Peripheral sensory neuropathy - Anyone tried Walkasins?

@domiha
Hello
It is great to hear that Walkasins helped improved your walking.
Hopefully you will get them soon.
Thank you for all the details
It is most helpful.
How long have you had neuropathy in your feet?
Also do you have numbness or spongy feeling in your feet that affects your balance?
Appreciate all the info
Best Wishes

No 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.

@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

@positivehealth I went to a certified Walkasins PT at Penn State Rehab in Hershey, PA. (2 hour drive from my home). I found them not helpful at all, could feel the electric “buzz” but it didn’t help with my balance or gait pattern, at all. BUT I did get a full PT evaluation, she recommended a PT at a satellite clinic who does computerized gait analysis and shoe adjustments. I drove down again. He did the analysis, recommended a rocker plate to be installed in my Brooks sneakers to aid in push-off and stability. I googled “Dick’s Sporting Goods near me”, drove there right away, bought 2 new pairs, drove back and left them with him. When they were finished, I went down again, put on the adapted shoes, he worked with my walking and added to my Home Exercise Program.
I drop off two pairs of shoes at a time now. That was 3 pairs of Brooks and 2 pairs of Hokas ago. I rarely wear shoes without the rocker plates, when I do, my balance is off, my gait is off. I walk with kind of an off-kilter limp.
I started by calling the Walkasins corporate # in MN, they directed me to certified PTs in my state (2), I googled the closest one, called and asked the FAX #, gave my name and info and that I was asking my PCP for a PT referral. I asked my PCP to FAX a PT referral for evaluation and treat for lower leg neuropathy, I called for an appointment with the certified Walkasins PT, and the rest is history.
I will tell you, the Walkasins rep (also a PT) called several times, wanting to send me info, talk about it, send me links to research and happy customers. I finally had to tell her to stop calling. It is a business, they have a product to sell, there are reasons health insurances have not approved it for reimbursement, there is a reason the rep wants to come to your home, yet few PTs are certified (2 in the entire state of Pennsylvania?). Buyer beware.

@ The Rocker plates have to be adjusted? I'm not understanding that part and I'm going to ask my neurologist about this item. I have had neuropathy since 2015 I've gotten the pain under control with laser therapy and supplements but the balance issue is very difficult for me as I work 7 days a week. I am in PT again because every year I request new order for PT.