Question:
Has anyone had trouble with Neuropathy?

I had surgery in august of 2005. Six weeks later I became numb with foot drop. No-one seemed to care, my surgeon went out of business shortly after. I saw 3 Neurologists and they thought I was crazy. It has been hell. The footdrop resolved but the numbness has not. I have lived in hell since. Starting to gain back weight because I cannot exercise. Wonder why someone cannot help.    — gmom7 (posted on February 21, 2010)

February 21, 2010
So sorry for you pain and numbness. Have you been checked for diabetes? Did any of the neurologists do nerve tests on you? Is there any sign of back trouble? I know these are just more questions, but I hope they may give you more avenues to explore and hopefully find what is causing the numbness. Best wishes to you.
   — wrightmrsld

February 21, 2010
I'm sorry you've had to go through this for so long with no treatment. I developed peripheral neuropathy in late 2008 and was put on Neurontin. I take 1200mg a day and the maddening tingling I had is under control. Hope this helps some.
   — Kellye C.

February 21, 2010
My girlfriend had the same thing, and it was due to a defficiency in vitamin B-12. Have you been checked regularly for this?
   — totally_blessed2

February 22, 2010
Greetings everyone! I am 5 years post-op RNY. I don't have a clue what foot drop is. Could you explain it a bit to me? But, perhaps it is similar to what I experienced. Last year I suffered greatly with tingling and numbness in my toes, restless leg syndrome, 24/7 vertigo and extreme sleep depravation. All these issues arose because something in the anethesia given me for my pace-maker surgery in February caused my system to go wacko causing the above-listed issues to rise to the surface and make my life a living hell, just like yours is now. I have been hypothyroid for over 10 years and my thyroid medication always needs to be checked to be sure I have the right dosage. It spiked for no reason last year. The primary care physician I had told me I needed to sell my home and move into assisted living. Yet, before my surgery in February, I was a poster-child of great health (or so I thought). Thus, entered the sleep doctor and neurologist besides my new primary care physician as they puzzled what was causing all these issues. I was a regular contributor of my blood for a multiplicity of blood tests and retests and more retests. RLS, tingling in my feet, numbness (no I am not diabetic: that was ruled completely out), 24/7 vertigo, and yes, hypothyroidism, losing my balance, too weak to get up out of bed, etc. All these issues are now under control and my health is again wonderful. I also fine-tuned my diet eliminating all white foods, and drinking green smoothies (greens and fruits blended together with my Vita Mix, drinking 1 quart daily), and through trial and error of worked through my own investigations, and yes, getting a powerful drug for the RLS (which I no longer need!), besides daily taking a much higher dosage level of thyroid medication. My blood was checked in 21 different ways many, many times. I found I was getting entirely too much B6 through my prenatal vitamins and an insufficient dosage of thyroid medication. The side effect of both of these issues had the side-effect of numbness and tingling/stinging in toes and feet. I dropped down my daily prenatal vitamin level to 2 normal (since I am 50% malabsorptive) from 3 times normal. The thyroid medication was drastically jumped. The combination cut out the tingling and numbness/stinging in my feet. This, became a very easy fix, and one completely within my control to change. For the RLS, I purchased Mark J. Buchfuhrer, MD, Wayne A. Hening, MD, PhD and Clete A. Kushida, MD, PhD's book: Restless Legs Syndrome published by the American Academy of Neurology. You need this resource. Through it, I stopped a bunch of over-the-counter medications which I had used on an "as needed" basis or casually recommended by doctors who do not know better but recommend them for the common problems many of us have and want a pill to get rid of the symptoms: Tylenol, meclizine, Benadryl, Zyrtec (cetirizine), caffeine (although I hadn't used much before), Actifed, and acetophenazine. I also found that I had an immediate negative response if I ate any white foods: white bread, rice, noodles, white flour foods but no response if I had wheat flour foods (occasionally). This book is one of my bibles! I know I rambled a bit; but, help is here for you. You, yourself, need to become knowledgeable and through trial and error methods learn what are causing the issues for you. I'm glad you reached out to this forum at OH! I honestly cannot say that Tylenol and all the others are bad; but, for me, since I no longer take any of these, and also dropped out the white stuff completely (including potatoes and milk), I don't have these issues. I still have my powerful (and very expensive) medication for my RLS if I need the medication; so far, I'm keeping RLS at bay without having to take this medication. I no longer toss and turn all night long thrashing my bed, staying awake all night long because my brain would not shut down allowing me to sleep, which of course caused extreme sleep deprivation. Cutting down on the B6 level was very easy. Check your labels and see how much you are getting. Also get the multiplicity of neuropathy tests to rule out anything like diabetes. Purchase the book. You are in my prayers. Blessings, Christine Gibson, MS, MA, Bariatric University Support Group Coach, Obesity Help Support Group Coach, Obesity Help Support Group Leader. www.ObesityHelp.com/group/BellevueWA.
   — Christine Gibson