Peripheral sensory neuropathy - Anyone tried Walkasins?
I have recently been diagnosed with PSN and I’ve been searching for remedies. I am looking into the spinal cord stimulator and recently discovered a product called Walkasins by RxFunction. It is a prosthetic device you insert in your shoe which sends signals to your brain from the bottom of your feet. Looks promising for balance and gait issues and will help prevent falls because it enables you to feel your feet. This requires a doctors prescription and I assume is covered by insurance. Has anyone else use this product?
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@positivehealth Hello!! I have numbness in my feet that seems to have affected my balance. My brain is not getting all the signals it once got from the bottoms of my feet. I began to experience the neuropathy after having a lumbar laminectomy in 2022. Before the laminectomy, because of stenosis I could not walk very far at all. Immediately afterward, I was able to stand and walk. So I needed the surgery to become moble again. Shortly afterwards I began to experience the tingling and sometimes burning in my feet.
The VA has been paying for Walkasins for a number of years, and the company focused primarily on that market. So if anyone here has healthcare through the VA and has balance issues, I urge them to have their doctor contact RxFunction to get information for a prescription. As for my situation, I went to the RxFunction site online and filled in a form to request more information. Someone called me a few days later and got further info from me, including my Primary Care Physician's name. The local rep, who lives in the Atlanta area and covers much of the Southeast, contacted my doctor and explained how the Walkasins work. I saw my doctor two weeks later for my annual physical and at that time he filled out the paperwork documenting my neuropathy and he wrote a prescription for the Walkasins. A couple of days later, the rep came to my doctor's office to pick up all the forms and the prescription. It was at that time the rep called me and offered to come by and let me just try a pair of Walkasins to see what they felt like... while he was in the area. And now I'm waiting. The script has been filed with my insurance. I have fallen several times. The worst time was when I wound up with a bad sprain of my right ankle and strained tendons that put me in a boot for three weeks. I'm not an insurance person and I do NOT speak insurance language.... but I AM a fall risk. If I fall at some point and hit my head and wind up with a brain bleed.... and have to have some neurosurgical procedures to save my life and spend days in the hospital and weeks in rehab it is going to cost my insurance a whole lot more than the price of the Walkasins. A broken hip will be the same. But, then, as I said, I do not understand the workings of insurance companies...... and perhaps the logic in my thinking about a possible fall is illogical to them. So for now I wait..... As in ALL cases, with any healthcare issues, what works for one person my not work the same for another. I just know the Walkasins immediately improved my balance. But YMMV( your mileage may vary). But they are certainly worth looking into if the bottoms of your feet are numb and you worry about falling because of balance issues. Best wishes! Mike
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1 ReactionNo I don’t wear the Walkasins anymore, I wear braces that fit in my shoes @strap around my shin. I don’t go anywhere without them, I was fitted at a physical therapist who specializes in braces for amputees. They help my walking & gait, my drop foot but still have a balance problem. As I said before, Walkasins have the right idea, just not the right application.
@bob1946
Thank you for the update.
The braces seem to be a good alternative.
@domiha
Thank you for all the details and hopefully Medicare or your insurance company will approve them soon!!!!!
Keep us posted.
Best Wishes