Hi Jim
Great insight. My feet and hands r numb. Yet they burn like well standing barefoot on ice. When on opioids my hands or fair but are bad without. I fall mostly on the steps and in the shower. I assume its from looking up to down or vise versa as that is a test I had to do during my medical to get and keep my pilot's license. I loose my balance even standing still thu. I've broken ribs and toes falling. I've held onto the railing so hard it has flung me into the wall face first. I feel for your wife as I didn't get out of my adjustable bed for years and wouldn't have until my wife kicked me out. Get this I was diagnosed with a disease called polycythemia vera and put on a pill called hydroxyurea a chemo pill after I had a DVT blood clot. After 2 years this hit me like a brick the neuropathy I mean. Turns out I never needed it as I had secondary polycythemia and it resolved it self after I stopped working. Where I work had mold that caused severe copd so when I left a few year later the incurable polycythemia was gone. My hematologist diagnosed me when I went to see him and described my conditions. Burning numbness and pain in my legs. Trouble with balance and what I told him is all the sudden I became stupid. I couldn't concentrate. My pcp treated my for years then moved on to a hospital and sent me to a pain doc. After about 7 minutes over 3 appointments and a nerve test he told me I wasn't sick. Cut my opioids in half to take me off of them. I was in sever pain but thought it was from being inactive for years. Now that I've been on my own and up and around for months I realize it wasn't from being inactive it's what I was feeling before but worse. The new pain doc tells me the same bs so I started to cut my dose before he stopped them. Now I can barely walk. The burning has moved to my chest as well. I am lost and can't believe this is happening. Now that I've seen 2 pain doctors I worry no one will treat me.
I really appreciate your story and thoughts
Thank you.