Living with Neuropathy - Welcome to the group

I am 84 and was diagnosed with neuropathy about year ago. When I ask the neurologist what I should be doing, or not doing he says nothing.

Hello @jrcarter, Welcome to Connect. Not sure why your neurologist didn't make any suggestions. There isn't a cure and if a person lives long enough there is a good chance they will get neuropathy according to an 80+ year old neurologist I listened to 5 or 6 years ago giving a talk about neuropathy. If you like to read, there are actually a lot of different things you can do to live a little better when you have neuropathy. Here's some information on the topic from the Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy - https://www.foundationforpn.org/living-well/.

Are you able to share what your biggest challenge is with your symptoms from your neuropathy diagnosis?

I have had neuropathy for two years. My doctors have not been able to determine what caused this condition for me. I am looking for information on treatment options that have been helpful for others. Also, any suggestions for ideas that I can try at home on my own would be great, too.

Welcome @juve, Many of us also have a form of idiopathic neuropathy with no determined cause. While it can be unsettling not to know the cause, there are many different treatments including complementary and alternative treatments. The Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy has a pretty comprehensive list here - https://www.foundationforpn.org/treatments/.

You are not alone on your quest for finding something that helps. Here is a list of discussions and comments from other members experience - https://connect.mayoclinic.org/search/discussions/?search=neuropathy%20what%20helps.

What symptoms are the most difficult for you to manage?

Thank you for your helpful reply. My neuropathy flares up a lot more at night and can make it very difficult to fall asleep even with taking Gabapentin.

You are not alone with neuropathy being worse at night. You might find the following discussion helpful.

-- Neuropathy Pain at Night: What helps?
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/night-pain-2/

@1942marilyne
I have balance issues. Due to the Polyneuropathy parts of my feet are numb, and I am not able to balance well when I walk.
Now, walking barefoot helps me balance better because I can feel the floor.

My name is Sal and I have both spine nerve root damage causing neuropathy as well as sensory in my feet which are partially numb and tingling and legs that give me muscle tremors. I take Lyrica and still exercise every other day and road bike ride and water walk in a pool. I noticed after exercise it gets better than it gets really worse and was wondering why?

Hi Sal, That is a great question. I'm sure there are a lot of different factors involved and I'm sure there are just as many opinions on what the answer to the question is. I only have numbness so I'm not taking medication for my neuropathy but have noticed when I exercise I feel better overall and maybe don't notice the numbness as much because I'm not thinking about it. Here's some research I found on the topic but it's a tough read for me to understand.

-- Exercise and Neuropathic Pain: A General Overview of Preclinical and Clinical Research
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7984211/

John
Thank you as I can see the science of the article is very back and forth and hard to read. I do know I will never ever give up