Neuropathy

[leoniakhan1]

I am 28 years old and was diagnosised with peripheral neuropathy about two years ago. Every night I have difficult time sleeping. I can not sleep at night without waking up in pain. Its hard for me to sleep at night what do I?

[lini]

I have suffered with nueropathy (I'm not diabetic) for 7 years and I take Ambien to sleep. I could not sleep without it. Living with the pain and discomfort of this disease is exhausting and without some sleep I don't believe I could survive. I'm sure any doctor would give you sleep meds unless there is some reason you should not take them. Please see your doctor and ask for help.

[Foxy]

This seems to be working for me. Everyone is different and the causes of PN are different so I hope something here can help you.

Like many who have posted here, I have burning, shocking, numb sensations in both feet. I am a 64-year-old, non-diabetic male and it started about 18 months ago. I went through the normal neurological testing (X-rays, EMG's, MRI, diabetes testing, blood tests for everything) and the answer is Idiopathic PN. Very frustrating! The neurologist said there was nothing more he could do so he gave me Lyrica and said go home and make the best of it. It continued to get worse and started up both legs to my knees - then my arms and face. The Lyrica helped relieve the symptoms but I realize that it was not doing anything to make it better – only masking the symptoms. Even with the full dose of Lyrica (300mg) it got so bad that I could hardly walk some days and it was excruciating at night.

I researched all I could online and at bookstores and libraries. I have tried a number of things and am happy to report that something seems to be working. I have been off the Lyrica completely since last December (2007) and have greatly reduced the pain and abnormal sensations in both feet. It is still aggravating but tolerable and I feel it continues to get better. The numbness in my lower legs is gone and it is no longer in my arms or face.

A problem with my "solution" is that I was so desperate to get rid of the pain that I did not use good troubleshooting principles. Instead of trying one thing at a time, I tried everything I could find all at once and therefore do not know which one or, possibly, which combination has helped. I am also not sure if this approach is really making it better or just masking the symptoms like the Lyrica did. Anyway, it feels much better without drugs.

Here is what I have tried: I have been taking calcium with magnesium + D just before bed - or sitting down for the evening. This has seemed to greatly relieve the increased sensations at that time of day. I also take ALA, GLA, Carnitine, oil-soluble B1 & B12 daily. I have greatly reduced (almost eliminated) the animal products from my diet. You can read a good book on this subject by Dr. Neal Barnard called "Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes". Since I have not been diagnosed with diabetes, I don't feel I got the great benefit from the program but (IMHO) it is certainly a healthier way to eat for anyone interested.

I have also purchased the Rebuilder (I’ve seen it advertised on this site and at Rebuildermedical.com) and used it twice daily for the past three months. Unfortunately, I cannot tell if it works or not because of all the other things I have been doing simultaneously.

I have also been wearing “diabetic” socks (you can buy them at Wal Mart) that have no elastic in the uppers so they do not restrict blood flow to my feet.

Another startling thing I just learned is that they just did a sleep study and found that people that do not get 7-8 hours of sound sleep every night quickly develop symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes and start eating more as well. Their study interrupted the sleep patterns of otherwise normal, healthy (non-diabetic) people and found that they displayed the symptoms of diabetes in only six days! They also monitored the food consumption and found a dramatic increase leading to weight gain. Since hearing that I started taking a couple of Tylenol PM's before bedtime and cannot tell you how much better I feel and function now.

After I feel I have gotten as far as I can in relieving and hopefully curing this malady, I will try eliminating one thing at a time to see if I can pinpoint what has worked for me. All I know is that I feel much better and am drug free. I can even go 30 minutes on the treadmill with little or no discomfort.

I hope this helps someone out there with this kind of problem. Good luck.