Living with Neuropathy - Welcome to the group

Hello @budandbarbara - I would like to add my welcome to Connect along with @jesfacsmon and other members. There's no cure for neuropathy but there are a lot of different things a person can try to treat the symptoms of neuropathy. First as a husband with a wife that is my primary caregiver, I applaud you for advocating and seeking help for your husband. One suggestion I have is to learn as much as you can about your husband's neuropathy to see if you can find something that helps with his symptoms. I posted a similar suggestion for a new member directly above your post in this discussion. If you click the VIEW & REPLY button at the bottom of this email notification it will take you directly to the post and some suggestions:
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/living-with-neuropathy-welcome-to-the-group/?pg=176#comment-408914
Can you share more about your husband's neuropathy and the symptoms that make it hard for him to sleep?

I am njc. I have been diagnosed with small fiber neuropathy with both peripheral and autonomic systems affected. I would be interested in knowing how others deal with this.

Hello @njc, Welcome to Connect. You have come to the right place to learn more about treatments that are available to help with your small fiber neuropathy. I also have small fiber peripheral neuropathy but only have numbness for my symptoms. You can read my neuropathy story and neuropathy stories of other members in the following discussion.

Member Neuropathy Journey Stories: What's Yours?: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/member-neuoropathy-journey-stories-whats-yours/

@rwinney, @jesfactsmon, @avmcbellar, and other members might have some suggestions to share with you.

@njc, are you able to share a little more about the symptoms you have with your small fiber neuropathy?

For a number of years I have had diabetic neuropathy with burning and stinging in my toes and glove-like numbness below the knees. I have to put a pillow between my lower legs at night because of pain when one leg puts pressure on another. I developed gastroparesis, swallowing difficulties and peristaltic irregularities in the esophagus. About eight months ago, after an incident that aggravated my right sciatic nerve, which is damaged from former disc extrusion and back surgery and which is also affected by subsequent arachnoiditis, I had an acute response of stinging, burning and numbness which extended from head to foot on the right side of my body. The stinging and burning have considerably reduced, but the numbness continues along with the itching which seems to precede the onset of new areas of numbness. The itching and numbness has also migrated to areas of the left side. I was diagnosed with SFN 5 months ago, but no skin test was done. In the past I have been diagnosed with lupus and with Sjogren’s. I have been a Type 1 diabetic for 13 years. I have had nerve conduction and EMG studies
done with indication of lower and possible upper motor neuron issues.
I had never heard of SFN before and not aware of anyone who has similar symptoms. So, I decided to check out this site. It is the first time I have had the courage to “step into“ a support group.
Thank you for your welcome.
PS: I am 80 years old. I have some concerns about what SFN might do to my “old” brain. 🤔

@njc, I am glad you decided to step out of your comfort zone and join us here on Connect! We are a mixed bunch of all ages and all ages are welcome. Our mission is to connect members with other members who share similar symptoms so that we can learn from each other. I'm 77 going on 80 so not that far behind you. My goal in life is to learn at least one new thing every day...yup, you guessed it, sometimes I learn the same thing more than once 🙂 Based on some of the symptoms you mentioned. you may also be interested in reading and participating in the following discussions:

Esophagus issues: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/esophagus-issues/
Arachnoiditis: Looking to talk with others: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/arachnoiditis/
Late Stage Primary Sjogren's Syndrome: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/late-stage-primary-sjogrens-syndrome/
Lupus diagnosis need help: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/lupus-diagnosis-need-help/

You mentioned you have been a Type 1 diabetic for 13 years. Have you made any lifestyle changes to try and help with your diabetes or other symptoms?

Sounds like you have had chronic pain for years. I've only had it for 5 years and I think that is way too long. I have SFN in my feet and hands,, but mostly in my feet. They confirmed it via a biopsy. I still remember the doctor telling me that it would only get worse and there is no cure for it. I appreciated him being direct even if the outlook wasn't good.

When my feet start really "burning" I cool my feet off with cold water for 2 hours til the pain medication kicks in.

I'm 60 so it looks like I'm one of the younger ones with this painful diagnoses.

Hi @njc and welcome. My wife has peripheral neuropathy (PN) and I do my best to look after her even as she does her best to keep from doing anything particularly dumb, which I appreciate. She has never been officially diagnosed, but her PN started right after chemotherapy for breast cancer in 2014. She is 73 and, like a LOT of people here, has many different health issues, the PN being not one of the less significant ones, however, and it seems many of her issues things tie in to nerves (like fibromialgia for example). You sound like someone with some seriously bad, pain inducing problems. For that you have my sincere condolences. That being said, your ailments do sound interesting. The fact that you suffer from pain mostly on one side of your body sounds unusual, though probably tied to hurting the sciatic on your right side I guess.

Anyway, I try to keep abreast of all of the neuropathy discussions here on Connect in hopes of discovering, on my wife's behalf, new ideas and possible aids to dealing with this insidious nerve disease. The latest thing which I have latched onto here is something called "low dose naltrexone" or LDN. Its a drug therapy which may improve the immune system, fight inflammation (I almost wrote" inflation" but it ain't likely to help that) and has very mild side effects. If you go to the main neuropathy page you can scroll down the list of discussions and you can't miss it. Here is a link to the that main page, in case you aren't yet familiar with moving around on Connect yet (it took me about a month):
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/neuropathy/
My best to you and hope to hear more from you in coming weeks/months.

Best, Hank

I'd like to clarify the previous post. I meant to say "my wife does her best to keep ME from doing anything particularly dumb". Gotta be careful, she could read this at some point ya know.

Many. I have been on an insulin pump for 9 years and an independent continuous glucose monitor for about a year and a half. Sad to say, I was not given very good instructions on how to count carbs until I received my insulin pump. I “religiously” count carbs and keep track of what I eat. But, blood glucose is not only about carbs, but stress, sickness, medications and exercises as well. Those things are difficult to assign specific impact on glucose. My last A1C was an acceptable 6.5. Over the next few years after becoming diabetic, I lost 50 lbs and then maintained a stable in range BMI. But, I began having swallowing problems in 2016 and lost over 25 lbs in 6 months. I had trouble swallowing meats, raw vegetables, pills and liquids. I was aspirating liquids at times and even saliva as I slept with the result of much coughing. After evaluation by ENT, GI and Neurology doctors with blood tests, CT’s, swallowing evaluations, EMG and nerve conduction studies, though the swallowing difficulties were documented, no diagnosis or cause could be found. I was instructed to have a mechanical soft diet, given drinking instructions, and eventually, was told to use thickener in my drinking liquids. Though there are various thickener types, the only one that I could tolerate was a modified food starch thickener. Of course, the food thickener is pure carbs and has had a significant impact of my blood glucose levels even though the amount of carbs is always counted when dosing insulin. With regards to other diet modifications, because I have had pills lodge in my throat and esophagus, I only take medication in liquid form or pills that can be crushed and mixed with applesauce. Some pills warn that they are not to be crushed. I have had gel cap medication soften and adhere to my throat. Some foods I purée and freeze in serving sizes with carbs identified. I have restrictions associated with the following diets: GERD (spices, acids, fats, caffeine, chocolate), swallowing, kidney (low sodium, potassium, phosphorous, NSAIDS, herbal supplements) and diabetic. Lumping all the diets together, I call it the AIR diet: All Ingestion Restricted. Therefore, finding things I can or want to eat is a constant challenge. I regained 10 lbs after a warning that if I lost more weight, I might have to have a PEG stomach feeding tube. Now my weight is stable. I thank God that I have a supportive husband of 60 years. I apologize for such a long reply. As in many of our lives, things are complex and have no simple answers. God bless you and all those who work to support this group.

Thanks for your reply, Hank. I am currently on low dose CellCept for Lupus. It is an immune suppressant. With autoimmune type patients, it is my understanding that immune building or strengthening products are counterproductive because it strengthens autoantibodies as well. I am hypersensitive to medications. Therefore, seeing my negative side effect medication list, my neurologist indicated the best thing would be to increase the CellCept if the SFN exacerbated. She supposes that the autoimmune and diabetes issues are behind the SFN. The only pain medication I can take is Tylenol and I do that rarely. I have found a topical OTC homeopathic cream that helps with burning, stinging, tingling and itching, but nothing helps the numbness. I have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia as well. Perhaps the most demanding issue at this point in my life is managing my T1 diabetes. It is constant. Yes, I am being challenged on how to use this site. But, hopefully I’ll catch on soon. 🙂