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Living with Neuropathy - Welcome to the group
Neuropathy | Last Active: Oct 27 5:51pm | Replies (6152)Comment receiving replies
Hello all!
My name is Tori and I am a 47-year-old woman suddenly living with severe nerve damage in my left calf and foot. In September I had bone spur surgery on my left big toe and they gave me a nerve block. Somehow, the anesthesiologist damaged multiple nerves with the nerve block. An EMG done by a neurologist showed severe damage to multiple nerves as well as muscles. What should have been a surgery with a quick recovery has become life-altering. I am in constant pain and NEVER get a break from it. At first, I couldn't walk on my left foot. Now, I can go short distances in the house, but any pressure is so painful that I can't go far. Going to work and any outings is done on a knee scooter, which has its challenges. I can barely stand wearing socks for any length of time and even having blankets laying on my foot is bothersome. There's so much that I can't do and I am struggling with this sudden change. I am on Gabapentin and it doesn't help at all. Other than that, there's apparently nothing to be done. My neurologist said it would take over two years if it can heal, but he's not sure if it can due to the extensive damage. I hope to find support and tips on this site, as I don't know anyone else with this issue.
Thank you in advance for any advice!
Tori
Replies to "Hello all! My name is Tori and I am a 47-year-old woman suddenly living with severe..."
Hi Tori! I saw your post — I’m so sorry about the problems you’re having from the block! (I just had several bone spurs removed from my the top of my foot and my anesthesiologist didn’t do a block.)
But I did have a block placed in my lower back for an Achilles replacement surgery. My nerve pain started after surgery as the block wore off. I started feeling zingers into my groin, which got worse and worse until it eventually led to the area feeling like it was on fire. I went to urgent care the next day and got a prescription for gabapentin.
I went to the Pain Clinic at UIHC (that’s where I’d had my surgery) and the doctor told me that the damage from the block would repair over time, but that nerves repair very slowly. It did take quite some time to get noticeably better and I had to increase my gabapentin dose several times to get relief, but the nerve did regenerate and it’s mostly normal now.
What did the neurologist tell you about how your recovery will be? The pain clinic was very helpful to me for learning to deal with the pain with biofeedback.
I really hope you got good news from the neurologist and will heal from the damage! Please update if you’d like!
Beth
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Hello Tori @mayamae, Welcome to Connect. I'm really sorry to hear your neuropathy came about from nerve damage during surgery. You are definitely not alone and others may have some things to share also. I shared my neuropathy journey story in another discussion here - https://connect.mayoclinic.org/comment/310341/. My best advice/suggestion that I can share is the one that helped me when I first joined Connect - learn as much as you can about the condition, the symptoms and the various treatments available that might provide some relief. One of the best sources I've found for that task is the Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy. They have many webinars you can view on their YouTube channel and a good list of complementary and alternative treatments along with the standard treatments used for neuropathy pain. Here are a few of their links:
--- Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLtOWy1tDeZLdUsMXz_bnfQ.
--- Treatments: https://www.foundationforpn.org/treatments/
--- Living Well with Neuropathy: https://www.foundationforpn.org/living-well/
You mentioned that the gabapentin doesn't help the pain. Have you looked into any complementary or alternative treatments?