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Living with Neuropathy - Welcome to the group

Neuropathy | Last Active: 6 minutes ago | Replies (6158)

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@grandmar

Happy Friday!
I received my leg brace this week. There is certainly a difference with the way I walk. The front of my right foot lifts when I walk. I am hoping this will help with my falling.
On the other side, I feel the neuropathy in both feet getting worse. My right foot is the worse, but I am feeling that both sides are getting weaker.
Is this common? Do your legs, ankles and feet get weaker?
In addition, my right foot (the worse one) swells. Is this common, too?

Have a great day!
Ronnie (GRANDMAr)

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Replies to "Happy Friday! I received my leg brace this week. There is certainly a difference with the..."

Hi Ronnie @grandmar, Happy Friday indeed! I'm happy to hear you received your leg brace and hoping that it will make a big difference. My legs, ankles and feet certainly seem a lot weaker than they used to be. I know that periods of inactivity make it worse for me so I try to keep moving and doing some sort of non strenuous light exercise. Have you thought about or tried yoga? I have been thinking about starting some when my leg gets all healed.

John

Hi @grandmar -- Ronnie. My husband John has dealt with Sensory Periphery Neuropathy for 20 years. His neuropathy is due to a genetic disease -- Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT). You can find more information on CMT at the following:
https://www.foundationforpn.org/what-is-peripheral-neuropathy/causes/heredity-disorders/
https://www.cmtausa.org/understanding-cmt/what-is-cmt/
John's neuropathy does not cause pain; however, he has NO feeling below both knees -- He broke a toe last December, and realized it only in the evening, when he took his socks off and saw half of his foot was red and swollen.
In spite of this severe case of neuropathy, John walks "normally", drives "normally", and has no problem on stairs. This is how he has managed to remain so capable: He wore athletic ankle weights for 12 years, every day. This allowed him to strengthen his leg muscles and "teach" other parts of the body to "feel" changes in movement and ground contour. In fact, when asked how is he capable to drive and walk, in spite of not having any feelings in his lower legs, John says he "feels movement with his knees".
Yes, he does have occasional problems and he wears compression socks to prevent swelling.
Hope this helps Ronnie! A hug .... --Dee