Trying to help Mum deal with her PN
 

So let me start with a friendly hello-- this is my first post here! I have tried making an account a couple times some days earlier, but I always got an error when I did. Thank the heavens it finally worked tonight, though. Anyways, I've been reading through as many threads pertaining to my mother and her peripheral neuropathy as I could find. I've learned a lot in the time Mum and I been sitting here, waiting for answers from her doctor and the nurses and the neurologist, and I'm ever grateful for this place and the people in it. Allow me to get to the point, though:

Let's start with a brief (or my best attempt at a brief) history on my mom's life choices leading up to now. She had gastric bypass surgery sometime in 2006. She used to take B12 sublingually for this issue for maybe 5 years at best before eventually stopping-- and then she began drinking wine. It wasn't a lot very early on, but it sort of ramped up over the next 15 years she would do so. Eventually she was drinking around 5-7 glasses every night or so, sometimes more sometimes less. Then she started buying hard liquor, bourbon, what have you. That only lasted maybe 2 months. She went into the hospital about some 40 days ago for hyponatremia due to Lisinopril-HCTZ she was taking-- and she had it BAD. She told me she remembered the staff telling her that her sodium levels were in the double digits. But she came home alright from that after about 5-6 days in the hospital. Only problem was, she needed a walker to move around, and still exuded forgetfulness. No pain whatsoever, though. Nor tingling, either. She also had to have a 2L fluid restriction. The very first night she went in, she stopped having any alcohol though. And her abstinence continues to this night.

She went back into the hospital however no longer than a week later for really high blood pressure. I don't remember the specifics, but it was definitely around the severe hypertension range, and then she stayed again because her sodium levels dipped back down some. That got fixed up in 3-4 days, and she was good to be sent back home. And for the latter half of the day she got back, she even looked like she was getting better. One time she sat on the edge of her bed and crossed her leg over the other to eat some Taco Bell her brother and sister got her (her sister had flown in from FL to help me take care of her for 12 days). She had even sat down on the couch with them to talk, but she did need a little help getting back up. But by night time, she exhibited tingling/numbness and pain. And then it got bad. Bad enough to put her to tears. She couldn't sleep over it. And it was just her legs at this point. The memory issues came back too, and then her doctor went and put her on a 1L fluid restriction for a couple days. She was just crying about the pain and being thirsty at this point when she was awake, and it tore me up. She couldn't live like this. Eventually it was reverted back to 2L a few days later, and then she was given hydroxyzine to help with the pain-- which it didn't, at all.

And then there was the hot-and-cold issue she was having. Frequently me or her sister would come in and she'd ask us if we were hot or cold. We'd tell her no, and she'd mention how hot or cold she felt. Usually it was cold, but sometimes she was hot. We got her a heated mini-blanket and some ice packs. These past 18 days it's been entirely just cold/freezing or normal, though.

Finally, on the day her sister had to go back home (9th of March), she was given 100mg of gabapentin to take every 8h, and 1 capsule of vitamin B1 to take once a day. It didn't seem to really help a lot, though. And then a few days later, she finally got an EMG. We got called for the results 2 days after, and they said the words: my mother has peripheral neuropathy, caused by alcoholism.

It's been almost 10 days since we got that call, but I'm a little confused. I understand alcohol can cause it, but does it usually happen a few weeks after one already has stopped drinking? And so suddenly? Her symptoms seemed to develop overnight, really. She told me she experienced absolutely no pain or numbness until the night she got home. I figured, after doing as much looking up as I could (and after finding some stuff out via these forums), that it wouldn't hurt at all to put her on some B12 tablets. So we got Jarrows Methyl-B12, 5mg. She started taking it once a day on the 7 days ago, and only 2 days ago we upped it to 2 times a day. I try to give them to her on an empty stomach. Her gabapentin dosage was also slowly upped to 300mg twice a day and 100mg in the morning (it'll be 300mg 3x a day on the 29th), and my mom has finally noticed some relief from the pain both on and off the medication, but it does still flare up sometimes, usually at night.

Oh and a couple more snippits of info: I asked the neurologist when they called us on the 25th what her B12 levels were. They didn't specify the ratio or anything, but they did say it was 387. This was before she started taking the B12-- I don't know how long ago it was, if it was the first time she went into the hospital or what. But I'm assuming that's going by the pg/mL ratio. At least, it'd make some sense if it did. Additionally, she has VitD3 pills she had stopped taking some time ago too, I don't know if it was recommended to her or what, but I figured maybe she was depleted of that somewhat too by her alcohol abuse, so we talked and now she's back on that once a day. And her glucose levels were 116 too, so now we have to watch for that. Mom does not like the aspect of having to cut back on popsicles and soda. Some days I let her have 1 or 2 because I feel so bad for her.

So now at this point, I'm wondering what exactly else can we do to help her memory? She's been feeling a little better when the gabapentin has likely worn off, and somewhat better 2-3 hours after taking the 300mg pills. I know it's only been 7 days she's been on B12, and I would be lying if I said her memory hadn't improved at least a LITTLE since those 40 days ago. But I'm just worried-- I love my mom, to death and then some. I just want to make sure I'm doing everything I can to help her get better. Sometimes it still hurts bad, sometimes it spreads to her arms and hands, and sometimes she'll cry over the pain-- she doesn't want to be like this anymore. She's not a very rational person when it comes to coping with being in pain so often, she's admitted this and I know this through living with her all my life so far. And I do understand these things take time, I just want to know-- is there anything else she might need to be taking? Or is just down to patience and waiting, now? She hadn't been able to go up the stairs on her own before either since this happened, and the one person she was confident that could help her up them (and also drove her around) likely has COVID now. Yesterday, her PT had came by to help her do a little exercising. He even helped her take 2 steps up the stairs (mostly) on her own. And we have a little step that she practices stepping up and down on, one leg at a time.

And it wouldn't really be right to ignore the good that taking the B12 (likely) has brought: After mom began the B12 every morning, when her OT and PT came some days later they both noted how much better she was moving and were impressed. And then a couple days later my grandma came by and also spoke how she was glad to see my mom moving around more. I just want to know when, or if, I can expect her memory to at least improve to the point where I can trust her to take her own medications without getting sidetracked and/or forgetting minutes later. This isn't to say it happens every time, she has already had a few days where she takes her daily medications without me even needing to bring it up. I'll ask her and some days she'll say "yup", but I just...I don't know. Maybe I'm overthinking this, and we just need time?

Sorry for such an obnoxiously long post, I just wanted to get as much context in as I could in the hopes that maybe someone would be able to help me. I would really really appreciate any advice at all, even just confirmation that it'd just be time before maybe we saw more improvements in her memory and her PN. I want my mom to get better ASAP. She keeps talking about short-term care/assisted living or whatever it's called, and I'm really not against it even if I want to be the one watching over her and seeing her get better, but I'm just...I worry, you know? I worry maybe they won't give her the B12 she might need, that maybe they give her sugary stuff she should cut back on instead...even if their entire job is making sure she's getting better.

Either way, thank you for reading this absurdly long post of mine. I appreciate it, even if you might not know how to help me... :)

Welcome Soulfulyin. :welcome_sign:

Alcoholics often develop peripheral neuropathy because of the nutritional deficiencies caused by not eating correctly while they are drinking. You are off to a good start with the vitamins. B1 , B12, and D3. Make sure the D you are using is D3 and the B12 you are using is methylcobalamin. These are the usable forms of the vitamins for your body. A good multl B vitamin and a good multi vitamin would be a good idea. It's important that she eats a balanced nutritious diet.

Since she may also have diabetes, she should be given an A1c Test which indicates the average blood sugar level over a 3 month period. This would help to diagnose whether she is a diabetic or not. Repeat the test 3 months later after she has been taking the vitamins and eating well for that period. I wouldnt jump to conclusions based on that first test since she has just started to take action to turn things around. Its possible that a combination of dietary deficiencies and diabetes has caused her peripheral neuropathy

The good news is that peripheral neuropathy caused by alcoholism/ dietary deficiencies is one of the few causes of peripheral neuropathy that can get better long term.

Hi SoulfulYin

Welcome to NeuroTalk :).

I have relatively minor peripheral neuropathy in my hands arising from alcohol abuse (public knowledge on NeuroTalk). I quit years ago thanks to a combination of my hard work and skilled help from my mental health care team.

Your mother might find this forum Alcoholism, Addiction and Recovery a source of both information and support.

Thanks for the info! Yup, she's been taking Jarrow's Methyl-B12 for about 7 days now, and D3 once every morning as well. I don't know if there's a better form of B1, but if there is I'll definitely try and see if we can get some of that instead, through her doctor or otherwise.

I don't think she necessarily has diabetes yet, at least whoever had said her glucose was a little high hadn't said she had diabetes. I did a bit of looking stuff up and apparently she is in prediabetes range though. I'm not sure if prediabetes can cause neuropathy, but all things considered I'm not going to ignore it or anything. I'll try n help her get a healthier lifestyle going-- we'll order some multivitamins, maybe B complex too, but I'm a little worried about getting her too much of something, so if we get multi B vitamins and/or multi vitamins, should she be taking less of the B1, B12 or D3 she's taking right now too?

We've already noted some improvements since she started taking the B12, B1 and D3. But my Mom's not exactly gonna be happy until the pain's all gone, and whenever she's presented with something she might have to stop doing (like eating fast food or sugary stuff) she ends up in tears because she feels overwhelmed, I'm assuming at least. She told me she feels like I'm the only one trying to help her get better, which is an awful feeling for me but especially her. It takes weeks to get to talk to someone qualified to actually help, and then they only tell us that increasing the gabapentin dosages can help. She knows she's doing the right thing, she knows it's going to help her, but I guess it's just hard for her to have to turn everything around while also dealing with long-lasting and sometimes intense pain. I really hope we can get to a point where she at least can be happier soon...it's killin' me to see her like this. :(

Benfotiamine is a more readily absorbed form of B1.

Jarrow B Right is a very good multi B complex.

B6 you have to be careful not to take too much of.

The combo of B12, benfotiamine, D3 2,000 iu , and B Right would be fine to take

It is true--
 

--that in some people even blood sugar readings in the prediabetic range can cause neuropathy.

But I think the much more obvious aspect here is vitamin deficiency. She had gastric bypass surgery in the past--that is absolutely associated with difficulties absorbing vitamins, especially the B-complex ones and especially B12.

And B12 deficiency (that level of 387 you mentioned was much too low, despite typical American lab ranges; in Europe and Japan the lower range limits usually start around 500-550--we just seem to take a long time to catch up to more recent clinical thinking) is not only associated with peripheral neuropathy, but with multiple systems degeneration that can include cognitive/memory issues and motor problems. In fact, in gerentological circles it is established that among elderly people with cognitive/memory issues one really ought to check their vitamin levels first before assuming dementia or Alzheimer's; B12 and other B-vitamin deficiency is quite common as people get older as the intrinsic factor needed to break out cobalamin from foodstuffs in the stomach significantly declines with age (with or without alcohol consumption).

I'd see if you can get your mother's doctors to monitor her vitamin levels regularly, and to continue her physical therapy. Hopefully she will improve over time, but neurological damage takes a long time to heal, if it can, and the recovery is often patchy and incomplete.

I know we've seen at least a little improvement since I got her on the B12, as both her PT and OT, and my grandma, noted how much faster she was moving. It probably wasn't a huge increase, but we'll take any improvement we can get. I'll see about getting some Jarrow B Right, too, but I'm very worried about her B6 going over and causing even more issues. This particular problem seems very delicate to handle, and I'm far from qualified for it...we'd go get blood tests, but we have no way to get around right now-- we're practically stuck. And that's not even the hard part, it's her having to come to terms with the fact that the healing is going to take time. She's really really impatient with painful situations like this. And it doesn't help that her memory is still shot (which I'm suspecting to maybe be due to liver damage from alcohol causing repetitions of hyponatremia, since her sodium seemed to drop back down when she had to go back to the hospital weeks ago for low sodium again). I think it's improved a little, but there's no way she can return to her job as an accountant the way she is now, even though she's been working almost entirely from home the past year. It's probably why her doctor has kept her on a fluid restriction ever since she left the hospital, too.

Another issue we're running into is that her insurance doesn't cover frequent PT or OT visits, nor does it cover short term care for them to help her get back on her feet, and we're already strapped for money as it is. And for some reason she becomes a lot more immature and unwilling to work out when it's a relative (like me) trying to help her as opposed to PT or OT. I've been there when they visit-- they ask her to do something, and she tries with a little comment of uncertainty as her only protest, if she does protest. When I want her to work out, she tells me to wait 5 minutes and then takes another 2 minutes when I get back to sit up and reach for her walker. And then it's a struggle to get her to do some workouts that she already has done before with PT or OT.

It's just rough. And I guess it's gonna be like this until she's able to ditch the walker, which could be months. I'm not really looking forward to that...

Another update to my increasingly worse situation
 

It's only been a few days since my last post regarding this, but I'm becoming more and more worried about my mom's memory rather than her neuropathy. I mean the neuropathy's bad to the point that she can hardly go up the stairs, sure, but even so it'd be easy for me to just help her up the stairs and then call someone to drive us around. Better yet, even if she COULDN'T leave, she could still WORK. She's an accountant (I think. It has something to do with managing money/bills. Whatever it is she does, it requires her memory be in tip-top shape), 90% of what she does, she can do at home on her laptop (and has been almost exclusively since the pandemic). But now that her memory's shot? No chance of making enough money to pay rent alone, let alone other bills like internet or insurance.

My mom's memory seems to have stagnated in it's recovery-- or it's improving so slowly that I can't even tell if it's getting better. It's worrying. She forgets things almost immediately sometimes still, she forgets to pay bills, she forgets so much she has to write down every single thing that's said to her during calls with people like her doctor or the neurologist or she won't remember any of it. We don't even know what could be causing it, and now we're at a point where we're drowning in so many bills that we're gonna have to put off even trying to go get blood tests, which also cost money we don't have. And then there's her glucose levels which are also elevated (116), and I've seen neuropathy doesn't really get better until that's accounted for, but dealing with that in and of itself right now just seems like such a large beast to handle, mainly because we have no money to just buy diet-related foods that would help lower/keep her blood sugar in check. It just feels like we're stuck in a shrinking cage and every time we try to reach out to grab the key to unlock it, the cage shrinks even faster.

I'm sorry to have to sound like such a downer-- I just...I'm at a lost at what to do here. Every story that I've read regarding neuropathy didn't also have to deal with memory loss, so I guess our case is a terribly unique one. But it makes me wonder what we can even do to fix it? She's been on her current vitamins (B1, Methyl-B12 and D3) for only 10 days so far, in the case of the B12. D3 has been a couple days longer (maybe 3/14), B1 has been since 3/9. I've done some more looking things up since it feels like we're so inundated we can't just go and get tests or anything, I've seen some problems with the liver (such as cirrhosis) can also cause memory issues due to hyponatremia being a frequent complication of it (which she did have at the beginning of all this, and then it came back maybe a week or two later)...alcohol damages the liver, right? Maybe that's what we're dealing with. Then again, I'm no doctor, and the only thing I even know about is her B12 levels (which were taken weeks ago), so maybe not. Maybe it's her magnesium, or her B6 levels. But before we can even find out what it is via a test, we need both a ride there and the wealth stability to even afford it.

When I read Icehouse's story, it seemed like such a miracle that gave me so much hope that my mom could recover just the same, except for one big problem: I don't think Icehouse had to deal with memory issues at all during his recovery journey, which makes me think that our journey is going to be even harder for it.

Someone from Pathways is going to come and draw my mom's blood sometime this week I think, so at least we have that going for us. Don't need to have someone drive mom there, we can find out her sodium levels that way. And then maybe I can ask her doctor or whoever calls us back for her nutrition levels. Maybe her memory issue is really just low magnesium/vitamin B. It'd make life so much easier for us both if it were as simple as giving her supplements for a few weeks and then maybe 1-3 times a week after to get her memory back.

I hope everyone's doing okay, either way. Advice would be appreciated though, because it feels like I'm running out of time to save my mom.

Hi SoulfulYin,
Apart from you and your mother, do you have any other close relatives or support people who can help. I may have missed it if you wrote in a post already, but I'm not even sure if you're an adult and it worries me very much that you are maybe dealing with the responsibilty of helping your mother become well again all on your own.

I'm asking this because of personal experience and I know how difficult it has been for my own daughter, who is actually a young adult, to suddenly become a carer of sorts for me while I was and am still going through some full-on health issues in the past few years.

Do you have a good relationship with your mother's doctor? They should be helping you sort out her health care.

Is your mother on a cholesterol med, like Lipitor?
That can cause memory issues, plus affects the liver also..

Well, she's on Gabapentin which I've heard can cause memory issues-- but this started over 40 days ago when she was on Lisinopril-HCTZ for her blood pressure disorder I think they called it. She was 100% fine until maybe a few nights before she went into the hospital. She got hyponatremia from her Lisinopril-HCTZ, which is originally why I thought she had memory issues. After that was taken care of though, she still exuded forgetfulness when she got back home, though not as bad. She's on a different kind of Lisinopril now, so I didn't think it'd still be causing her memory issues...but maybe it is? I'm not sure anymore. She's not on Lipitor, though. I don't think she's on any kind of cholesterol medication-- but I don't know if that would be the same thing as medication for blood pressure problems, either, or like edema or something. She's on B1 (Thiamine), Methyl-B12, Vitamin D3, Lisinopril, Gabapentin 300mg, Omeprazole, Oxybutynin & Amlodipine, all of which she takes once in the morning except for Methyl-B12 (x2 a day on an empty stomach, as I've seen repeated many a time here) and Gabapentin 300mg (x3 a day). Didn't start on the B12 until 11 days ago, too. Hope this info helps.

We're also ordering some magnesium today for her to start takin, but it probably won't get here for a while. We're gonna start with the smallest dose we can, on the chance she might not be low on it. But we're getting it in the first place considering her years of alcohol abuse, so hopefully this'll help.

We have my grandma, who definitely has helped a little bit, but she has to take care of my great grandma most of the time so she's already very busy.

We have my uncle, who used to help her up the stairs (but good news-- when PT came today she managed to go both up and down the flight of stairs on her own! one big step forward, today) and drove her around in her car, but now he's likely exposed himself to COVID so we can't have him help us anymore for a while.

The only other really dependable person was one of my aunts, who lives in Florida. She has her own family to take care of though, so it's very unlikely we could get her to come back here again for even another weekend. But she did offer to help my mom with her bills and stuff-- told her to organize a list of things she needs to pay and to send them to her to let her help. So we at least have that going for us.

I am technically an adult, yes. 22 years old, but I haven't had a job in quite some time I'm embarrassed to say, and I also can't drive. I'm probably depressed, but I've never told anyone about it (except for you & whoever else reads this).

I didn't even know my mother even had a doctor she knew until maybe 3 weeks ago (and her doctor's been with her for 20+ years apparently), so it's probably safe to say that I do not personally have any sort of relationship with my mom's doctor.

Things are getting a little bit better I think, especially today, but now with the threat of bills we can't pay (we just got another 8k bill from the hospital today too, so that kind of soured today's happy mood I got from watching mom climb those stairs) it's making me worried how we'll even get out of this financial problem when we're still dealing with her health ones.

We're ordering some magnesium today too for mom to take-- the doctor didn't prescribe it but things are moving along so slowly and I really hate just sitting and waiting for them to tell/give us what we need, which I find us doing more often than not, that I can't help but try and do what I can for mom on my own. We'll start as small as we can with doses in case she doesn't need them, but considering her history of alcohol abuse, I don't think we should have too much to worry about. I mean, the entire situation right now is why we're even getting them in the first place anyway...

Might be good to check meds online for information & interactions.
here's a few examples..

[Alcohol can increase the nervous system side effects of gabapentin such as dizziness, drowsiness, and difficulty concentrating. Some people may also experience impairment in thinking and judgment. You should avoid or limit the use of alcohol while being treated with gabapentin. Do not use more than the recommended dose of gabapentin, and avoid activities requiring mental alertness such as driving or operating hazardous machinery until you know how the medication affects you. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist if you have any questions or concerns.]

[if you are taking lisinopril you should be advised to avoid moderately high or high potassium dietary intake. This can cause high levels of potassium in your blood. Do not use salt substitutes or potassium supplements while taking lisinopril, unless your doctor has told you to.]
Drug Interactions Checker - For Drugs, Food & Alcohol

Thank you very much for this information, very very helpful. She has been off alcohol for weeks since before we were prescribed gabapentin-- that's probably why her doctor didn't give it to us until after we had confirmed she'd been off of it already. And I'll have to do something about the oranges we just bought too then, it seems. Will keep my eye out for anything else high in potassium, too. Thanks!

Hey SoulfulYin,

I've read this thread this morning and and am hugely impressed by how thoughtful and caring you are.

My background is also alcohol induced peripheral neuropathy. My PN too peaked after I had stopped drinking, maybe 2 months afterwards, but things slowly began to get better. I don't understand this mechanism, but wonder if the liver in detoxifying releases neurotoxins into the blood.

Here are some thoughts

Your mum seems to lack motivation. This is understandable. Are you familiar with the neuromodulator/transmitter dopamine? Dopamine release in the brain is triggered when you engage in activities you find pleasurable. It's a kind of reward system. Alcohol causes an addictive imbalance of dopamine release through drinking. It overloads the system and reduces dopamine receptor sensitivity. Alcohol itself becomes the reward. At the peak of my drinking I used to wake up and drink supermarket whisky.

When you stop drinking the lack of dopamine can lead to a sense of hopelessness and and emptyness. This combined with the additional time for reflection that sobriety inevitably allows can lead to reduced motivation and the fear that things will get worse, not better.

I wonder if overnight TV has replaced alcohol for your mum.

I know it sounds odd, but peripheral neuropathy and the pain associated can be a great motivator. The desire to get better and to see progress can be its own reward. I know it did for me. And improvement, believe me, reduction in symptoms is an absolute joy.

The Glymphatic System

The Glymphatic System is like the peripheral lymphatic system and clears waste products from the brain and CNS. Waste products accumulate in the brain extracellular space. Clearance is primarily achieved through sleep. When my symptoms peaked about a year ago during 1st lockdown I found I would sleep for hours and hours. I just wonder if overnight TV is the worst thing your mum could do. Other ways to boost glymphatic clearance is exercise and forward motion. I appreciate this is difficult but can you get your mum to walk outside and increase her walks over time? Don't underestimate the healing properties of sunlight and fresh air.

Brain detox, liver detox foods/beverages

Coffee but only in the mornings.

Decaffeinated green tea. This is packed with anti oxidants. I say decaff because this is the go to drink and sleep is very important. Available from supermarkets.

Hibiscus tea. Not cheap but loaded with anti oxidants

Pomegranate juice. Pure organic. Again not cheap, but this is a fantastic all round drink and a great prebiotic. When I stopped drinking I craved carbs. This drink is very sweet. But only have a small glass a day.

Walnuts other nuts

Sardines, tinned is ok. Omega 3 is anti inflammatory. Consider a fish oil supplement but one that is guaranteed mercury/metal free.

Flaxseed and Chia seed. You need to grind these and introduce in small doses given your mother's gastric bypass. Again loaded with omega 3.

The ORAC unit (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) shows that berries are up there with the highest anti oxidant function, and blueberries are the king of berries.

An oat porridge with added milled seeds and nuts and berries would be a great way to start the day.

I would also consider taking an Alpha Lipoic acid supplement, but again its not cheap.

Best wishes,

Atty.

Hi SoulfulYin,
Thanks for letting me know that you do have some outside support there. I had hoped you didn't think I was a bit odd for asking if you were an adult. :o

I was just concerned that you may have been very young especially as you appear to have so much on your plate right now. I hope your Mum starts to feel brighter soon.

Others have suggested getting her moving more. That's something that's kept me going when nothing else could. If I stopped I never would have wanted to start up again. Keep on moving.

I don't know how cold it is where you are or if it's icy or something, but if you have a patio or a small garden, or even if you have a community garden, you could grow some herbs and vegetables in pots.

Anyway, thanks for letting me know you have some support or at least family to phone in case you need them.

I appreciate the compliment-- I'm only trying to do my best for my mom, who's done her best for me ever since she had me.

It's funny you mention overnight TV, though. It's kind of all she's been doing when not doing anything else, which is to say, practically 80% of the time. If she's not in the kitchen getting something to drink or in the bathroom, she's in her room and on the bed 9 times out of 10. She does on occasion walk a few laps from the front of the house to the hallway, but it's not very often. I try to get her to at least do this more, and her PT tells her to as well. Even now, when she can manage to get up and down the stairs on her own, she doesn't walk very often.

We don't have a patio, we live in an apartment. We do have a little glass door that leads to a little 'burrow' kinda patio outside, if that makes sense? But there's very little room to walk around in, and it's dirty as all get out. But once she's confident enough, I'll try to talk her into walking outside. Or at least with the shades pulled so we can get some sunshine in the living room. Honestly I think she's excited about the idea of going outside again, now that the snow's all melted and it's getting warm out. The issue is, I think she'd be embarrassed about being seen with her walker. I can't blame her one bit, I'd have to keep my eyes glued to the ground if I went outside.

I don't remember if I mentioned this in a previous post, but my mom responds absolutely terribly to pain/discomfort. When her symptoms get bad, she's in tears over it and the absolute last thing she'd want to do is even get out of bed. It's actually been a few days since she even had a 'bad' day, though, now that I think about it. Just tonight it got bad for her when the gabapentin had about worn off fully (just before her next pill, actually), and that was when I noticed that. I try to tell her these kinds of things in hopes that she can see the positive side of this disease, if that's the correct term for PN, and she does tell me that it helps, but I worry sometimes she just says it so I'll be happy. Either way, I absolutely will try to get her to move around more and maybe even go outside and even just sit on a chair for a bit.

Personally? Even I would like to do that. Just go and enjoy the air and the sun. The situation never really called for me to say this, but I'm an absolute shut-in-- have been since I was done with school. Only time I ever went out was when my mom forced me to go to dinner or lunch w/ relatives or when I visited a friends house, but those moments were few and far in between. I suppose this situation combined with lockdown have changed my perspective on this hermit lifestyle I currently lead. I definitely see the appeal in going out a lot more clearly now, whether it be for a walk or to eat at an iHop with friends/family. Too bad we still have to wait for lockdown to really have get-togethers like that again. At least we have Zoom!

Sweets seem to have replaced alcohol for her too, but when I found out how high her glucose levels were and came to her with the idea of cutting back on it, she didn't really like that. But this was when her PN was a lot worse. She was quick to handle it, though. Accepted buying sugar free popsicles instead of the usual kind we get, we bought apples and orange juice and diet sprite too. Probably not the best way to really cut out sugar, but I at least hope it's a step in the right direction. It seemed to be to at least some degree, though. As mentioned above, she hasn't really had a 'bad day' until tonight since we cut back. I at least want to keep this up until we can get her glucose levels down and out of prediabetic range. I wouldn't wanna cut out sugar either, but I've been trying to both in solidarity with her struggle and because it'd be good for me too anyway.

She has coffee nearly every morning, but she used to put a lot of sugar in it. She started only putting a pinch of it in there since yesterday, but she felt good enough to take care of something really important today that she'd been putting off for 2 days now. She has tea of the green variety (I think? Don't know much about tea other than I don't like the taste!) sometimes too, but I don't think it's the kind you speak of. Will talk to her about this!

I was just thinking of flaxseed, too! I couldn't remember the name, but I mentioned it to her earlier-- I used to HATE when she put it on my waffles some mornings before middle school, but to this day I absolutely cannot deny its effectiveness. I swore it was magic back then, how it seemed to perk me right up after I ate. Now that I have the name again, I'm definitely bringing this back up to her.

I've seen some articles about alpha lipoic acid, and I brought it up with her some weeks ago too before we even heard the name of what mum had. We're very short on money, so we probably won't be able to get it anytime soon, but I'll bring it up with her. I should make a list...

We bought a magnesium supplement (it's supposed to arrive sometime today, even), and I was thinking of trying to get her some Omega-3 supplements too, but if she can get this all through food we'll try that way too. I just wasn't certain before, due to her gastric bypass. I don't know if she likes sardines, is tuna okay? She LOOOVES tuna, and tilapia. Tilapia, I can understand, but I don't know how she can even stand the smell of tuna.

This information is absolutely invaluable to me, I hope you're aware. I'm more grateful for it than I can even put into words, but I really appreciate the help. :)

Yeah, as much as my mom might feel like it, my grandma and uncles do really care about us. They do what they can.

And no, I absolutely didn't see you as odd, or anything of the sort! I figured someone would ask the question, I never mentioned that I worked (which I don't) and that's typically what self-sustainable adolescents do.

I appreciate the concern and the words, and it does get pretty daunting for me sometimes, especially when you consider I'm not someone qualified for this kind of work and all that, but...well, at this point I don't think I'd want anyone else to do the job of taking care of my mom until she's able-bodied again, or close enough. I think I owe my mom at least that much, given all she's done for me.

I definitely will strive to get her moving more. She's been walking about 7.5-10 minutes whenever I can get her to, but I try my hardest to find a middle ground. I don't want her to be in any more pain than is necessary, even if both mine and mom's version of necessary would be none at all.

It used to be cold back when this all first started, but the snow and ice have all melted and it's beginning to get warmer now.

Thank YOU for your concern and your help. It means a lot more than I can put into words, truly. I'll keep you all updated on our situation as things happen. Things have been going relatively better each day, I've found. Won't be long before mom's got her legs about her again. I honestly don't know where I'd be if I hadn't found this place.

Quick update on our situation
 

Mom's left leg got pretty swollen today. This was some hours after the call from one of mom's doctor's nurses that her lab results were normal, or so my mom said. It was after my grandma brought some deep fried chicken and spaghetti. Mom had maybe 1 piece, or most of it.

Then, maybe no longer than an hour later, her left leg bloated. She drank some water and took a short little walk, it went down a little. We didn't want to give her too much water, since she's technically still on a fluid restriction, which we didn't think she needed anymore since her results are normal. But we have not gone over her limit. Maybe no more than a single ounce more, at worst. But it's still swollen, maybe 2-3 hours max since it bloated. I'm thinking maybe it's related to her blood sugar. I'm no doctor, though, so I don't know. We called my aunt, and my grandma. Aunt doesn't know, but she does deal w/ edema too and sometimes her legs bloat. Idk if it's only one sometimes. Grandma doesn't think it could be due to just 1 piece of fried chicken. But at the same time she says not to worry. Now, as her son you might be able to tell why that's a little hard to do.

About the clinic calls. They don't respond past 8/8:30. Idk if it's just for Fridays or what. But our only option, really, is to just go to the ER and see what's going on. Mom's experiencing literally no pain, no chest pain, no short breath, absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. But her memory issues persist still, and I think maybe they got a little worse tonight since this happened, maybe sometime before. But Grandma says not to worry, Mom wants me not to worry, I think we should go to the ER, but it's hard. I can't drive, and neither can she on account of both her neuropathy and her memory problems, and now this. Ambulance rides are expensive, and already we're dealing w/ money issues. Doctor is going to call tomorrow. I just, really really hope we can afford to wait.

So many variables. So many nebulous possibilities. I can't take this. I'm really sorry to vent like this, and on an issue most likely not even related to her neuropathy (which idk if it's against the rules or anything, I'm sorry if it is though). Some medications also apparently can cause swelling. Amlodipine, and Gabapentin both can. One of her medications also react to potassium too, apparently. Idk if fried chicken has it, but apparently potassium is related to sodium, or something like that. Maybe it's another form of it. She's been on both for a while now. Idk if it'd get this bad, though. Or how long it'd take to go back down. I mean it did a little bit after some water and walking. Maybe it's just her blood sugar. She is prediabetic, technically. 116 glucose levels, Idk if I mentioned that before. But maybe that's what happens when you're dealing w/ neuropathy then just eat fried chicken.

I just checked the swollenness again just now. It's noticeably less swollen. Which is a relief. But still...if anyone has any ideas, I would appreciate them significantly. We're not out of the woods just yet, I think.

It's difficult to really know what to suggest I'm sorry and you're right in that it could be related to her blood sugar (or her blood pressure if that's high?).

If you have any Epsom Salts, try having her soak her foot in a bath or bucket of warm water and the salts.

I would be worried if she's been lying down for a very long time (days)and not getting up and moving around. How much is she actually moving around all day and what is stopping her from walking more, is it pain or something else?

Possibly...

If you're not used to eating food like that then the amount of salt in the food may have caused her leg to swell. I imagine such food would be an overload of salt.

edited to add: Get your mum to lie down and use a couple of pillows or cushions so that she can raise her leg higher than her heart. See if that helps.

She tries to be more active. She does. But it's probably not enough. She used to practice walking up the stairs, but we haven't done that in a few days. She does walk every now and then, but most of the time it's just to go to the bathroom or make things in the kitchen. I've been slacking on getting her to walk, so the blame there is on me. I've just been so demotivated recently, but I can't let things like this happen again, not to my mom. She is obese, probably morbidly so. Or close. And the glucose levels of the results, when we got them, were at least 2 weeks old-- and it'd been almost 2 more weeks or so since we even heard about that. She might have type 2 diabetes by now, or be a lot closer-- we didn't really start trying our hardest to eat healthy until maybe very late march/early april. I think one of our friends, the same one that recommended tropicana juice to help keep her blood sugar in check (one of her friends has diabetes and they drink that, the friend says), sent a box w/ some salts that help with that I think. Lavender-scented, I know that much for sure, but I also know they do something else for her body. We haven't used them yet, though.

Her swelling is definitely going down. Slowly, but it is. I checked again, about maybe 45 minutes later or so. It doesn't feel much better than before, but it does. It's probably because she's technically still on a fluid restriction and she can't have more water, which probably made the swelling go down faster earlier on. That and the little walk she did. Doc is calling tomorrow so we can discuss that very fluid restriction, though. We'll tell her everything that happened tonight.

We checked her blood pressure, too, with the little wrist thing we got. Apparently it's lower than it used to be, when we did the test. Mom's blood pressure is normally pretty high. It was 139/79 I think, or around that range. It might just be the food she ate. She had a little more water to take her pills, got up one last time (it was for a bathroom trip but still, a walk is a walk), and since then the swelling has continued to lessen. It's still noticeable, but its better than when it first started-- and when it went down the first time, maybe 1-2 hours ago. She hasn't been taking the magnesium yet, pills are too big but I'm also worried she doesn't need it, even if everything points to her needing it. I'm not a doctor, I can't just give her something that could end up making things worse. We WILL bring this up with her doctor tomorrow, though. I'm gonna collect as much info as I possibly can to relay to doc tomorrow. Her vit levels, if she needs magnesium/fish oil/any other vits, what her blood sugar is, all that.

Regardless, she didn't start eating super healthy until recently, and then we regressed some today. Veggie and gluten free or not, pizza is still pizza. And that fried chicken piece definitely didn't make matters better. There was no pain or shortness of breath with the swollen leg, we made sure of that. As best we could, at least. Her blood pressure is better than it usually is, too. Other than what she ate today, there doesn't seem to be other possibilities now that I've calmed down and thought about it a little more. Not that I...y'know, am a doctor and know what it is or how to accurately find out, but still. Either way, we're calling doc tomorrow, and getting what we need.

You're doing just fine. Don't ever blame yourself for any of this.
Hopefully your mum can get moving around more. It's so important.

Get some epsom salts if you can when you shop next. Handy to have them on hand. They're very inexpensive and I find them so helpful. Just have to make sure that you don't use too much ... follow directions.

As I said get her to raise her leg higher than her heart for a while now. I'm hoping it's all good in the morning.

You take care there, hey? You've got a lot on your plate and you're such a great support for your mum.

Her leg's elevated on two big pillows, she's in bed for the night right now. It felt better now too after I felt it. I keep saying it, but it helps me cope: it's definitely getting less swollen. She took all her necessary medication-- gabapentin, took her b12, I'm refilling her daily medications right now for tomorrow, and we're looking forward to the call w/ doc tomorrow. I got a list with everything on it. Or all I can remember. I need to check the box on her dresser, I think that's the one with the epsom salts in it. Idk if it's actually epsom, or if it's bath salts, or even if there's a difference. But I'll check, both in the box and online just in case.

Thank you, Lara. Sincerely. Your words help this weary soul get by in his time of need... :) I'll do my best to care for myself, I can't imagine how much harder things would be for my mom without me. Frankly, I don't want to imagine.

I need to sleep soon so I'm not sleeping by daytime and can help my mom stay active, so I'll leave this as my last post for the night. But I truly, truly, truly appreciate your help. You and everyone else. This place has been an absolute godsend for me. I really don't know where we'd be without it. We're going to walk more, we're staying faaar far away from fried food and pizzas-- no matter how many veggies we put on it or how much gluten we take out of it, it doesn't seem to be helping (or at least it doesn't now, not after tonight). So we're going to increase our efforts in healthier dieting.

Thanks for your help, again. Truly!

Hey SoulfulYin,

I think Lara is right here and its the high salt content of fried chicken that has caused the problem and it's your mum's physical inactivity that has made her vulnerable to this. To avoid a further episode consider the following.

So get her moving or even simple leg elevation for a few minutes at a time may help.

Avoid salt.

Avoid processed foods that are high in salt.

Avoid processed/refined carbs, they encourage sodium/water retention.

Drink water. I appreciate she has restrictions

I think from memory you have a magnesium supplement, that's good to take

Potassium rich foods such as avocado and sweet potatoes and green leafy vegetables and tomatoes and bananas help reduce sodium levels.

Does she take B6 in a B multivit? That helps too, but not too much.

Dandelion tea is a natural diuretic.

Hope this helps.

Take care SoulfulYin.
I hope your mum appreciates all that you do for her.

Atty

I know earlier I said that would be my last post for the night, but I can't leave someone who's giving me useful advice hanging. :D

Can do. Starting tomorrow, I'll be making sure she walks for maybe 5-10 minutes, or as long as her legs will allow her to.

Avoiding salt like the plague, effective immediately.

We're going to make a list of things that are confirmed to not be processed and/or high in salt, and we'll try and make meals using that list.

Definitely avoiding processed/refined carbs, and probably just carbs in general.

She DOES have a restriction, but it's very likely we'll get it lifted by the end of tomorrow, on account of the nurse who called yesterday saying her lab results were all normal. She might be okay to drink water at a normal rate now. Additionally, is sparkling sugar-free water okay? It's La Croix, Pure Sparkling Water. Nutrition facts says it has 0 Total Fat, 0 Sodium, 0 Total Carbs and no sweeteners. She's been drinking that or regular water, with sliced up fruits/veggies sprinkled in there too.

I was on the impression we should avoid potassium since her amlodipine besylate seems to raise those levels. Maybe we should just be a little more careful with them, is the idea. Either way, we'll be careful! We have oranges, tropicana orange juice (which another diabetic friend also drinks and recommended).

She does not take B6, i do not know her levels so I was worried about giving her supplements when she didn't need them. Same with magnesium-- I'm afraid they both will exacerbate her neuropathy problems.

She has decaffeinated honey lemon chamomile green tea, we'll see about getting some dandelion tea too.

I hope so too. I'm sure it will-- at least a little. And I'm forever going to be grateful for you and everyone else's help in this endeavor. Thank you, truly.

She does, she appreciated all the nothing I did for her even before I started caring for her. I'm not proud to say it, I wasn't the best son. Kinda still far from that title, especially considering I let her eat that chicken. But my mom loved and still loves me like I am, and now she needs me to be better so she can get healthy, so I'm trying. I'll do all I can, for as long as I can. And then when she's better, I'm gonna turn my life around. Work at Costco or something, make money, make her proud. The whole shebang.

Point taken with amlodipine.

You deserve some sleep man.

Nos da ... as we say in Wales :)

Update for today
 

So, mom's leg is still a liiiittle swollen, but it has been gradually de-swelling. She walked for 15 minutes today, that was a good workout. We talked about her going to my grandma's to get better help and move some of the stress off of me. Originally we both didn't want her to go, in my case it's because I'm going to be stressed no matter where she goes-- short-term care, assisted living, or grandma's. It could be a place where she'd get literally every single thing she needs to recover safely and with no incident, and I'd be beside myself stressed until she got home. That, and grandma's also already taking care of my great grandma. She might not have the time to remind my mom to take her gabapentin when she needs to, or to exercise or that stuff. That's what I'm worried about, really. I can't be there all the time. Well, I could, but I...I guess I wouldn't want to. I still have to take care of the cats. And I mean it'd probably be easier for me to just go there and visit the cats 2 times a day, but I'd have to do it early and late, since one of them has to take a pill every 12 hours. I also have to refill their water fountain frequently.

But today, we decided she should go. Grandma can cook better meals than I ever could, even if the meal she brought us last night was something mom shouldn't eat. Grandma also frequently has relatives coming over. The interaction would be nice for mom, I think. She needs that. They could also probably help her remember things she needs to do, since most of the time the relatives visit to help with my great grandma. I'm happier having her to talk to so I'm not alone in the house, but I think she needs it more than I do. Additionally, outside isn't barred by stairs that are difficult for mom to traverse. There's an outside patio both in the front and the back, she'd be able to get fresh air without having to go up or down any steps.

She wouldn't stay for long, 3-4 days she says would be the longest. I'd visit probably every day, likely just to make sure she's exercising and taking her medications. I don't know. It's just, this is all rough for me. I guess either way it's gonna be. I'm just really worried, especially now after last night, that grandma will cook her something she can't have. Knowing my grandma, I don't doubt the possibility, even though she takes care of great grandma practically 24/7, and great gram is a diabetic. Idk. I guess I just can't help but to worry about mom, even when she's in likely far better hands than mine. Well, that and I hated being alone while she was in the hospital. This was even when we thought it would be as simple as them correcting her hyponatremia, and then her coming home completely fine.

We also just discussed a diet plan-- I don't know why we took so long to figure that out. Mom said they were going to call her and have her talk to a nutritionist sometime, but that never happened. So i guess now we have to take initiative here. On that topic, doc didn't call today. Mom must've been wrong when she said she'd call us on saturday about the results. Maybe they meant Monday, or something. She seemed pretty sure that doc was calling today until she didn't, then she said "maybe I remembered wrong" or something along those lines. Idk. Either way, it's aggravating. Idk what she can and can't have anymore. We could be 1 more meal from a rush to the ER, and we don't even know it.

Tonight we're having shrimp, potatoes and chicken baked in the oven. Mom's getting Mrs Dash seasoning substitutes to try, and the "I can't believe it's not butter" type of spread, just in case regular butter is a no-go. I'm going to make sure she doesn't put any salt on her food, but is pepper okay?

You might look into the Dash Diet.
You are being redirected...

I have heard about it-- we're already using Dash seasonings with our food. I just hope mom's leg doesn't swell up again. I want to get this entire plan thing under way, I'm getting an app both on my phone and on hers to help her keep up with what she eats. But the problem is I don't even know what she needs. We haven't been recommended to a nutritionist so we have to just do everything on our own right now, at least until Monday-- but she won't be here Monday. I guess I can go visit her, though.

Well, I say that, but it already did a little, I think. She did have dill pickle chips, but only like 5-6 of them she said, and the full serving (which is ~20 chips) only has 180mg of sodium. Her leg started bloating a little again. I don't think it was as bad as it was last night, but this is still worrying. Although now that I've done a little checking her pills, she did seem to forget to take her amlodipine pill. The one for her blood pressure. She just took it now, so I guess we'll see if that helps. But still. I don't like this. The food we're eating has sodium too-- the oven-baked chicken, some shrimp, broccoli and some baked potatoes. what if it gets worse? What if she needs to go to the ER? Ugh, this is so stressful. She tells me not to worry, but it's not like I can just ignore this. I'm her caretaker.

Either way, she's eating the baked chicken with the Dash seasoning, some broccoli and a bit of shrimp seasoned with Dash too. Hope this helps. She also is drinking some water, within her restrictions at least. Maybe she doesn't need them anymore, though. Maybe that's why her leg is swelling. I know we walked today, too at about 4:50PM. 15 minutes.

Either way, I'm stressed, but she's going to my grandma's tomorrow. Maybe grandma will know what to do. I hope I'm just overreacting. I really do.

Quick update
 

So mom's been doing better, she's been more active (we've been walking about 6 minutes or so every hour starting from like 2-4PM and doing her exercises by 8-9PM to top it off, occasionally practicing the stairs). She was given a cane recently by one of the physical therapists that came to check on her a couple days ago-- she's been trying to use that more when we do our walks. She also places her walker a little further away from her bed so she has to get up and walk to it on her own when she moves around-- just little changes to be more active. Proud of our progress.

Still somewhat forgetful, but technically treatment for that (in the form of the B1 her doctor gave her at least, and the B12 i've been giving her) only started a little over a month ago. I think she's doing better on that front.

I just have a question-- what kind of Magnesium should I get her specifically? There's a couple different forms, and I'm a little nervous since too much magnesium can cause problems and I haven't been able to ask the doctor about it or anything yet. I know she probably does need at least a little on account of her having once been an alcoholic, but I don't know which kind to get her. I've been thinking about this Magnesium L-Threonate kind with Magtein or whatever the site's calling it to help her memory/overall brain function, but again I just don't know.

Edit(like 2 minutes later): I also forgot-- when mom did talk to her doctor and mentioned her leg swelling, she said it's likely mom doesn't have diabetes or even prediabetes, but did say if we wanted to find out for sure we could come over and get mom's A1C to find out what that is-- since that's different from blood glucose levels. Her leg does still do a little swelling, but it goes down a lot more when she's walking/exercising. Although I don't know if the doctor mentioned what actually was causing the swelling, since this is all just mom relaying what she remembers of her video chat, but she did say she's off the fluid restriction (which has also helped the swelling) and confirmed that all of her lab results were in fact normal. Mom's still avoiding salt, and is still drinking/eating sugar-free or low-salt free stuff. We're using the Dash seasonings whenever we make food for her to eat still. I actually tried some baked chicken with it-- not half bad!

Hey SoulfulYin,
Thanks for the update,
Just a couple of things, reading through your messages

1. Pepper is fine. It helps aid digestion. This doesn't need to be avoided.

2. I take Magnesium Threonate, however I don't recommend it for you. One its very expensive and if your mom is magnesium deficient she will readily absorb any kind of magnesium.

I would go for Magnesium Oxide. This what I started off with. There are many types of magnesium because magnesium can't be by itself as a molecule it needs to be bound to something else to make it stable.

A Mg supplement is best absorbed on an empty stomach, but if she has any side effects (unlikely) take it with a meal.

Hope this helps, keep up the good work.

Atty

I'll take a bit of issue with Atticus on the magnesium.
 

Magnesium oxide tends to be less readily absorbed into bodily tissues than other forms--it tends to get dumped into the intestines much faster, and therefore can have quite the laxative effect. Of course, some people use it precisely for that reason. :o

In terms of getting magnesium into the nervous system, it likely better to have it compounded it a more complex molecule, such as a malate or chelate, that is absorbed more slowly. These still may tend to have a laxative effect, but not as much (and these also tend to be a little more expensive than oxide).

My Experiences
 

Hello to everyone on this site, I am a new member and this is my first post. Soulful Yin I have recently read your original post and have experienced a few things that may or may not help in some small way.

I wad diagnosed initially with peripheral neuropathy 18 months ago. Fortunately at the moment it is limited to my feet and I have lots of burning and stabbing sensations on the tops of both feet which I am told was brought about through a mixture of poor diet, diabetes and alcohol consumption over a number of years. In addition I also have a feeling of standing on pebbles on the soles of my feet which my neurologist has said could potentially be small fibre neuropathy. I am waiting for an MRI scan to confirm this.

I have had a foot x ray, ultrasound and an electromyography in the past and I have also been prescribed amitriptyline which only sent me to sleep, gabapentin which gave me severe stabbing pains and finally duloxetine. The last one (duloxetine) was the best of the bunch and did a marvellous job of taking the burning/stabbing feelings away but gave me a huge headache (though definitely worth it). I started to break the tablets in half because they became quite severe at times. It did nothing for the feeling I had of standing on pebbles however.

Recently I started to pay more attention to my diet and monitor the effect that certain foods had on my pain. I have eliminated all alcohol, carbohydrates and most sugars (apart from the natural sugar in berry fruits) and found that citrus fruits and salt make my pain much worse. I have kept a food diary so now I know which foods I can and can’t eat and strangely I have also discovered that consuming foods that have been chilled or frozen trigger a great deal of pain as opposed to room temperature foods which do not. I am now taking vitamin D3, B1, B12, magnesium and high strength omega 3 fish oil supplements too.

I have been on my eating plan for just one week so far and already I feel that my pain is improving.
I may not become pain free but any small improvements are a huge bonus and I plan to continue this for as long as I feel any benefit. I realise that all individuals would need to find their own trigger foods as we are all different however I suspect that sugar and carbohydrates are quite common in us all.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing but I do wish I had paid more attention to my diet a lot sooner than I did rather than being more reliant on medication.

I wish you well with your personal battles surrounding neuropathy.

Hey Steeler,

Welcome to the forum.

As first posts go that was pretty awesome. I like the way you have taken control of your own treatment. I note you eat berries, do you have any other safe carbs? Do have foods that you think of as healing for want of a better term?

Thank you for the welcome, I pretty much eat anything to be honest except the foods that trigger my pain. I have seen various diets that are recommended for my symptoms but don't think I could hack them long term because they lack bulk. I eat most fruits, vegetables, dairy and white meat. I have substituted potatoes with sweet potatoes which appear to be safe and also increased my consumption of nuts and seeds. I do tend to eat quite a lot of egg based foods such as omelettes and quiches. If I find that I have made a mistake and have eaten something that triggers my pain I have discovered that reaching for some nuts, particularly wall nuts and pecans tends to neutralise the pain.

Thank you for the info-- and also, welcome! I'm relatively new here too still, only been about 3 weeks since I joined, I think. But we figured mum should probably watch what she eats. The issue is getting her to realize that doing that is going to help far more than it will inconvenience her, on top of getting her to remember important things like what it was she ate that caused her neuropathy symptoms to flare up or her legs to swell. Not that remembering what she ate will be difficult for either of us, her memory tends to be better more often than not but sometimes she'll have those forgetful lapses. Plus I'll be watching her so it'll be easier to record what she eats and what effects it has on her. Thanks for the idea!

We're getting some magnesium chelate right as I type this out. Bottle says 'Doctor's Best', so I hope so, lol. Says to take 2 tablets twice a day. My biggest issue was not really knowing how much would be too much, since I don't know her levels, even though it's safe to assume it's low. At the very least, it wouldn't hurt to have her take only 1 pill every 12 hours, would it? Just as a start?

I really wish this leg swelling thing wouldn't have happened now, of all times. Like everything's kinda just piling on, and even just the neuropathy is proving to be really taxing on my mom, even with all her progress. Although to be fair, I haven't been able to monitor what mum has been eating at my aunt's. The idea was she'd be able to eat knowing aunt would cook her something good for her, but then she says she's eating chicken alfredo and I'm pretty sure she also mentioned pancakes. Which is probably why both of her legs are a little swollen now. Either way, hopefully the magnesium will help with that, and with some dietary changes it'll eliminate the swelling entirely. Again though, the issue is getting mom to see that she needs to watch what she eats. She's very stubborn. Like she came home and just tried to eat some Ruffles chips, as though we learned nothing from just 2 weeks ago. But also, to be fair, her memory is still pretty shoddy. That probably won't go away entirely, and even if it might it'll take some months.

But enough about the bad. I just got done telling my mom that if she focuses on the bad, she won't see the good. She got down the stairs all on her own when she got home, she practically went down them like a normal, healthy person. And she has been using her cane almost exclusively. The walker's been by her bedside and she hasn't used it once since I saw her today. Also, she apparently lost 20 pounds when she last weighed herself at my aunt's. From around 280 to 260. Now we just need to keep it up. I still wish her memory was better, though. Again though, it's just gonna take time. She did pretty good remembering to take her pills and stuff for the 5 days she was at my aunt's. Most of the times I checked on her to make sure she was getting her gabapentin, she had already said she had just taken them or was about to. And I asked her once about her daily pills, about 3 days after she had arrived to my aunt's. She'd taken them all already! So it's good to know she can, for the most part, remember what she needs to without me being there to frequently remind her.

Now that she's home, her brain's moving a mile a minute. Makes it hard for me to complete a conversation with her, lol. She opened with talking about her pills and then before she could even finish her first sentence she got excited about the tilapia cuz it had very low/no sodium in it and we like tilapia. She went through like 4 different topics in a matter of seconds before I could get her to finish her first thought again. I keep trying to tell her to do 1 thing at a time, but she ain't having it. :p At least she has the energy.

We've been discussing what we're gonna do as soon as she's able to drive her car again. I was thinking bowling w/ some friends & family, or maybe even just walking, lockdown restrictions permitting at least. Even if she can't actually partake in the bowling, it would be nice for her to get out of the house and go somewhere. Surround herself with friendly faces. Help her realize that she's getting better, as long as she takes things 1 day at a time.

Hey SoulfulYin,

Thanks for the update. Good to see some progress. They've started calling social interaction Vitamin S over here in the UK in the mainstream media and given lockdown understanding its value in wellbeing.

I wish you and your mother well.

Atty

Mini-update
 

The magnesium and B12 came a day earlier than expected. They have the score lines down the middle to show where to cut them, but I'm worried we shouldn't cut them. Some sources I've seen online say not all pills with score lines on them are safe to cut, and other sources also say that a lot of forms of magnesium aren't safe to cut. It's not a softgel, it's an oval tablet, and it does have the score line, but I'm just a little worried. They're also a little too big for my mom to take, still. So if we can't cut them, we might have to send them back and get a different kind...

The kind of magnesium we got was 'Doctor's Best, High Absorption Magnesium 100% Chelated'. It's 100mg per tablet, so I'm not worried about giving her too much. Especially when we planned on starting small, taking 1 every 12 hours. It's just...I'm unsure if we can cut them.

If anyone has any information on whether or not it'd be safe to cut these kinds of tablets specifically, I'd appreciate it.

Soulful: I just posted this in another thread and may have missed it. Gluten can cause a lot of negative issues.

The Connection Between Gluten and Neuropathy?

And an overload of sugar and refined carbs are not friends of neuropathy.

Hey SoulfulYin,

I've checked this product on the US and UK Amazon Website and it is safe to cut in half. Customers have complained about their size and several have posted that very question. They are not extended-release capsules or delayed-release/enteric coated tablets that can release all the contents at once if cut.

There is nothing to worry about cutting these tablets at all. You may safely do so.

Best Wishes,

Atty.