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Ideopathic Neuropathy - Doesn't all neuropathies have a cause?
Neuropathy | Last Active: 5 days ago | Replies (17)Comment receiving replies
@cax75 Idiopathic literally means "of unknown cause or origin". Of course, every disease or illness has a cause, but the real problem is that medicine and research are not advanced enough to determine the cause for every one of the thousands of conditions we know about. Then comes the realization that knowing the cause doesn't translate directly to knowing the treatment or the cure.
So what, as patients and practitioners do we do?
We look for known causes using our medical history, examination and testing. If the cause isn't identified, the condition is labeled "idiopathic ".
The practitioners use established protocols, based on best current knowledge and their experience, to try treatments, from most likely to more experimental ones, hoping one alleviates symptoms.
And all the while, in the background, medical research continues, looking for clues, causes and cures.
For example, I have had asthma for many years, most of that time it was poorly controlled because the side effects of the inhalers and nebulizer bothered me so much that I only used them when desperate. 3 years ago, a COPD drug was being tried for asthma, and that inhaler changed my life. They still can't cure asthma without a lung transplant, and they still don't know exactly what causes it, but I have my life back!
Have you found any treatment that helps your neuropathy?
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My primary doctor referred me to a neurologist. He says the problem is nerver related with no known cause. Quite a concidence (IMO) that a neurologist would assume its nerve related, even though he has no idea of the cause. I find that very frustrating because he has no interest in finding the cause beyond assuming a damaged nerve.
In my case, the pain trigger is certain types of foods. i.e foods with chile pepper (like most Mexican dishes), or black pepper, or any food that is acidic like tomato based sauces, or chocolate, or cinnamon, etc. etc. So could it be some rare type of allergy that I developed? I am asking my Primary that tomorrow morning. It just feels like all my doctors have zero interest in pursuing a cause.
To answer your question a bit more specifically, I do get some pain relief from progabalin (aka Lyrica) as long as I avoid all the "trigger" foods.