Living with Neuropathy - Welcome to the group

I’ve been reading the comments on neuropathy for the past few months. I have had diabetic peripheral neuropathy for over 15 years. What I don’t see is many comments concerning opioids. I know half the country thinks that opioids are a dirty word but for me they were a godsend that was until I moved to Georgia from Arizona. My PCP in Az prescribed all my prescriptions but in Georgia you have to hunt down a “pain specialist” and the 3 different “specialists” that I’ve had act like they are doing you a big favor by prescribing me maybe 25% of what I was receiving in Az. Just wondering why there isn’t much talk of this on Connect.

I'm new to the group, I have Type 2 Diabetes x 15 years and on an Insulin Pump (my choice). I was diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy about 10 yrs ago via EMG. Since that time, my pain, numbness, etc. have increased to where I am in constant, unrelenting pain 24/7. My feet, legs and hands. I've tried to manage it with Tylenol, but in the last 6 months it's become unbearable and I can barely walk, function or sleep. I went to my internist and he is recommending Cymbalta. I have a real phobia of taking oral meds and having side effects - like "breaking" something to "fix" something else type thinking (I hope that makes sense). Has anyone had good results from taking Cymbalta? Thank you!

Hello @deke4fun, Welcome to Connect. You will notice that we removed your email address from your post. We do this because Connect is a public forum and we want to protect member privacy and prevent your email address from being added to an email spammer list. Members can instead use the private message function of Connect to exchange contact information if they wish -- https://connect.mayoclinic.org/get-started-on-connect/#send-private-message.

To answer your question, there is quite a bit of discussion on Connect on the topic, here are a few:
-- Neuropathy: Do Opioids help?: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/do-opioids-help/
-- Medical marijuana for neuropathy: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/medical-marijuana-3/
-- Has medical marijuana helped your nerve pain?: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/has-medical-marijuana-helped-your-nerve-pain/

You might also be interested in this discussion where members share their neuropathy story and what has or hasn't helped them -- Member Neuropathy Journey Stories: What's Yours?: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/member-neuoropathy-journey-stories-whats-yours/

Have you tried any alternative treatments or therapies or made any lifestyle changes to help with your diabetic peripheral neuropathy?

Hello @pixiejacq, Welcome to Connect, an online community where patients and caregivers share their experiences, find support and exchange information with others. I'm sorry to hear that your symptoms have grown worse. There is another discussion you may be interested in where you can meet other members like @artscaping, @jeanniem, @tigreyes2004 and others discussing Gabapentin and Cymbalta.

Gabapentin and Cymbalta: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/gabapentin-and-cymbalta/

Here is some information from the Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy you might find helpful:
-- Living Well with PN: https://www.foundationforpn.org/living-well/

Have you thought about trying any complementary or integrative therapies?

@pixiejacq, unfortunately, in my experience, general pain relievers don't do much for neuropathy pain. Nerve pain generally requires a different type of medication. There are a few different options out there. You will get different opinions from different people regarding each of those options. Your best choice is to sit down with a doctor that you trust and who listens to you and discuss which medication choice might be right for you. Talk to your doctor about your concerns and let him know that you want the option to stop taking the medication if you feel that it is not worth the consequences or side effects.

I would also make sure they are checking for additional complications. Sometimes, the doctor will see that we are a diabetic and assume that that is the only reason behind or neuropathy. However, there can be many other things contributing to an increase in nerve pain. It never hurts to rule things out. See if you can notice if anything makes your pain subside, even just a tiny bit. That's great information! A pain specialist might be able to take that information 2 suggest other options that also might help relieve the pain. I find that getting in the pool it's good for my body. But I had to experiment. If I flipper kick, it increases my pain and swelling. But if I use a jog belt in the water and only pull with my arms and do stretching, my body responds very well.

I know I'm not giving you specific answers, and I'm sorry that I cannot. I, personally, have not yet tried Cymbalta. I went on 300 mg of Gabapentin twice a day to help relieve the muscle spasms I was having. I seem to handle it just fine and I know there are others who have not had the same experience. It really is trial and error. I'm so sorry you're going through this.

I take cymbalta & Gabapentin.
300 gabapentin i the morning & 300 at night.
I find the cymbalta does help me get on with life. I take 60 mg. It make sme hyper but that is how I get my work done.
Best of luck to you.
Tigreyes.

Hi everyone! I’m new to the group and excited I found something like this. I was just diagnosed with immune small fiber neuropathy length dependent. My TS-HDS antibodies were above normal cutoff. The treatment recommended is IVIG. Anyone else had this treatment or this type of neuropathy? Looking forward to connecting 😊

Hi John, thank you for your quick response and the links. I'll spend time today reading through them. I'm not familiar with "complementary or integrative therapies" - what are those?

Hi! I'm new here too! I've not heard of your diagnosis, can you tell me how it was diagnosed please?

Thank you for your response! This is good to know that I can take them both together as I try and decide what to take to start my therapy. As I've read through some of the posts here, I do now have some hope. I'm terrified of taking medications because of side effects, but because my pain has become all consuming, I'm willing to try anything. I'm thinking this site will give me the hope and encouragement I need - thank you!