Neuropathy and....

I asked about neuropathy a few weeks ago.  My wife's PCP suspected she had this.  Yesterday, she had a "electrical shock" test to check muscle responses, etc.  Diagnosis: she definitely has neuropathy.  She has to wear some type of footwear all the time now. She walked around with glass in her foot from a broken plate, and did not feel it. She got blisters on the bottom of her feet from the hot concrete patio this summer. She got blisters on her feet from her good Birkenstock sandals, where the straps casused blisters when her feet swelled some. We got a newer pair of sandals with velcro fasteners that allow adjustment or removal from their the back strap or a strap in the front.  If you note tingling in your lets and the bottom of your feet feel numb, see your doctor as it may be neuropathy.

As a secondary not, the neuropathy caused an incident on Saturday. She fell in the garage. I took her to the ER, and she had a broken wrist. It was set and put into a brace for a few days so the swelling could go down.  Right after the neuropathy test yesterday, I took her to orthopedics to see if they could now put a cast on her wrist.  Answer was no, the wrist was not setting, and was still swollen. She now faces surgery in the next few days to put a plate and screws in her wrist so her thumb will function after healing. 

Needless to say, this was somewhat depressing for her.  She will have blood tests in the next week or so to see if she has any shortages of B1, B6, B12, folate, etc. that affect her neuropathy.  If shortages are noted, there is a small chance the improving these low levels may help her improve the feeling in her feet and legs.  Dave

Neuropathy is a very bad condition. I have it and have had it for years. They have prescribed several things for it and so far nothing has helped much. Even after losing over 100 lbs it is still there and sometimes it wakes me from sleep. If you find any help for it please post it as I sure could use it as well. Good luck to your wife and I am sorry for all her problems.

I take Neuronitn, which helps a lot.  My neurologist also recommended B12 shots vs sublingual, so now I get them once a month. She says the B12 gets to the nerve endings better with the shots.

I was referred to that Neorontin ad site when I asked before. Exactly how did it help you?  I did not that it seemed to be pricey too.  BTW, wife just got phone call that her wrist/thumb surgery is on Tuesday. DAVE

Dave, I'm sorry to hear your wife is having such a time with her neuropathy and hope she can find a way to help it.   Neurontin has been available as a generic for a number of years, it is probably not cheap cheap but will still be cheaper than the brand name.

Lizzy S

Sorry to hear that Dave. I hope she can improve with time. But some Vit - mineral deficiencies - may cause permanent nerve damage, and can't be corrected even if later on the vitamins level improve.  I hope it is not that case.

Dave,
I'm sorry to hear your wife has had such a rough go of it. I have nothing to add to your post as I have no experience with her condition but, I will keep her in my thoughts and send up positives for both of you

I have no experience with neuropathy, but I wanted to say how sorry I am to hear that your wife (and you!) are going through such a rough time.
I hope things take a turn for the better soon, good luck.