non smoker, a little overweight, try to eat healthly, have no added salt, work out in the gym 3 days a week, have normal blood pressure. When I think about it I sprayed under my house before Christmas with Chlorpyrifos to kill cockroaches. I did not think to mention this to my Dr. I have had extensive blood tests done - B12, D3, Thyroid, cholesterol, full sugar test. Have not got the figures but he said they were all within acceptable range. Have a nerve conduction test last Friday, will get the resuts this coming Friday. I am a 55 yr old male and work outdoors at doing a variety of physical tasks. My work does not have exposure to any chemicals or fumes. I can never sit still and am always outside working in the garden or doing something. I have always been a worrier and stress out easily and this condition is certainly doing that. The supplements I have taken for approx 20 yrs are 1000mg Vitamin C, Mens multi vitamin and Vitamin B complex. Since getting this condition I take 1 Coenzyme Q10 150mg and 2000mg fish oil tablets. I have also ordered over the net some Benfotiamine 150MB Multi-B Neuropathy Support Formula capsules. What dose would you recommend to take? The Dr prescribed Lyrica 75mg 3 times a day but I cannot function taking this dose, so to function I take 25mg 5 times a day. This seems to hold the pain off at a manageable level at the moment. I seem to manage the pain better while at work than I do at home at weekends. I think it would be best to work as long as possible with this condition. Instead of taking 2 Cipramal the Dr substituted one of my Cipramil tablets for 1 Endep 10 at night. The numbness started on my right foot across my toes about 2 weeks before Christmas. As I have had back trouble in the past I thought I had sciatica. I went and had Chiropractic treatment but it did not help. The numbness turned into burning or freezing cold in a matter of a week and quickly spread to my left foot. The Dr gave me a CT scan of my back. The result was "History: Paraesthesia, bilateral distal feet. Report: The lumbar vertebrae abnormal alignment. There are some degenerative changes at the L4/5 and L3/4 levels and to the facet joints and narrowing of the spinal canal adjacent to the disc. It is unlikely these changes cause a spinal stenosis as the epidural fat space is preserved. There may be some impingement of marginating nerve rootlets in the lateral recesses, but this is poorly assessed on CT and MR would be more appropriate investigation. There is no significant impingement of existing nerve roots at the spinal foraminae. The bones otherwise have normal appearances". Any help re medications and supplements to help me would be very greatly appreciated.

"I am a non drinker and a non smoker, a little overweight, try to eat healthy, have no added salt, work out in the gym 3 days a week, have normal blood pressure."

and then we have people like Keith Richards 70, smoking 60 a day and probably a bottle of scotch.

P/N can be totally unfair.

problem is it seems just about anything can trigger P/N :(

Good luck with your journey :)

My PN is from ? and I have been so tested and it started at 28. Anyhow have you been tested for auto immune conditions?What about mris? Anything you may have not thought of during life as being a big deal but may make a connection? For ex for myself before I developed rsd/pn for 2 years I was sick every other month with a fever. I also had severe tight calves. At the time I thought it was weird and went to the doctors for both but nothing was done. In the mean time while waiting for a concrete dx are they helping you with your symptom relief?

John, first off you really need the numbers from your B12 test and D3.

The labs for B12 typically go down to 180 or 200 which is very low.
Anything below 400 needs to be treated. Same with D3. Some labs report 30 as normal (it is for rickets only) but optimum levels are much higher for health.

I'll look up that chemical...as it seems suspect to me, and get back to you.

That insecticide has potential for causing nerve damage. It is an organophosphate, and typically should wear off with time.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7531775

It may be that you were developing this anyway, and the insecticide pushed you over the edge. But I would consider it as a possible trigger.

Please for your sake get the numbers for your B12 and D3. If you are low in B12, the insecticide may have affected you more than if it were higher.

And--
 

--I do think you need a lower back/sacral MRI, to really visualize possible nerve compression there.

One of the nasty thing about neurologic symptoms is that one can get the exact same symtpoms from systemic conditions (i.e., diabetes, autoimmunities) that one can from more local ones (i.e., spinal compression), and these can be felt in the exact same place even if they don't "begin" there.