Dr says it is not PN - NOt sure if I agree
 

Hi,
I posted a question on a thread "Is This PN? Several of you were kind enough to return my post. I saw my Dr. yesterday - he treats me with weekly trigger point injections for my FM. He claims this is not PN - it is all part of the FM as sometimes FM can burn and tingle. I agree with Rose and others that this is a central and sympathetic nervous condition and it is all part of the same thing going on. Nerves are nerves. I do think I overdid it by being on my feet and irritated the nerves as well as the FM. I just have pain everywhere and no meds relieve it. He also said it was not plantar fasciatis.
No idea where to go from here. No meds - no treatment. Now I can't even drive very far or walk in a small drug store. It is in my knees, feet and lower back.
Very frustrating.
I checked out the spinal sites and I do not have those symptoms. No leg or buttock pain.
Thanks for your help. Any other ideas would be appreciated.
PS: New to this. Should I have put this on the other thread. Would it be read ther or do people usually just look at the new threads?

I had myofascial release physical therapy and it worked wonders for similar problems. I had muscle trigger points all over, and then developed pn. Because of a car accident I ended up getting myofascial release, and low and behold, it helped everything tremendously.

John Barnes originated this, so you might take a look at his website, and at the sites of people he trained, to see if this might be for you.

Good it's not plantar fasciitis---that hurts like hell. more than pn.

Hi Sydney,
Whoever is supposed to be looking afrter you aren't doing a very good job by the sounds of it, i mean by leaving you in pain, no treatment, is not good enough in my book.
I don't blame you for feeling frustated, who wouldn't be ?, nope, i would be looking for answers elsewere.
You need to be in the hands of a real good experienced neuro, that is very capable of looking after you, maybe some here on this board can recomend you a good one, or someone here may even be reading this and may PM you, if you live in Victoria in OZ, then i can recommend you a very good one.

When i first got PN, i contacted a Neorpathy Association in my state and asked them for a recomedations for good experienced neuro's for PN, they give me two names, one of which found my cause of PN in the very first consultation [ thats after blood tests i mean ].
perhaps you could try something similar.
good luck
Brian :)

Hi Sydney
 

As you scroll down the posts,read some of the older posts by Steve. He had myofascal prpblems that mimicked PN. Maybe you can fid something helpful there.

Time to try Lidoderm patches.
 

I have not really used them for PN until this week.

For some reason, my right foot has had a pain in it only when I lie down.
I thought for a while I had irritated my instep wearing the flip flops I do
on vacation. I have to be careful what touches the tops of my feet, and
this one pair of slip ons has always worked for me.

But this nagging thing in my foot.. seemed to be coming from that knee (which has given me trouble in the past and has had MRI and injection of steroid once). The pain was mainly on the outer top portion of my foot. Not the toes. I woke me up almost every night since I got back from my vacation. I did ibuprofen, and that helped, but still it was there.

So I put 1/2 patch on the back of my knee on the thigh side, and bingo the
nerve that was being irritated, went to sleep!

Sometimes we feel the pain in the feet, and the actual nerve generation is
higher up. Using Lidoderms creatively can block some of that, if this is your
cause. I used the Lidoderms last fall/winter on that back of the knee location when my PT upset my knees too.

Many doctors balk at giving pain meds (which is cruel I think), but these same conservative doctors, often will spring for the non-habit forming Lidoderms.
However, I have found that understanding how to use them, is still a problem.
(I see many patients now in the long term care facilities being put on these, where I do my temp work). I get alot of calls on instructing the use of them to obtain pain relief. In my case, I find that I don't need them every day...whatever causes the nerve irritations, goes away for me and I can stop the patches.
There is a test spot, on the lateral side of each knee...feel around for it
when your knee is bent as in sitting in a chair...when you press it..and get a huge ouch...that is the meniscal nerve. My ortho showed it to me long ago, and I was amazed at how it changes on a daily basis. It is right in the center
of the outside of the knee..
Picture #5 on this site:
http://www.sportsdoc.umn.edu/Clinica...ess%20main.htm

Alot of pain can be found referring from the knee area. Been there myself.

All fibro patients should do the B12 daily (orally) since low B12 has been found
in the spinal fluid of these patients, during research.

lidoderm patches mrs. D.
 

I will try the patches again. They didn't work for my back or arm - maybe they'll work for my feet and knees. Can I put them on my feet and knees at the same time? I ordered the magnesium cream but it didn't work. Too bad.
Thanks
Sydney

Have you actually had a work-up for neuropathy? emgs and ncs?

start slowly...
 

and control your patch locations. This will help you find the right spot.

The theoretical max of using the patches is 3 full ones every 12 hrs.

But for you I'd start with one patch cut in half, and put behind each knee,
for at least a week. This will tell you if it is the knee area that is causing your
problem.

If that does not work, move up, to the sacral area...1/2 patch on each side.
Do that for a week, and see what happens.

If you apply the patches all over, you will not get a definitive answer as to
the placement.

I personally have not had good response from putting them on the feet.
Whenever I have a huge pain...I try to block it higher up, from where it is really felt.

Also for burning and tingling (which is not frank pain)... you really should try
Thiamine (Vit B1), in high doses. This can really help paresthesias..which what burning/tingling really are. Pain..as in sharp/penetrating pain, is much
different. Start at 200mg a day, and up to 300mg a day in divided doses.
This is an old remedy and still works for some people.

And for burning, you should check to see if certain foods, make it worse.
Histamine is present in tomato sauces, and can trigger this for some. Same goes for Monosodium glutamate..a common food additive and also very
common in restaurant foods.

Burning/numbness and tingling also accompany low thyroid functions. So I assume you have had that checked out?