Neuropathy and Blood Flow

Posted by growyourflow @growyourflow, Jun 7, 2017

Can increasing blood flow help me manage pain in my extremities diagnosed as peripheral neuropathy?
Gf

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Neuropathy Support Group.

@johnbishop

Hello @growyourflow, welcome to Connect. You did pose an interesting question. I have had small fiber peripheral neuropathy for over 15 to 20 years. I do take a lot of supplements and one that I take sodium stablized Alpha Lipoic Acid mentions helps with blood flow. I don't have a medical background or any training but have done a lot of my own digging and searching for answers. I only have numbness with my neuropathy - no pain. The one thing I've found is that all of the drugs for neuropathy only address the pain...and they do that by masking it and not really fixing anything.

I did do a search on http://scholar.google.com which does give you the ability to refine the search so you can look for the latest information on your topic, etc.. I used the search phrase - increase blood flow for neuropathy and it found quite a bit of info:
http://bit.ly/2r6rmWR
John

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I have worked with Shaklee products for 42 years and would be happy to gove you information . A little about my background. I was in the first Degree Nursing Program starting in 1939 at the College of St. Teresa in Winona and St. MAry's Hospital and the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Graduated in 1944 and on intomthe U S Navy Nurse Corp in WWII.

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@johnbishop

Hello @growyourflow, welcome to Connect. You did pose an interesting question. I have had small fiber peripheral neuropathy for over 15 to 20 years. I do take a lot of supplements and one that I take sodium stablized Alpha Lipoic Acid mentions helps with blood flow. I don't have a medical background or any training but have done a lot of my own digging and searching for answers. I only have numbness with my neuropathy - no pain. The one thing I've found is that all of the drugs for neuropathy only address the pain...and they do that by masking it and not really fixing anything.

I did do a search on http://scholar.google.com which does give you the ability to refine the search so you can look for the latest information on your topic, etc.. I used the search phrase - increase blood flow for neuropathy and it found quite a bit of info:
http://bit.ly/2r6rmWR
John

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I would love to know more about the Shakee products. And you really feel they have helped you/

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@johnbishop

Hello @growyourflow, welcome to Connect. You did pose an interesting question. I have had small fiber peripheral neuropathy for over 15 to 20 years. I do take a lot of supplements and one that I take sodium stablized Alpha Lipoic Acid mentions helps with blood flow. I don't have a medical background or any training but have done a lot of my own digging and searching for answers. I only have numbness with my neuropathy - no pain. The one thing I've found is that all of the drugs for neuropathy only address the pain...and they do that by masking it and not really fixing anything.

I did do a search on http://scholar.google.com which does give you the ability to refine the search so you can look for the latest information on your topic, etc.. I used the search phrase - increase blood flow for neuropathy and it found quite a bit of info:
http://bit.ly/2r6rmWR
John

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You a contact me at Materk94@yahoo.com

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@rhepler74

May I ask whether a Tens Unit is part of your therapy for pain, as well as for numbness?

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Thanks John for these very good references. I was ready for for a discussion but apparently my neurologist had tagged my chart as being "allergic" to statins based on the huge change after I quit. Going to try adding Zetia to bring the LDL down the last few numbers.
To bring you up to date on my cycling last Friday I rode 52 mi. something I used to do 3x/wk two years ago. My neuropathy "stocking" feeling has dropped from upper calf down to the ankle. Even the toes have less numbness. I feel like I got my life back and am bitter about my previous cardiologist who wouldn't even talk about trying something else. This trade off of enjoying life so much more vs shorting my lifespan was well worth it to me being 77.

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@rhepler74

May I ask whether a Tens Unit is part of your therapy for pain, as well as for numbness?

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Can I ask what you are doing to get these results ? I have the numbness up just passed my knees but relatively no pain. Particular numbness in feet and feeling like they are swollen but they aren't.

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@rhepler74

May I ask whether a Tens Unit is part of your therapy for pain, as well as for numbness?

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I stopped Lipitor on July 4th. My belief was that the statin induced the neuropathy. See @john Bishop Sept 20 above.

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I suffer from length dependent peripheral neuropathy
in both feet and it is progressing upward halfway to both knees. I need help because this problem is getting worse and I am out of options.
The Before this occurred, I got an infection in both legs from the knees down on two separate occasions, and had to be hospitalized both times for a week at a time. I do not have any swelling nor do I have diabetes. I do have arthritis in parts of both feet including my toes. I have within the last year been diagnosed with plantar fasciitis in both feet also. This subsided quite a bit after PT. I take Cymbalta 2x a day, Percocet 10/325mg 4x a day, Vitamin B Complex, and Magnesium and Volterin cream daily on my sacral area and my feet. I also suffer from chronic pain from neck to the and including my sacral area.
(Years ago I had surgery for the removal of a Tarlov cyst located from L4 to S2, a laminectomy, a fat graft and a sacral plate implanted due to the fact that the cyst wore away my sacrum causing it to be paper thin). I have had 3 tens units surgical placed into my body in 3 separate areas which had to be removed during the first trial phase of each because all 3 caused staph infections where they were placed so they each had to be removed. My neurosurgeon retired and his replacement was not sure how to fix my spinal issues only that he could do a fusion which probably wouldn't help my problem. It seemed as though he was pushing the newest TENS The neurologist that I was referred to for my neuropathy said that he was sorry that the medical profession had failed me and there wasn't anything that he could do for me and good luck.
I have been going to pain management for 20 plus years and have had many pain injections, nerve blocks and epidurals. These procedures have never really helped with my pain, but I keep on trying different things.

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@debduh11

I suffer from length dependent peripheral neuropathy
in both feet and it is progressing upward halfway to both knees. I need help because this problem is getting worse and I am out of options.
The Before this occurred, I got an infection in both legs from the knees down on two separate occasions, and had to be hospitalized both times for a week at a time. I do not have any swelling nor do I have diabetes. I do have arthritis in parts of both feet including my toes. I have within the last year been diagnosed with plantar fasciitis in both feet also. This subsided quite a bit after PT. I take Cymbalta 2x a day, Percocet 10/325mg 4x a day, Vitamin B Complex, and Magnesium and Volterin cream daily on my sacral area and my feet. I also suffer from chronic pain from neck to the and including my sacral area.
(Years ago I had surgery for the removal of a Tarlov cyst located from L4 to S2, a laminectomy, a fat graft and a sacral plate implanted due to the fact that the cyst wore away my sacrum causing it to be paper thin). I have had 3 tens units surgical placed into my body in 3 separate areas which had to be removed during the first trial phase of each because all 3 caused staph infections where they were placed so they each had to be removed. My neurosurgeon retired and his replacement was not sure how to fix my spinal issues only that he could do a fusion which probably wouldn't help my problem. It seemed as though he was pushing the newest TENS The neurologist that I was referred to for my neuropathy said that he was sorry that the medical profession had failed me and there wasn't anything that he could do for me and good luck.
I have been going to pain management for 20 plus years and have had many pain injections, nerve blocks and epidurals. These procedures have never really helped with my pain, but I keep on trying different things.

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Hello @debduh11, Welcome to Connect. I can't even imagine how difficult it has been for you trying to manage the pain for 20+ years. @steeldove shared this article in another discussion about the challenges similar to what you have faced.

--- Neuropathic Pain: Navigating the Challenges of an Elusive Disease:
https://www.neurologyadvisor.com/topics/neuropathy/neuropathic-pain-navigating-the-challenges-of-an-elusive-disease/2/.
You might want to look through the discussions in the Neuropathy Support Group to see if there you can relate to - https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/neuropathy/.

Have you heard about or looked into a pain rehabilitation center?

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@debduh11

I suffer from length dependent peripheral neuropathy
in both feet and it is progressing upward halfway to both knees. I need help because this problem is getting worse and I am out of options.
The Before this occurred, I got an infection in both legs from the knees down on two separate occasions, and had to be hospitalized both times for a week at a time. I do not have any swelling nor do I have diabetes. I do have arthritis in parts of both feet including my toes. I have within the last year been diagnosed with plantar fasciitis in both feet also. This subsided quite a bit after PT. I take Cymbalta 2x a day, Percocet 10/325mg 4x a day, Vitamin B Complex, and Magnesium and Volterin cream daily on my sacral area and my feet. I also suffer from chronic pain from neck to the and including my sacral area.
(Years ago I had surgery for the removal of a Tarlov cyst located from L4 to S2, a laminectomy, a fat graft and a sacral plate implanted due to the fact that the cyst wore away my sacrum causing it to be paper thin). I have had 3 tens units surgical placed into my body in 3 separate areas which had to be removed during the first trial phase of each because all 3 caused staph infections where they were placed so they each had to be removed. My neurosurgeon retired and his replacement was not sure how to fix my spinal issues only that he could do a fusion which probably wouldn't help my problem. It seemed as though he was pushing the newest TENS The neurologist that I was referred to for my neuropathy said that he was sorry that the medical profession had failed me and there wasn't anything that he could do for me and good luck.
I have been going to pain management for 20 plus years and have had many pain injections, nerve blocks and epidurals. These procedures have never really helped with my pain, but I keep on trying different things.

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Does the B Complex contain vitamin B6? Excess vitamin B6 can cause peripheral neuropathy and may be contributing to yours.

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@downhillbob

I stopped Lipitor on July 4th. My belief was that the statin induced the neuropathy. See @john Bishop Sept 20 above.

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Do you see an improvement in your neuropathy since stopping Lipitor?

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