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Peripheral Neuropathy is life changing: How do you accept it?
Neuropathy | Last Active: 1 hour ago | Replies (112)Comment receiving replies
@johnbishop
My PN appeared 3-1/2 years ago, one month after I had decompression and fusion spinal surgery. EMT diagnosed. Idiopathic. No pain. Progressive numbness and pins and needles and tightness, moving from feet to calves to knees and, most recently, starting up my thighs and into my hands. Shocked by the quick progress. Terrible proprioception and balance. I have worked hard at being proactive. Balance and resistance exercises. Just started using walking poles. Scheduled for a second miserable EMT, for whatever that’s worth. Trying hard to not be undone emotionally. I keep repeating it could be worse. I’m learning to not reason from past to present—all the things I used to do that I can’t do anymore, but instead take the present as a baseline. Not as easy as it sounds! Definitely worried about how much worse the PN can get.
Replies to "@johnbishop My PN appeared 3-1/2 years ago, one month after I had decompression and fusion spinal..."
I understand. It seems like my PN came on very quickly. I feel very disabled and can't imagine how to live with this for the rest of my life. I have recently had bouts of incredible itchiness that drives me crazy. I have asked my doctor about Gabapentin.
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@lalper - I've often wondered if my degenerative disc disease plays a part in my neuropathy symptoms which is mostly numbness and some tingling in my feet and legs. I'm 83 now but it all started in my toes sometime in my mid to late 40s and gradually worked it's way up into the legs. I shared my neuropathy journey in another discussion here - https://connect.mayoclinic.org/comment/310341/. You are so right about it not being easy to keep moving forward. Looking back, I should have seen it coming - my wife used to tell me when I was in my fifties that I walked like an old man then. I just smiled but now that smile has turned into a smirk and on the good days, a smile that breaks into a short lived laugh.
Being proactive is an excellent approach. My gait is not good and I have trouble walking distances and my balance is not very good. I try to keep moving and make a point of exercising 5 or 6 days a week for 30 to 45 minutes on an cross-fit trainer recumbent bike and a few minutes on a new stepper that I recently acquired.