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Living with Neuropathy - Welcome to the group
Neuropathy | Last Active: Oct 27 5:51pm | Replies (6152)Comment receiving replies
I have utterly no music skills and so totally admire artists -- especially piano. I can relate; this is the precise reason I had to give up driving. Bit I also the same issue only with typing -- I'm a writer whose spend countless hours zooming along at 125 wpm, without looking at the keys. Now my hands wander from a low-voltage electric shock to totally numb, and heaven help me if the temperature is 68 or less. They freeze instantly, just like frostbite coming on. It's taken three years to get a clumsy functionality back, but soooo slow, soooo many typos, soooo much frustration!
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Good evening @alces, and @gmehl, what wonderful folks to land in our neuropathy group. Thanks for sharing your stories and your concerns about the forms of neuropathy that are interfering with driving, typing, and playing the piano. I have faced barriers to all of those activities head-on since my diagnosis of SFN (small fiber neuropathy) 10 years ago. My feet and hands pretty much stay numb, cold, and tingly all day, every day.
Giving up the piano was probably a blessing to those who had caught themselves listening to me. Giving up typing just can't happen so I tap away the best I can. Giving up driving just wasn't possible given my life situation at the present time. So, I decided to fight. A friend introduced me to MFR, myofascial release therapy. I now have two sessions a week with two therapists. One works on my hands and both work on my feet which are always very cold, very numb, tingly, and surprisingly painful.
I will share a few links with you and hope you have a chance to take a look at them to see if there is anything encouraging that you might consider. Here we go:
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/myofascial-release-therapy-mfr-for-treating-compression-and-pain/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eW0lvOVKDxE&t=86s (cancel the ads up front)
http://www.myofascialrelease.com (John T Barnes trains expert-level therapists and can help you find a therapist near your residence.)
And finally, here are a couple more at-home exercises that can help that are part of my balance and stability routine. Walk on your tippy toes while you hold onto a counter...back and forth 8-10 times a day. Go forward and backward. Finally.....walk on your heels in the same manner.... backward and forward. These two exercises will help your feet be more flexible.
And here is my solution for pain. I use a 1:3 CBD/THC topical medical cannabis from Papa and Barkley for acute pain. You can find them at http://www.papaandbarkley.com. They also have a 3:1 CBD/THC option for chronic pain. If you can tell me what state you live in, I can review the laws and regulations in your area. This is a very helpful site if you want cannabis education.
Hopefully, something on these sites will be worth a try. Don't hesitate to let John and me know how you are doing. Just remember that we are here for you.
May you be free of suffering and the causes of suffering.
Chris