Therapain & Doctor Problems
 

Hi,
First of all thank you all for sharing this informative info about Neuropathy.
My husband was a type II diabetic for about 20 years. Two years ago he lost his excess weight and dropped his A1C to normal. To lose the weight, he went to a natural doctor and the doctor told him (He was also an MD) that if he wanted to lose the weight, eat all of the avocados he could every day. He said he didn't know why it worked, but that it did and he now recommends it to everyone. Well the weight fell off...I was sweeping it up off the floor HA! Of course he cut way down on all of the starches, sweets, etc. Ate sensibly, but ate 3 or 4 avocados a day. He lost 50 pounds and has kept it off! YES!!
Also he uses Therapain topical spray for his neuropathy and it does help. We do have a doctor problem though. He goes to the VA hospital and now that there is a war on pain drugs they don't want to give him anything stronger than tramadol. It does work but he is on a pretty high dose and will have to change to something. He tried neurotin, but it made him extremely nervous. We called some local doctors, thinking that he needed something closer to home and more willing to work with the pain issue. They screen all new patients and 2 doctors said if he is on pain meds, they would not see him. Now this is downright unethical. He is not nor has never been a drug abuser. He is 60 years old. The doctors are scared to death to give out scripts now. God help us all! Has anyone experienced this kind of discrimination? I know that there is some non-drug way to help the pain, and I will keep looking until I find it, as all of you are. Thank you again!

That is very strange...
 

I have never had a problem receiving darvocet, vicodin, or oxycodone from any of my doctors. perhaps because I'm a young female? I recommend that he goes to a Pain Clinic. They are known for giving out narcotics like candy, and it sounds like your husband could really use some candy right about now!

A neurologist, who is a PN specialist, would Rx the proper meds.
A GP or PCP is very leery of taking on patients who say they need pain meds.
I've been taking Tramadol for 8 years, and along with Lyrica, have my PN
pain and symptoms pretty much under control. If he couldn't take Neurontin, why wasn't one (or more) of the varied anti-depressant meds used for PN tried?
There are over 75 meds currently Rx'd for PN because of different individual needs.
I think you need a PN specialist.

Thank you for your response. Unfortunately, he has been going to the VA Hospital and they are getting crazy about pain meds. He has been on Tramadol, which is still considered non-narcotic here and it does work. He was getting some side effects, so he asked to try something else and his doctor gave him darvocet. That didn't touch it. So trying to revert back to Tramadol the doctor said no and essentially left him with nothing. The side effects were minimal. We are in the process of changing doctors and hopefully they will give him the tramadol back and maybe try lyrica. The protocol at this VA for PN is tramadol, neurotin, lyrica or cymbalta. Period. We are looking for other docs but live in the middle of nowhere, Western North Carolina and there is not a lot available here. We are seriously considering moving just because of his health issues. Until then we are going to try to get the tramadol back and try lyrica. We are also looking for all alternative therapies as there has to be a better answer to this than drugs. Could be wrong there though. Thank you again...

Addendum
 

Forgot to mention that my husband takes B-100, C. A&D. Omega Fatty Acids, Acetyl-L Carnitine, Selenium, Benfotiamine, and R-Lipoic Acid for his feet. He is also on a bunch of other supplements as he also has Retinopathy. A1C's are normal now but the damage has been done and we are trying to fix what's broken. The human body is an amazing thing and is always repairing itself given the proper nutrition etc. I am an organic gardener and we eat as healthy as possible. Please read every label at the grocery store and you would be surprised at what the food industry is giving you.

Ask for a referral
 

Whenever I have to have a new doctor, I ask the old doctor to write me a referral and enclose a copy of the medications and records. Also, keep all your medical records. If you can't get the original, ask for a copy of it.

Billye

you need a PN specialist.

PN Specialist
 

Thanks everyone,

Looked for a PN specialist and the nearest one is 200 miles away. Not practical to live in podunk now. Back to plan b...relocate. Mugwumpet

PN problems
 

I would not take selenium before a blood test. The American diet is already way over what is recommended. Too much selenium can cause PN. I can do permanent damage. If you take selenium, you may be in extreme danger of many problems.

Is he using a separate B12 supplement?
The amount in that B100 is not high enough for PN treatment.

Does he take metformin? This drug depletes B12.