Neuropathy & covid connection

@joanland Peripheral neuropathy is frequently reported in long COVID patients.
• In a cohort of patients with long COVID (persistent symptoms ≥3 months), nearly 59% showed evidence of peripheral neuropathy when formally evaluated with skin biopsies and nerve testing: https://www.massgeneral.org/news/press-release/does-nerve-damage-contribute-to-long-covid

• Another large analysis of 977 long COVID patients found ~55% reported neuropathic symptoms, with small fiber neuropathy confirmed in over half of tested cases. Notably this study found association with anti-ganglioside antibodies, which supports an immune-mediated mechanism: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40093251/

@dieterreuther Many thanks for your reply. I could very well be a statistic in one of those studies because I have both. Again thanks.

@joanland How do you know you have long Covid? I thought there are no definitive tests yet. I have idiopathic polyneuropathy and now wonder whether there is a correlation between my neuropathy and one of my two Covid infections. Have to look into the timeline.

I was diagnosed with iPN prior to getting sick with Covid December 2022. My PN was well managed taking 100mg/1x gabapentin with no symptoms. By mid January 2023 I woke up one morning and both my feet bottons were burning. Doubling and tripling gabapentin dosages did nothing.

Could be a coincidence but I do wonder if there's a connection with Covid.

@dieterreuther
You are absolutely correct: there is no test to prove Long-COVID. My symptoms simply check enough boxes that the diagnosis is likely correct. Fortunately, the neurologist I see has spent time working on COVID and Long-COVID as a researcher before going back to practice neurology. So she's seen both PN and Long-COVID. I have had PN for a good many years prior to having one bout of COVID in 2023.

@dieterreuther
I have always been active. Tennis, golf, skiing, swimming laps. But now I have PN & had it cor several years after getting the 2 covid shots & having Covid twice. Did Covid or the shots cause PN in both feet & lower legs? It's getting worse for balance. Is there any hope for improvement?

@charlieg304 So sorry about your PN and the consequences for your active lifestyle. I am in a similar situation: started to run marathons in 2013 after the Boston Marathon bombing and crossed the finish line 11 times since then. First Covid infection in 2022 and second one in 2024 while having all Moderna mRNA Covid vaccinations. Diagnosed with idiopathic axonal polyneuropathy in 2023, but symptoms started earlier. I was still able to run the Chicago Marathon in 2024 by managing my PN, but had to drop out this year after multiple issues in my right foot. It is complicated because my spinal stenosis comes into play as well. In my case, keeping my core strong and train my brain to deal with the loss of signals coming from my feet is my hope.

Good luck to you. So sad. You are so active yet PN has attacked you. I too had 2 Moderna shots. I have 2 red light boots that I use every day & have used for over one year. It's supposed to help at the mitochondria level. But I have not noticed any improvement.

@charlieg304 I also have used the red light boots regularly for about two months with no noticeable difference. Diagnosed with small fiber neuropathy from A1C of 5.8. I’m still skeptical that this is the true cause.

I had stem cell injections, red light therapy & electrical stimulation 2 times a week for 6 weeks. Didn't help & a year later that company went out of business. Of course it was all out of pocket. Very discouraging.