Driving with Numb Feet.

I've had idiopathic peripheral neuropathy for over 15 years. It is still progressing, starting out with my feet and lower legs and now moving up my arms from my fingers.

My experience with driving is that I also began to lose the ability to distinguish between the gas and brake pedals. I did not get into any accidents but did have a couple close calls and a considerable amount of tension due to not knowing if I could properly respond to a given situation.

I think there were two reasons that held me back from getting hand controls. First is that I was afraid that it would be very difficult to go from pedals to hand controls and might be a steep learning curve. Second reason is that every thing that you give up is another admission that your abilities have diminished which is not a comfortable thing to do.

I have been in continuous treatment for pain since 2008, have seen several neurologists, pain specialists, etc. No one forced me to get hand controls although my family was trying to convince me that I should. If I was smarter I would have listened sooner.

I found the transition to hand controls was not very difficult. I did have to get a car with hand controls before I was able to take the test and it did cost a couple of thousand dollars. I was still working at the time And there was a state program that assisted with the cost in order to extend my working life. Some automakers offer some cash on new cars for the modifications or might be worth checking into any kind of state assistance if you need it.

I'd say if this has become a serious concern for you then it is probably past time to move to hand controls. The additional cost for the controls and the admission of diminished capacity is not worth endangering the health or life of another person by driving when not safe to do so.

I've had idiopathic peripheral neuropathy for over 15 years. It is still progressing, starting out with my feet and lower legs and now moving up my arms from my fingers.

My experience with driving is that I also began to lose the ability to distinguish between the gas and brake pedals. I did not get into any accidents but did have a couple close calls and a considerable amount of tension due to not knowing if I could properly respond to a given situation.

I think there were two reasons that held me back from getting hand controls. First is that I was afraid that it would be very difficult to go from pedals to hand controls and might be a steep learning curve. Second reason is that every thing that you give up is another admission that your abilities have diminished which is not a comfortable thing to do.

I have been in continuous treatment for pain since 2008, have seen several neurologists, pain specialists, etc. No one forced me to get hand controls although my family was trying to convince me that I should. If I was smarter I would have listened sooner.

I found the transition to hand controls was not very difficult. I did have to get a car with hand controls before I was able to take the test and it did cost a couple of thousand dollars. I was still working at the time And there was a state program that assisted with the cost in order to extend my working life. Some automakers offer some cash on new cars for the modifications or might be worth checking into any kind of state assistance if you need it.

I'd say if this has become a serious concern for you then it is probably past time to move to hand controls. The additional cost for the controls and the admission of diminished capacity is not worth endangering the health or life of another person by driving when not safe to do so.

The total cost of the controls was about $3,500. That included some extra features like turn signals, horn and bright lights wired to some buttons on the side of the control grip. State paid either $1,500 or $2,000 and I paid the rest. It seems like my health insurance should have picked up some of the cost but it was not covered.

I liked products from a company called Guidosimplex. There weren't any local dealers but a local company specializing in customizing vehicles for the disabled contacted the USA distributor and did whatever training necessary to become an authorized dealer. That was very nice of them and if you like their products you might be able to have the same done wherever you are.

When I took driving training, which is required by the state to get hand controls here, the training site had their own vehicle but it seemed like the controls were really cheap plastic.

I got the F1 Evo installed in my car. I like it because it's for my right hand and is kind of like a stick shift.

Yes, other drivers just use the brake and gas pedals as usual.

In my state I had to get training by a state authorized location which was in the department of a hospital. They gave me some tests and I only recall one which involved hand, eye and brain coordination.

I also had to be with a driving instructor for a few hours. I think I felt fairly confident within a couple of hours. It took longer for reflexes to adjust so that if I needed to brake quickly I wouldn't unthinkingly go for the brake pedal instead of pushing the hand control forward. But that was also a matter of only a few weeks to change.

just saw your response here. all my questions have been answered.

I appreciate you taking the time to respond.

btw what state are you in?