Neuropathy with back pain exercise

I have a Teeter FreeStep which I use daily for 30 to 45 minutes for exercise. Good for cardio plus strengthening arms and legs. https://share.google/fZ69ba6PqMmj7LlNn

I am 75 with neuropathy, previous rounds of steroid injections and a laminectomy. I am facing neck and back surgeries in the future. Standing still for more than a few minutes is an issue, but I find daily walks with good walking shoes even if it is just a block or two, really helps. I can go 30 minutes on the bike at Planet Fitness, but it only helps my heart. I have accepted that my pain will always be there. To drive my truck, I need to wear minimalist shoes and have added a couple of bolts to my brake pedal to make sure my foot is in the right spot. Previously, my foot couldn't find the brake pedal and I drove through a thicket of bushes. Waiting for the tow truck was embarrassing!

@steveinmontana I think you should see an orthopedic surgeon and get a diagnosis on your lumbar spine. From what you describe it sounds to me like you have some disc compression at L3 - 5 . So it impacts the equada equine nerve root exiting your spine effecting your feet/legs - especially triggered when your exercise impacts your lower lumbar. I have spinal stenosis and all the rest. Surgery became my only option after 18 years. I loved the RFA's but they stopped working at the end. In the meantime find a terrific orthopedic surgeon - that alone took me 3 years and 4 referrals.

@loriesco I've had 2 MRI's and 3 back surgeons tell me the same thing. Surgery is the only answer. Yes, I do have lumbar stenosis at L4-5 and S1, but I'm trying to avoid surgery if at all possible. I really don't want rods and screws in my back for what might only be only another 8 to 10 years of my life and live with what most say as discomfort anyway. And, they tell me it has nothing to do with my neuropathy. I know why I have neuropathy
It was a tens unit I used for arthritic pain in my ankles. Don't ever use tens units! But thanks for your thoughts!

@steveinmontana silly boy, do it! You will hate that you did it for the first bit but then you'll be happy for the rest of your life. However, if you don't have much pain than skip it I guess.... but the problem becomes that you will get weaker and more miserable with time. At a certain point the doctors will not want to risk the surgery anymore because you won't wanto make the effort to recover. I've used TENS UNITS forever (25 years?) they don't do anything bad. Check your arthritis pain that it may be gout related and not OA. If you have been to 3 surgeons than you are obviously miserable... or you would be on the golf course! 😉
The day I got home from the hospital and turned over in bed I was THRILLED. The 500 pound gorilla on my back was MIA! Moving was easy and it was nice not to have the incessant never ending pain for 15 years I suffered with. I do believe a certain amount of your neuropathy is related to your lumbar. It will get worse. You will never be as strong as you are today!
You can try supplements under your doctors supervision: B12 and iron worked for me! Good luck.

@loriesco Well Lori, my arthritis was gout related and isn't an issue any longer.

I got 2nd and 3rd opinions to see if I could have the minimally invasive types of surgery that are available now, instead of the rods and screws my first surgeon recommended. They said no.

I've been going to a pain management clinic and have had a radio frequency ablation that failed, and just a few days ago had an epidural, which isn't doing much good either!

I'm not miserable. I deal, with the help of indomethican. I just can't do a lot without having to sit down for 15 minutes. And I most certainly would do all possible to recover. My problem is, paying for all of it. I have a pretty good Medicare Advantage plan, but after surgery and PT, I'll be paying that off for the next 5 years! I also don't have anyone to help me through the first week or so of recovery. If I could just find a surgeon that would do one of the minimally invasive procedures, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

Yes, I'm going to get on some B12 and I'm looking into LDN. (Low dose Naltrexone as a way to get off of NSAIDS. That reminds me. Gotta call my doc. Thanks again for all your great feedback!

OMG! Y'all aren't giving me much hope. I'm just at the beginning of the low back pain journey. I had my 2nd MRI yesterday morning (Easter Sunday) and see the spine doc this Wednesday to go over the results. I first thought it was just sciatica again in my left butt cheek that ran down my thigh into my calf. But then after 2 weeks that sort of eased up but my low back just above my tailbone was screaming at me and the pain and burning in my hamstrings and butt has made it almost impossible to walk. I just got a walker and a rollator is ordered. I'm 71 and have battled idiopathic PN for 15 years and am on Lyrica but am considering switching to Amitriptyline. Anyway, the 1st MRI showed a mild disc bulge in 2021 that was compressing the nerve at L4-L5 / S1. But I didn't have back pain, so the doctor I had at the time said it wasn't causing my neuropathy. So now I have excruciating back pain. Spine doc's notes say possible spinal stenosis with radiculopathy. Ugh - after reading what everyone here is reporting, I'm scared as to what to let them do and not do! A friend of mine has had similar back issues minus the neuropathy. She said absolutely don't get an ablation! She has had an epidural and various other things and said she still has pain. At least she can walk under her own power. So ... Has anyone had any positive results with either a procedure or a drug or anything else?

@brennankb55 I know well your dilemma, as well as the back pain that just doesn't abate no matter what options you offer to it. I'm so sorry that you are having this experience. It is so difficult. Four years ago (when I was 74) I was in a similar position having been diagnosed with spinal stenois, spondelsesthesis, arthritis, and bone spurs. I had P.N. for about 20 years beforehand, as well - un- diagnosed until a required battery of preoperative tests. I had physical therapy, myokinetic treatments, and regular chiropractic care, and finally had no option but to consult with an orthopedic surgeon. The first one said he wouldn't touch my back and recommended a surgeon at my state's university teaching hospital. The second one, recommended by a trusted friend whose recent back surgery was successful (and whose recovery seemed crazy fast), said he would do the surgery, but only after I had a consultation with the same surgeon that the first doctor recommended. I did have that appointment at the university and was so impressed by the range of pre-operative tests they scheduled, as well as the efficiency and professionalism of the staff, that I chose to have the surgery there. Among the tests was an EMG and nerve conduction study which diagnosed the neuropathy. Long story short, I did have the surgery and I have not regretted it for a moment. Instant relief, great recouperation - until a couple of months later I tripped and fell, breaking my hip. That's the part that has given me mobility issues that I'll have for the rest of my life. Also, the neuropathy worsened - I think it had to be related to the 7-hour surgery (which turned out to be more complicated than anticipated), and I feel that the university hospital likely knew this could/would be related to spinal surgery and it was a way of protecting themselves against a lawsuit, etc. to know the condition was already present prior to their intervention. I don't blame them! I have no pain from anything except the neuropathy, and my pain management specialist nailed the right combination of medications: Tramadol and Pregabalin (Lyrica). I continue to go to my chiropractor for a monthly adjustment, have a myokinesthetic treatment every 3 weeks, and I take the same range of supplements that I have for years. I'm sure that this account seems like an impossibly long process, but it does give you time to think things through as you go. It took me years to come to the conclusion that I had no choice but surgery, but once the decision was made and I had confidence in the choice of surgeons, my mind , at long last, found peace. The most important piece was and is my faith that God answers our prayers and guides our decisions if we ask Him to. I can't speak to the experience of others, but that's how it is for me. You are wise to ask as many people as you can to share their experiences ~ these will also help guide how you come to the best solution for you.
~ Barb

@steveinmontana what are tens units?

@steveinmontana OK you need somebody like me to tell you honestly to look in the mirror! You are not going to find somebody to do a minimally invasive procedure. They won’t do it because it won’t work. However, what you’re thinking of as invasive will actually get you where you need to be quicker and faster. Take it from someone who’s been there and tried for years to come up with something that would be an alternative. The reason being I was working and I also had no one to care for me. You need to suck it up get on that table and have your surgery and get on with your life. If you don’t have the surgery, you are going to take the chance that at some point maybe another two years you were gonna be immobilized and you’re gonna be too weak for any doctor to want to do the surgery and then you’re gonna get stuck. You’re going to lose your independence and you’re gonna be paying not only for five years but for the rest of your life for long-term care. Which is very expensive. So unless you tell me that you have an arrangement for a long-term care I think you should suck it up and get on with it. I have had five major major major surgeries. And I’m probably due for one more. I think you need to look at what you value the most. If it is your independence, you need to have the surgery and get on with your life. If you wait till you’re a mobilized and you’re sitting in a wheelchair and you’re paying for someone to take care of you, you’re going to be in a week condition and recovery is gonna be… Well, maybe a dream! Before each of my surgeries, I was diagnosed so late in the game and I was an overachiever so I did all the things they told me to do but immediately proceeding my hip replacement and my lumbar surgery and my cervical surgery, my body stopped working! I had to have someone drive me to the surgeries because my body stopped being able to drive. My joints were locked up. The movements were so painful. I couldn’t function. My surgeries happened just in the nick of time. You should go talk to the hospital and the surgeons about the fees. When I did my first hip replacement. I had no insurance whatsoever and I paid for it out of my pocket and the hospital in surgeon gives you a 75% discount. And will put you on a payment plan. If you are in California, they are not allowed to take your house away and you have protections.
I know about the problem of being alone, so the arrangements will be made that you will go to a facility as soon as you’re able to be mobile at the hospital and you will stay at the facility until you are ready to go home. That is a covered benefit and you might have a co-pay, but check out the facility you want to go to. I preferred to pay out of my pocket to have someone come to my house. I looked around and a friend of a friend was willing to come stay with me for a couple weeks. I am a very independent person and I wanted to get back to my work and I wanted the caregiver to be gone after I felt better. But I still needed some care so I lined up some cousins who would come visit maybe bring some food and take me for a walk while I got back to normal. After 15 years I’m probably not gonna ask the same caregiver cause she’s probably in her later 70s now and quite a distance away and I’ll have to work at finding someone new. But what I know is it’ll all work out and I’m not afraid anymore. My biggest fear was always the anesthesia but now they have great anti-nausea meds, and I don’t get nauseous anymore coming out of recovery. Once that was handled, I was no longer afraid of the surgery. You are asleep while they do it, lol and the doctors and nurses are very cute. That’s an added bonus.!!