small fibre priphral neuropathy treatment in New Zealand
 

I have recently returned to live in New Zealand and I suffer from small fibre peripheral neuropathy. My GP has written me a letter so that I an go to the Greenlane pain clinic at Auckland hospital. Does anyone know anything about this clinic and whether they are really effective at treating neuropathic pain or am I just getting my hopes up for nothing?
Are there any support groups in NZ for neuropathy? I'd love to hear from some fellow sufferers as my family really don't know where I'm coming from and are having problems getting their heads around the concept of neuropathic pain!!:cool:

Hi Cazzie,
I'm not sure if you ever check back here or get this message, but I saw your post earlier when I was looking for something else and saw "New Zealand" and went for a look.

There is a Peripheral Neuropathy Support Group on the North Island but it's way down in Lower Hutt.

I found that on the New Zealand health and disability support and information groups for rare and common disorders website.
http://www.nzord.org.nz/support_groups

They have an email. Maybe you could contact them and ask about your area.

This is the website for the Neurological Foundation of N.Z. and it appears to come from Auckland Hospital so that may be a place to check too.
http://www.neurological.org.nz/

I hope you're able to find some support over there.
Ask at Auckland Hospital.

- Lara (Aussie)

Thank you Lara, I will contact both of them and see how I fare:hug:

Hi Cazzie
Just came across your post from back in Jan. so hope this catches up with you. I'm in NZ - just down the road in Waikato.
Hope you're making progress with treatment for your SFPN.
I'm guessing you've had your appt. at Greenlane Hospital pain clinic by now - like most NZ hospital's the treatment standards at Greenlane should be okay - although it can be dependent on who you get to see on the day. The problem in NZ can be the frustrating long delays actually getting to treatment due to an under-resourced public health system.
Re the support group in Lower Hutt - I've had no contact with them as yet - I have unconfirmed SFPN but as part of a secondary condition to another auto-immune condition.
The Neurological Foundation is a fundraising organisation for neurological research. I've been a subscribing member for more than 6 years. They do an excellent job in supporting top level research throughout the country but as with most not-for-profits funds are allocated to where they can have the most widespread impact. ie: the most common conditions eg stroke, parkinsons, epilepsy etc. Rarer conditions are less frequently researched.
If you're willing to share maybe there are others in NZ would like to hear how you got on with the treatment at Greenlane.
Good luck for further progress.
Cheers bluesfan