Gadget that MIGHT help Neuropathy in feet
 

I am ALWAYS looking for that one thing that Alan can strap on, that will bring the blood into his feet so the PN pain will go away. Alan will go to Brookstone and sit in their massage chair and he says "ah, the pain is gone" but who can afford a $3000 chair?

The one thing he used to do while sitting on the couch watching tv is to hold one of those Homedics big vibrating things and put it on his thigh and as he said: "it brings the blood into my feet and it makes the pain MUCH better"

But he has burned out two of those things in about 5 years.

So I once said to him "wouldn't it be great if they invented a thing that you can strap on to your legs (or your feet) and plug it in and it would shake your legs so the desired effect would happen (he has no circulation problems by the way, this has been checked numerous times).

And whenever I massage him, and I do it the correct way, the blood (this is what he says is happening, honestly, I don't know if he's right) but he says the blood goes into his feet and the pain is gone.

So today I'm on youtube and I find this video on THE SLENDER SHAPER.

Take a look

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PInGBOt0flQ

Now forget about the abs, forget about losing weight, just look at the part of the videos (there are two times in this particular video where ANYONE WITH NEUROPATHY, will know the point I'm trying to make)

There is a part in the video where this Slender Shaper is on the person's calves. This gadget oscillates so it produces the same effect that his Homedic thing did.

And toward the end of the video the guy is talking about putting it on his feet and you can see (when he has it on his feet), you can see the feet shaking so naturally I'm thinking "anyone with PN in their feet that has the shooting pins and needles, and well, THIS THING JUST MIGHT HELP.

Let me know what you all think.

I'm going to see how much this gizmo costs.

melody

I do isometric exercises in bed, that I learned in PT and they help too... and are free!

Contracting a muscle, hold it for 5-10 sec and release. Do ten times. Works great on moving blood and lymph fluids around.

Hi, I just asked Alan if he ever does isometric exercises and I described what you do. He said "oh I've done that, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't."

I gather this gadget is for the person who it either doesn't work for, doesn't want to try isometric exercises or who just wants to lay on a couch, watch tv and have a gadget do it FOR HIM.

lol

Hey, it if works!!!!!!

Mel

Hi. Well, Alan got all excited when I brought him over to the computer and showed him the video. It's up on Amazon for $42.00 and they say it's in stock.

He's not convinced. He just said "There are no reviews that anyone has used this, how do I know it's not going to break in 3 months". I said "there are no reviews because no one has bought it for neuropathy". The one person who bought it on Amazon said it never arrived so they never got a chance to review it but they did get their money back.

I myself have purchased stuff from Amazon and never had a problem. This thing is also up on ebay but it's like $64.00 with free shipping.

Alan just said "Run this by the people on the PN board, I want to know if they would buy it".

So that's the next step.

Anybody???

lol

Melody

I would try if it!

I saw this online
http://www.scientifictherapy.com/index.htm

Never heard of it. Wounder if anyone has.

Hi.

I have heard of Scientific therapy but you have to go to a doctor's office and you have to find out if your insurance would cover it, etc. etc.

But this thing, well you are in the comfort of your own home, and if it sends the blood flowing to the feet, well, anyway, I just wrote to the guy who is selling this on Amazon and I wrote him all of Alan's concerns. Let's see if he answers.

Melody
P.S. Anyone else ??????

Hi Melody,

What's the "correct" way? We've been running an experiment for a couple weeks now. When we get up in the morning, my wife spends some time on the floor playing with the dog while having her first cuppa java, and while doing that, she massages my left foot for 15 minutes or so. After this couple weeks, there's a noticable difference - I'd say 25 - 33%. We have no idea what we're doing or if there's a "correct way" that might work even better. I am in a quandry whether to switch feet to even things out or to see how far I can take it on the one foot before switching, but that's minor.

I've read your subsequent posts and they are giving me some ideas. I think I'll look around the house and see what we've already got that vibrates. If that works sufficiently, (and doesn't terrorize the dog too much) I'd probably consider investing in something more specific.

Thanks for the idea.

Doc

isometric exercize on the lower half of my legs leads to cramping. the lower the more cramping. when i try my toes its hard to get them to release.

I don't do the toes... but I do work the ankles and calves, in addition to thighs, and gluts. Taking magnesium daily helps with cramping. It loosens the muscles so they can relax better.

If you don't eat magnesium rich foods, I'd consider taking a supplement. You might be very surprised!

I understand the toes---my left foot, has toe issues if I am not careful. (the two middle toes--and when they cramp...they hurt like the devil!)

As soon as I saw Dr. Smith I immediately thought of Jonathan Harris (oh the pain , the pain). Love your name. Loved Lost in Space.

Now back to massages.

The reason I seem to know what I'm doing (and I would NEVER tell anyone else to do this) is because I began doing this years ago even before he saw his chiropractic neurologist. One day while my husband was there for an appointment, I had to show the doctor exactly what I did. The doctor looked at me, looked at Alan and said "wow, she seems to know what she is doing".

What do I do?

I take my elbow, I put it on his lower back and I press all the way up. Kind of like a chiropractic adjustment. Sometimes I do this and sometimes I just give him a regular old massage. Shoulders, back, upper and lower, calves (He loves this) but I'm careful because I know that you can get blood clots from massaging calves so I don't do it hard nor do I do it all the time. Just once in a while on the calves. But actually most of my massage is his lower back.

If you have ever seen one of those expensive massage chairs at the malls or Brookstone, sit in it and you'll have the same reaction as my husband. He goes absolutely bonkers. If we won the lottery tomorrow, the day after he would be buying that chair. When we go to the Neuropathy support group meetings once a month, we always get to NYC two hours earlier. First we go to Brookstone, and he tries all their massage chairs and their lumbar this and lumbar that. He LOVES this. I would NEVER do that to my back. When I go for a pedicure, they always want to turn on this massage roller thing that goes up and down the back. NOT FOR ME. I always say thank you. I don't like anything going up and down my back. My husband is completely different than I am.

I also do rolfing on his upper back. Very hard to do. I saw it on Dr. Oz and began doing it to Alan once in a while but hey, you have to have the hands of an iron worker and I don't. So basically it's my elbow on his lower back, and I take the other hand and push into his back. Then I go up his back continuing with the elbow. Been doing this for YEARS. It's the only thing that helps his discomfort (for want of a better word).

Also, about this Slender Shaper thing. I said to Alan. "I know you and I know the kind of pain you have been in for 18 years and if you were in that kind of pain right now, you'd buy this in two minutes flat". He said "you're absolutely right. My feet are completely numb, my nerves on dead and yeah, I have pain, but not like two years ago. If I had seen this thing two years ago, I would have jumped at it."

It's not his motor nerves because he walks fine. It's the sensory nerves. And he's not diabetic. And it's still idiopathic.

Anyway, hopefully someone will post and say "Melody, tell Alan to buy this gizmo".

lol
Melody