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Foot neuropathy: What gives you relief?
Neuropathy | Last Active: Oct 4, 2023 | Replies (386)Comment receiving replies
I'm also on mission to lose weight and have been moderately successful. My feeling is that the less weight put on my feet, the less pressure there is on the nerves. My neurologist concurs.
My neuropathy is at its worst when I'm in a closed shoe (versus sandals) and when I lie down at night and wake up in the morning. When I walk, it is less so because of the sensory distraction of walking I believe. Losing weight is tough but it can be done particularly with intermittent fasting.
Replies to "I'm also on mission to lose weight and have been moderately successful. My feeling is that..."
I should have mentioned that I was able to get an appointment with Dr. Oaklander at MGH who seems to be quite an expert.
She was most concerned with:
1. My low B12 numbers. Even though I had been taking B12 shots, she thought my B12 was still too low -- she wanted it to be at least 600-1000. Taking daily 5000mcg oral CVS chewable did the trick and B12 is consistently 1000 or greater now (for 3 months). She also thought it was a big deal that my father had low B12 and wanted me to reach out to my siblings to tell them. To my knowledge my father did not have neuropathy.
2. My weight. She wanted me to lose weight.
She did not think blood sugar was an issue and did not think my lower back issues were the problem. She also thought my neuropathy was mild. I tend to agree, but the numbness still feels really weird and sometimes my feet hurt to some extent to walk on. For me, no shoes is worse than with shoes.
One other detail: I started Avorstatin a year before my neuropathy started. I stopped when I learned statin can cause neuropathy (my cardio said that was OK). But that did not seem to stop the progression, so it may have nothing to do with this.
I see her again in September, so trying to get weight off well before then.
https://www.massgeneral.org/doctors/17253/anne-louise-oaklanderLosing weigh can be challenging, especially if you're older & on medications that can cause weight gain. I have recently lost 10 lbs using a website called http://www.fatsecret.com. Using this tool, you can precicely calculate everything you are eating in a day. You can keep track of calories, carbs, protein, etc very accurately. I favor low carb & since I am small, I keep my calories at under 1200 & net carbs under 20, while keeping my protein at optimum levels (on some days I add whey protein, if necessary). I eat 3 meals a day. Fatsecret has thousands of foods to choose from, including some restaurants, and allows you to adjust portion sizes. I posts everything I eat, even including a stick of gum. It's very educational & enlightening to have a tool that accurately calculates daily food consumption. Just something you might want to check out. Good luck on your mission.
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Hi @kingfish1952, Since you mentioned intermittent fasting I thought you might find the following discussion helpful.
--- Low-carb healthy fat living. Intermittent fasting. What’s your why?:
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/low-carb-healthy-fat-living-intermittent-fasting-whats-your-why/.
There are also other discussion in the LCHF Living & Intermittent Fasting Support Group that you might find helpful: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/lchf-living-intermittent-fasting/