Living with Neuropathy - Welcome to the group

Hi @gabe4223, Do you have any major university or teaching hospitals close to you? That might be where I would start. Then you could ask if they implement multidisciplinary teamwork within their healthcare facility. Here's why that is important.

-- Multidisciplinary Teamwork Ensures Better Healthcare: https://www.td.org/insights/multidisciplinary-teamwork-ensures-better-healthcare-outcomes
-- Mayo Clinic: multidisciplinary teamwork, physician-led governance, and patient-centered culture drive world-class health care: https://collections.nlm.nih.gov/catalog/nlm:nlmuid-101537958-pdf

If you would like to seek help from Mayo Clinic, contact one of the appointment offices. The contact information for Minnesota, Arizona and Florida can be found here http://mayocl.in/1mtmR63.

thank you

Hello. I am a new member of the neuropathy club. My symptoms began overnight on my right lower leg from midway down my calf to my ankle bone, the sight of a spider bite that seems to have triggered the symptoms on that leg (burning pain like a dandy sunburn, and stabbing pains). A myelogram confirmed that I have about the same degree of neuropathy on both legs, but my symptoms so far are limited to my right leg. What is the best way to cope with the pain? Some days my pain inclines me to spend the day in my recliner with my legs raised; other days, I can putter around the home, go shopping, and generally keep steadily but gently active. My pain is easily tolerable on my active days. Am I damaging myself by keeping active? Would I do better in the long term if I stay off my feet? Thanks kindly for your insights and wisdom. --ruggles

@ruggles
Although I'm not qualified to answer your question, I don't believe that activity is going to cause more extensive damage. Good question for your doctor. Back in the day when my feet were so painful I used to walk as much as I could. The extent of that walking was going into the mall and walking halfway through. I am not very active and that has done far more damage then whatever happened with my neuropathy. I read walking regularly can decrease pain although I'm not sure I buy that based on my experience however I suppose it could have been worse if I didn't walk but it helps strength. Be careful though since Neuropathy can affect your balance and if you have numbness check your feet regularly. I recently had a small stone in my shoe which I didn't feel. I believe your feet and legs are a good indicator of when you're had enough.
Take care,
Jake

Walking is difficult but Water Aerobics helps my symptoms and my spirits! Look for a YMCA or private club, hotel, or community pool. Once I learned enough exercises I can do it alone if I miss the class. Some pools have “senior” times where you don’t have children dashing about.

Hi Ruggles @ruggles, Welcome to Connect. I think Leornard @jakedduck1 has a good point - your feet and legs are a good indicator of when you've had enough. I also always try to listen to my body when exercising and not overdoing it. There is another discussion you might want to read through to learn what other members have shared about neuropathy and exercise.

Neuropathy & Exercise: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/neuropathy-exercise/

The Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy has some suggestions on Living Well with PN: https://www.foundationforpn.org/living-well/. Also you may want to read through the discussion Member Neuropathy Journey Stories: What's Yours?: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/member-neuoropathy-journey-stories-whats-yours/ to learn what other members have found helps them.

How long ago did your symptoms start and have you discussed the spider bite with your doctor?

Hello @mariannev, Welcome to Connect. That's a great suggestion. Do you mind sharing what kind of symptoms your have, are they due to a type of neuropathy?

Thank you for your prompt reply and the links to related articles, John. I look forward to reading them.

My symptoms started at the end of August this year. I tried my best to convince my primary doc and the neurologist that my symptoms were from the spider bite (only the bitten leg exhibited any symptoms), but they said the myelogram proved otherwise. The skin on my leg in the neuropathy area is oddly red and mottled, and somewhat dry. It looks like I'm wearing a weird red sock. I've been applying BioFreeze (4% menthol in a roll-on, 10% menthol in a spray) to alleviate some of the pain, and the neurologist prescribed Gabapentin 100 3 times a day. I take a naproxen 200 as needed at bedtime. <sigh> Another day, another new experience....

Thanks for the suggestions and encouragement, Jake. It's reassuring to know that I don't have to be an invalid just yet. I've been letting my pain be my guide, but I wasn't certain whether exercising through the pain would be helpful or harmful. As far as I know, I don't have much numbness. I'll keep an eye on my feet--I wouldn't have thought of that! I'll let you know whether the extra walking helps with the pain.

You've been most helpful. I'm grateful. Cheers!

Did your doctor look at the spider bite? Also, is skin tissue around the bite look or feel different? I would want to know if it were a particular spider like a brown recluse or black widow since they can cause nerve damage (I think).

"Black widow toxin causes nerve cell dysfunction and muscle cell twitching. Brown recluse spiders (Loxosceles recluse) are tan to dark brown with a leg span of ..." --- Black Widow and Brown Recluse Spider Bite: https://www.emedicinehealth.com/wilderness_black_widow_and_recluse_spider_bite/article_em.htm

"The clinical manifestation of brown recluse spider bites varies from skin irritation, a small area of tissue damage to neuropathic pain, ..." --- Necrotic arachnidism and intractable pain from recluse spider bites treated with lumbar sympathetic block: a case report and review of literature: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21317774/