How can a person be diagnosed with Neuropathy if they are not Diabetic

@geet69 I am chemo patient too and have it in my toes. Bottoms of feet too. I use neuropathy cream and it really makes a difference. This company makes products for chemo patients. It's all natural ingredients.

@dinosoke have you seen a foot doctor? Orthopedic maybe. Your primary care doctor should refer you to another doctor that can see about your foot. Try a compression footie on it. I tripped off steps and my right ankle will swell and I wear a compression sock on it and it helps tremendously.

I am not diabetic either. Nor do I have PAD. I've been diagnosed with polyneuropathy. No known cause, but there it is.
It mainly affects me below the knee and causes numbness, occasional toe/foot area electrical zings and some balance and walking issues.
Nothing the docs can do, so I'm addressing it with exercise, stretching, massage, topicals and supplements.
Everybody hange in there and happy holidays!

@dinosoke absolutely me!!?It is absolutely frustrating!! I have it in both feet 🙈 Also a former dancer/gymnast/ long ago it has an extra humiliation when you can’t even not make a scene walking. I got to new heights recently, when my Apple Watch told me that “we have noticed you have had an unsteady gait lately.” Then they gave suggestions with all this one legged this and that! Yeah, right! Very stable shoes (and $) like Brooks Aris stability shoes can help some with not toppling as easy and some pain. I have to every other lace sometimes too. Now my foot drop I recovered from in 2010 has also returned partially in my big toe making a AFO necessary and a cane somedays, especially when I walk too much. I am going to ask for a parking permit, mostly for those times it’s at its worst. I am so sorry, it is the most frustrating thing, mine isn’t consistent either, so I can overdo and end up worse. I hope you will find enough little helps❤️🙏Maybe someday we can hope for a cure!

@dinosoke
In my pre covid support group there were very few members with non diabetic neuropathy - about 3 out of 15 group members including myself. All of us who did not have diabetes were confused as to what was happening to us. Idiopathic does not give any useful information. Much of the frustration was around the fact that doctors are not able to help us to improve our situation. My online searches have a pattern - early intervention is important … there is no intervention or treatment. I am old enough to remember when MS had the same medical response. One friend was finally referred to a psychiatrist because of her odd behavior. Suffering on top of suffering. Physical therapy to maintain strength is helping me and I will start acupuncture very soon.
I don’t know if this is at all helpful but I do believe peer support in important.

@newtoni48 I have the same situation, polyneuropathy, idiopathic. Not given much hope by doctors. Will try acupuncture. Will report back.

@phyllisq
Yeah, they just pat you on the head send you on your way.
My routine at least is making life manageable and mostly pain free.
I had amazing results from acupuncture for rotator cuff tear pain about 30 years ago.
I'm curious to hear how it works out for you.
Haven't tried for my neuropathy since I've had a lot of success with what I'm doing currently (my engineering brain won't let go).
Acupoints and trigger points do seem to help. I've used acupressure and trigger point work for referred neuropathy pain frequently and they seem to help; particularly points in the shin for top of foot and toe zinging.

@newtoni48
I hate to give up but I’m having trouble maintaining the same level of fight that I started with after so many false starts. Something strange just resurfaced. Many years ago when I was just diagnosed there was a suggestion that statins might cause neuropathy. Then I was told by my doctor that a study was done that disproved that theory. I continued the statins and pushed through the side effects. One of my sisters immediately gave up the statins. Today she is running around caring for her sick husband and going into the city (Manhattan) with her grandchildren while I can barely walk from one room to another. I will let my doctor know I am stopping the statins. Too late, probably, but maybe it will slow the decline and avoid needing a wheel chair.

@bajjerfan I didn’t know that pre-diabetes was linked with peripheral neuropathy. I know that in diabetics, the longer one has diabetes, the more likely to have neuropathy. How long have you had pre- diabetes?

@phyllisq
Since I had a triple CABG back in 2022 and have recently been diagnosed with Afib, I'm on 2 muscle killers: 80mg Lipitor and Eliquis.
Not really much of an option for me to quit either due to these conditions.
There are other alternatives to statins you may want to discuss with your doctor if only LDL is the issue. A strict diet can be effective if you're a saint.
Some people seem to have success with CoQ10 for statin side effects. Studies are mixed and mileage may vary, as they say.
I'm counting on CoQ, other supplements and exercise to slow the slide. So far so good.
Too bad there are no guarantees in this life.