@scain - Thanks for your post and I believe many of us can relate to your comments. Putting your ego aside is very difficult yet being safe and being less worried about falling is vital. I went through a similar situation when I decided to begin using a cane. It was a tough decision for me, but I need it for numbness and poor balance. After a few falls I decided that my ability to remain on two feet is more important. No falls in two years. I've had PN for 9 years and I've made adjustments along the way. After 52 years of being married, my wife passed away unexpectedly in February of this year and since then, I've had to make many more adjustments. I've placed safety above everything. Continue doing your gardening even at waist level. it works. Best to you!
Thank you and I am so sorry for your loss. This experience is also part of growing old. I hope you find some comfort in the memories of your 52 years together.
I have peripheral neuropathy that has progressed over the last several years.
Recently it has gotten to the point while I can walk (thoughtfully) without a cane, etc., my balance has significantly deteriorated.
I was referred to Physical Therapy by my Doc and they gave me a series of excercises that basically help my brain adapt to the deficiencies brought on by the neuropathy. The exercises take ~45 minutes a day (I tend to spread them out during the day) and have resulted in measurable improvement in my balance while walking, etc.
I have peripheral neuropathy that has progressed over the last several years.
Recently it has gotten to the point while I can walk (thoughtfully) without a cane, etc., my balance has significantly deteriorated.
I was referred to Physical Therapy by my Doc and they gave me a series of excercises that basically help my brain adapt to the deficiencies brought on by the neuropathy. The exercises take ~45 minutes a day (I tend to spread them out during the day) and have resulted in measurable improvement in my balance while walking, etc.
Hello @roscommonkid, Welcome to Connect. Thanks for sharing what has helped you with balance. At 82 I can still walk without a cane but my balance is not very good and I also have try and keep up with the balance exercises daily. They do help. There are quite a few discussions on neuropathy and balance if you want to scan through them - https://connect.mayoclinic.org/search/discussions/?search=neuropathy%20and%20balance.
Do you have any pain symptoms with your neuropathy?
I also use a walker at home, as well as a cane when at work. I have already had a very serious fall about a year ago, so I am very careful when I walk. My husband is a great help for support, but I feel very helpless and guilty for him having to do so much for me. I have always been so independent all my life, so this has caused me a lot of depression. To think that in this day and age that there is no hope, no cure, and that it will only get worse as time goes by, is hard to accept.
There is hope as far as pain medication. Suzetrigine was recently approved for acute post op pain and it seems only a matter of time until it is approved for neuropathies. It is the first non opiate to hit the market in over 20 years. Suzetrigine works directly to block certain sodium channels in the peripheral nerves, bypassing the central nervous system. A smaller company did the heavy lifting on this research and larger drug companies are sure to follow with their own cocktail based on sodium channels blocking. Maybe drug companies are starting to realize that there is a very large market out there for treating PN.
My neuropathy is bilateral, peripheral, so far restricted to my legs. It started by burning sensation for a while after i turned in at night. It is slowly advancing, walking is getting more difficult and risky. I’ve fallen. Couple of times but then got much more careful. Dropfoot is getting to be a problem.
I have found that shoes with a rounder heel. As my heel strikes, it rolls forward somewhat instead of causing the ball of my foot to slap down as i walk. Hoka makes some good ones in running shoe styles.
The fact that neuropathy started setting in before my A1C rang any alarms makes me think that my insulin levels were soaring meantime and probably BG was spiking severely. Many of us with insulin resistance were initially told by docs that our pancreus was worn out. (Thoroughly misguided). The resistance develops over time while your pancreus is squirting out toms of insulin in losing battle to get you BG down. Even well after we have started getting symptoms such as neuropathy, we can improve our lot by strictly
limiting carbohydrates intake. In effect we have to take a load off the pancreus. This post is getting long but bear with me. I highly recommend the book “the dibetes code” by doctor Jason Fung. This getting long but have a look as the following bumpf from a great sight…
*********************** A SUPERB SITE ********************************************
Excerpt from link diabetesupdate.blogspot.ca
/2008
/12
/diabetic-nerve-pain-and-what-you-can-do.html
The take-away lesson here is this: It is post meal blood sugars that cause neuropathy. People can get identical A1cs with very different post meal blood sugars which is probably why the research finds there is no clear correlation between A1c and the presence of neuropathy, especially when A1c is below 8%.
Your fasting blood sugar, which is the only blood sugar many out-of-date doctors monitor, is also worthless in evaluating your neuropathy risk, because it is possible to have extremely high post meal blood sugars and completely normal fasting blood sugars. I did that myself years ago when I had fasting blood sugars of 98 mg/dl and post meal blood sugars at every meal over 250 mg/dl.
This 140 mg/dl post meal blood sugar target is very mainstream--the American Associationof Clinical Endocrinologists has been recommending it for five years now and I have heard rumors that some of that organization's members would like to see it lowered even further.
Shoes with a rounded heel for walking. Walking stick that looks like a ski pole.mostly for standing , waiting in lineups etc. For workshop, i have a nice stool with casters to scoot around on. I try to get on my elliptical every other day. I’m losing ground to PN but i believe i’m slowing the progression.It a rotten affliction but could be much worse in my case. Pain is not a biggy yet but I’ve had a couple of samples of what it could become.
I can't walk very good because my balance is way off due to neuropathy in my feet.My feet feel like someone is stabbing me a sharp knife all the time, 24/7! I have tried all the meds and no good results. I had an E R. doctor tell me that there is no cure, no treatments or meds that can help with the neuropathy pain!!
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Thank you and I am so sorry for your loss. This experience is also part of growing old. I hope you find some comfort in the memories of your 52 years together.
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1 ReactionI have peripheral neuropathy that has progressed over the last several years.
Recently it has gotten to the point while I can walk (thoughtfully) without a cane, etc., my balance has significantly deteriorated.
I was referred to Physical Therapy by my Doc and they gave me a series of excercises that basically help my brain adapt to the deficiencies brought on by the neuropathy. The exercises take ~45 minutes a day (I tend to spread them out during the day) and have resulted in measurable improvement in my balance while walking, etc.
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
6 ReactionsHello @roscommonkid, Welcome to Connect. Thanks for sharing what has helped you with balance. At 82 I can still walk without a cane but my balance is not very good and I also have try and keep up with the balance exercises daily. They do help. There are quite a few discussions on neuropathy and balance if you want to scan through them - https://connect.mayoclinic.org/search/discussions/?search=neuropathy%20and%20balance.
Do you have any pain symptoms with your neuropathy?
-
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Helpful -
Hug
1 ReactionI had the same positive experience with PT for my balance. I think I could walk a tightrope across The Grand Canyon now!
There is hope as far as pain medication. Suzetrigine was recently approved for acute post op pain and it seems only a matter of time until it is approved for neuropathies. It is the first non opiate to hit the market in over 20 years. Suzetrigine works directly to block certain sodium channels in the peripheral nerves, bypassing the central nervous system. A smaller company did the heavy lifting on this research and larger drug companies are sure to follow with their own cocktail based on sodium channels blocking. Maybe drug companies are starting to realize that there is a very large market out there for treating PN.
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
1 ReactionMy neuropathy is bilateral, peripheral, so far restricted to my legs. It started by burning sensation for a while after i turned in at night. It is slowly advancing, walking is getting more difficult and risky. I’ve fallen. Couple of times but then got much more careful. Dropfoot is getting to be a problem.
I have found that shoes with a rounder heel. As my heel strikes, it rolls forward somewhat instead of causing the ball of my foot to slap down as i walk. Hoka makes some good ones in running shoe styles.
The fact that neuropathy started setting in before my A1C rang any alarms makes me think that my insulin levels were soaring meantime and probably BG was spiking severely. Many of us with insulin resistance were initially told by docs that our pancreus was worn out. (Thoroughly misguided). The resistance develops over time while your pancreus is squirting out toms of insulin in losing battle to get you BG down. Even well after we have started getting symptoms such as neuropathy, we can improve our lot by strictly
limiting carbohydrates intake. In effect we have to take a load off the pancreus. This post is getting long but bear with me. I highly recommend the book “the dibetes code” by doctor Jason Fung. This getting long but have a look as the following bumpf from a great sight…
*********************** A SUPERB SITE ********************************************
Excerpt from link diabetesupdate.blogspot.ca
/2008
/12
/diabetic-nerve-pain-and-what-you-can-do.html
The take-away lesson here is this: It is post meal blood sugars that cause neuropathy. People can get identical A1cs with very different post meal blood sugars which is probably why the research finds there is no clear correlation between A1c and the presence of neuropathy, especially when A1c is below 8%.
Your fasting blood sugar, which is the only blood sugar many out-of-date doctors monitor, is also worthless in evaluating your neuropathy risk, because it is possible to have extremely high post meal blood sugars and completely normal fasting blood sugars. I did that myself years ago when I had fasting blood sugars of 98 mg/dl and post meal blood sugars at every meal over 250 mg/dl.
This 140 mg/dl post meal blood sugar target is very mainstream--the American Associationof Clinical Endocrinologists has been recommending it for five years now and I have heard rumors that some of that organization's members would like to see it lowered even further.
Shoes with a rounded heel for walking. Walking stick that looks like a ski pole.mostly for standing , waiting in lineups etc. For workshop, i have a nice stool with casters to scoot around on. I try to get on my elliptical every other day. I’m losing ground to PN but i believe i’m slowing the progression.It a rotten affliction but could be much worse in my case. Pain is not a biggy yet but I’ve had a couple of samples of what it could become.
I can't walk very good because my balance is way off due to neuropathy in my feet.My feet feel like someone is stabbing me a sharp knife all the time, 24/7! I have tried all the meds and no good results. I had an E R. doctor tell me that there is no cure, no treatments or meds that can help with the neuropathy pain!!