Neuropathy of the feet: Any advice on how to eliminate the numbness?

Try 1/2 teaspoon of Turmeric in a cup of warm water, four times a day. Or Suave company's Lavender lotion, 2x per day. oldkarl

@ray666 Ray, well...with testing, we all know what we have but for most of us, we don't know why we have PN. I think the goal for many is to try to figure out what can be done to stabilize the condition or with a little luck, improve conditions. For me, to stabilize would be an improvement. It will be interesting to see how the EMG goes in a few weeks and compare it to the same prior testing. Good luck!

Have you tried cannabis? a product I use, with great success, is a product called Sprinkles. D0 a Google on it. if you can find it or its legal for you it is worth the $24 per box of 10 doses at 10mg each. i drink it dissolved in coffee. try it

@njed Good morning, Ed. I’ve definitely slid to the back burner my need to know the cause of my PN and kept in place on the front burner my wish to do the best possible job of managing my symptoms. That said, my soon to meet with a new neuro doc has rekindled my curiosity (note: curiosity, and not a desperate need to know) about the origins of my PN. It’s just the Sherlock Holmes in me, I guess. Because he’s asked me, I’m putting together a timeline of my symptoms. My best guess is that I first noticed a weird unsteadiness sometime in 2014 (10 years ago). Still, it hadn’t become a problem (interfering with everyday living) until 2019 (5 years ago) when I was so uncomfortable on stage that I quit acting. Will this new neuro doc cry, “A-ha, here’s what caused your PN!” Undoubtedly not, but at least I’ll do my homework and give him the requested timeline. –Ray (@ray666)

@ray666 -- Rsy, sounds like you have the information together for the doctor. When I went to Mayo in Rochester, the timeline of my progression, along with testing, helped the doctor give me a diagnosis, not a cause but where the nerves are being damaged. Lately, I've been scratching my head wondering why peripheral neuropathy impacts most people in their 60's and 70's. Again, I say most because I'm aware this horrible disease can affect folks well under 60 years of age. My wife recently reminder me that I talked about a tingle in some toes back in 2007 when I was 57. She remembers, I don't. So, I guess that is when the numbness likely started. A mystery for sure.

@njed Ed– It damn sure is a mystery. Something else that bugs me (the ol' road not taken puzzle): Did I miss my chance to speak up when I first started noticing symptoms? I can think of a number of occasions when I may have taken the "wrong road." One occasion –– actually, a string of occasions –– when I was first aware of my episodic balance trouble, and I never bothered telling my PCP. A relatively recent occasion –– in 2022, when the neurosurgeon had finished my EMG and suggested I get a second opinion from another local neurosurgeon. I made my appointment with this second neurosurgeon, but never did get to see the doctor himself, only his NP. Now I sometimes wonder if I should have been insistent that I meet with the doctor and not the NP. I wonder these things –– these "road not taken" things –– but had I taken the "right" road every time, would it have made any difference? Possibly not. But I'll never know. –Ray (@ray666)

"I have neuropathy in my feet. No pain little tingling. However the numbness is increasing."

I have exact same thing, since 2019. No obvious cause. B12 was low, but has been fine since taking shots and supplements. A1C is high end of normal range (5.3-5.5) but still, normal.

FWIW I will say this: I am pretty sure that losing weight and reducing carbs would help a lot, but I have idiotically not done that yet. Worse is I recently gained 15 pounds and my feet are worse (more numb) -- so that is one data point about what causes the numbness. I am now 220 (6'-1"). I bet if I could get down to a more ideal weight, like 185, it would help a lot. If you are not overweight, then never mind, but perhaps others here are.

Hi Rick, I think your FWIW is spot on. After all my years struggling with weight I was able to lose and have maintained the weight loss for the past several years using intermittent fasting and lowering the amount of carbs I eat. There is another discussion you might find helpful if you are interested.
--- 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/

I feel it has helped some with the numbness in my feet along with my overall health.

When I look on Amazon for “Sprinkles,” all I see are little cake decorating thingies. Where do you find it?

A little joke here- don’t be concerned about the “road not taken” as “all roads lead to Rome” (lower extremity numbness, weakness, impaired balance, and often pain).
I appreciate that you and NJEd regularly point out the importance of dealing as best you can with what you’ve got that particular day/hour.
I’ve been surprised how much the PT balance and strengthening exercises have helped. Our Mentor, John, inspired me to get a good exercise bike and that has really helped with lower leg strength for walking. I now have an ankle foot orthosis, as recommended by the PT, every little bit helps.
For me, a big part of acknowledging and accepting the PN symptoms is doing a myriad of little things for added safety, while up on my feet. At my age, avoiding falls is so important. Good luck with your upcoming appointment.