Living with Neuropathy - Welcome to the group

I am 44 years old and was diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy almost a year and a half ago. This has been a really rough 17 months. There is, so far, no underlying reason that has been determined. I take Gabapentin for pain, Trazodone to help me sleep and recently started Ropinirole for muscle spasms. I began to struggle to walk a few months ago and that has gotten progressively (and rapidly) worse.
I've seen diabetic neuropathy studies and treatments but peripheral neuropathy treatment and outcomes seem, so far, depressing and almost nonexistent.
Gabapentin causes me serious memory issues, and the neuropathy and Gabapentin cause me balance issues, exacerbating my struggles to walk and it's difficult not knowing when I'll suffer a flare so the not knowing makes life difficult to plan for with school aged children.
I often find myself feeling defeated and depressed to think that I will have to live the rest of my life in chronic and unpredictable pain.
Any words of wisdom or advice for someone quite new to this life would be greatly appreciated.

Hi @lynnaustin, Welcome to Connect. I have idiopathic small fiber peripheral neuropathy but I only have numbness in my feet and just above the ankles. I don't have the typical pain or stinging/burning. I'm tagging @artscaping who may be able to share from her experience. You can read what has helped me in an earlier post on Connect where I shared my story: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/anyone-here-dealing-with-peripheral-neuropathy/?pg=42#comment-65985

You might also be interested in another discussion here on Connect:
> Groups > Neuropathy > Myofascial Release Therapy (MFR) for treating compression and pain
-- https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/living-with-neuropathy-welcome-to-the-group/

Are you able to share a little more about your PN diagnosis and what you have tried for treatments?

First this site will help you find suggestions and information to discussion with your healthcare providers. Information is empowering and power helps with regaining control of your life. Search for a therapist who deals with chronic pain, not just sport and surgical injuries. It takes understanding to help us with the difficulty we deal with everyday and will not be solved with a quick fix. Firmness and resolve are needed to find what works for you. My provider changed my meds from Gabapentin to cymbalta due to balance issues and it also treats depression. Good science based website are valuable but there is a lot of garbage type of sites offering misinformation. Keep looking for helpful people and support, it is out there.

Hi John..I was on TheProtocol website and read that the newer program will be out in Fall of 2019. I know you had success with it but I was disappointed that there weren't a lot of testimonials from people who were successful. I only read a few of the moderators that wrote of their improvements.

Hi @lynnaustin, I agree with Chris's @artscaping approach to neuropathy. I have dealt with numb feet for over 20 years and when it seemed to be getting worse in 2016 I started worring which didn't help me. I had avoided having tests to diagnose the PN because years earlier when I asked the doctor what can they do to fix it if they determine it's nerve damage. The doctor said nothing and I just avoided thinking about it until it started getting worse. After my diagnosis of idiopathic small fiber peripheral neuropathy mostly likely genetic the neurologist told me there are no topicals or medications that can help with the numbness and I didn't have any pain or burning. I was depressed until I started doing my own research and learning as much as I can about neuropathy.

One of the first things I did was join the Minnesota Neuropathy Association when looking for a local support group. At one of their meetings I heard some words of wisdom from an 80+ year old neurologist still doing research at the University of Minnesota. He said if you live long enough you will get neuropathy because nerves eventually die. So I started looking for alternative ways of helping with my particular numbness only neuropathy. You can read about how I found the supplements I taked in my story in an earlier post on Connect here: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/anyone-here-dealing-with-peripheral-neuropathy/?pg=42#comment-65985

Bottom line that I have learned from all my research is that there is no cure for neuropathy but you can find treatments for the symptoms and live a more normal life. My great hope for the future is stem cell therapy for neuropathy but it's just not there yet. As promising as stem cell research is for a lot of things, I don't believe there has been any successful treatments for neuropathy. There is another discussion that you might find interesting and a warning from the FDA.

Groups > Neuropathy > Stem Cell Therapy for Neuropathy
— https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/stem-cell-therapy-for-neuropahy/

There are also some warnings about all the stem cell clinics popping up.

Consumer Updates > FDA Warns About Stem Cell Therapies
— https://www.fda.gov/forconsumers/consumerupdates/ucm286155.htm

There are a lot of things that I can no longer do, some because I'm a lot older and some due to my health conditions. Like Chris and others I try to take each day one at a time the best I can and find something that gives me joy each day. I do like taking photos from the window next to my computer ☺

Nice photos ! Relaxing I’m sure.
Thanks for your suggestions and guidance for all of us dealing with various forms of chronic pain. You really are an inspiration with your positive attitude and always researching for others for treatment that might help.
Keep up the great work- to you and the other moderators as well.

I am 44 years old and was diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy almost a year and a half ago. This has been a really rough 17 months. There is, so far, no underlying reason that has been determined. I take Gabapentin for pain, Trazodone to help me sleep and recently started Ropinirole for muscle spasms. I began to struggle to walk a few months ago and that has gotten progressively (and rapidly) worse.
I've seen diabetic neuropathy studies and treatments but peripheral neuropathy treatment and outcomes seem, so far, depressing and almost nonexistent.
Gabapentin causes me serious memory issues, and the neuropathy and Gabapentin cause me balance issues, exacerbating my struggles to walk and it's difficult not knowing when I'll suffer a flare so the not knowing makes life difficult to plan for with school aged children.
I often find myself feeling defeated and depressed to think that I will have to live the rest of my life in chronic and unpredictable pain.
Any words of wisdom or advice for someone quite new to this life would be greatly appreciated.

I was changed from gabapentin to Cymbalta & I started with 30 mg & I was just increased to 60 mg & I have been on it for 4 days now & I still don't see any improvement & I was on the 30mg for a month. I sure hope it helps bc I haven't noticed any side effects as of yet.

The one thing I learned about Cymbalta, for me personally, was that it took well over a month to combat the constant nausea. I almost gave up but then realized that by taking it closer to bedtime, I was able to sleep off side effects. Good luck to you in your journey.

I don't have any nausea & I do take it at bedtime so that I would not notice the side effects. I do notice I urinate a lot more so that could be a side effect. Do you feel the cymbalta has helped with your pain & how many milligrams do you take. I have stage 3 kidney disease & my kidney dr said that I need to have my electrolytes checked periodically.