Intriguing question. None of my doctors has ever pointed a finger of blame at any of my meds, none that I'm taking now nor in the past. Only one raised eyebrow: the heavy drinking I did 30+ years ago. I look forward to reading what others have to say.
Hi Ray - I tend to listen carefully when I go to a doctor, and you'll notice they use words used like .... perhaps, it could be, there is a slight reason to believe, might be and so on. Unless they have scientific proof, data like a written report, IF they say anything, it is more speculation. The good old raising of the eyebrow is another one of those hmmm....perhaps. My gut feeling is that many meds we are prescribed throughout our life might cause a lot of the idiopathic cases. PN can show up years after taking a med. Damage to nerves is not necessarily immediate which would account for the many idiopathic cases. Doctors are afraid to say this med is the cause of your PN. After all, they can't without proof. Heavy drinking? Perhaps and perhaps not. I think it is a coin flipper. After all, there are over 100 other causes and factors that can cause PN. Have a good day and keep moving. Ed
@chemist1
Good morning,
My doctors also believe my neuropathy was caused by seizure meds. I took Dilantin, Phenobarbital, Mysoline, Depakote and Zarontin.
Would you share what meds doctors believe caused your neuropathy?
Take care,
Jake
Hi Ray - I tend to listen carefully when I go to a doctor, and you'll notice they use words used like .... perhaps, it could be, there is a slight reason to believe, might be and so on. Unless they have scientific proof, data like a written report, IF they say anything, it is more speculation. The good old raising of the eyebrow is another one of those hmmm....perhaps. My gut feeling is that many meds we are prescribed throughout our life might cause a lot of the idiopathic cases. PN can show up years after taking a med. Damage to nerves is not necessarily immediate which would account for the many idiopathic cases. Doctors are afraid to say this med is the cause of your PN. After all, they can't without proof. Heavy drinking? Perhaps and perhaps not. I think it is a coin flipper. After all, there are over 100 other causes and factors that can cause PN. Have a good day and keep moving. Ed
Hi, Ed. It's great to be talking to you again. I'd mentioned my past heavy drinking in my reply to Jake only because it had come up in conversation with one of my neurologist's MA's. As she called it, the evidence of drinking that had gone on more than 30 years ago had shown up on a recent brain MRI (part of an early look-see into what might have caused my PN), but even the MA said, "Naw, there's very little chance the drinking had anything to do with it." So I've dismissed any thought I might have had that drinking was the culprit. These days, I accept: idiopathic means idiopathic. (A secret? I know I mustn't say this, but I enjoyed my drinking days! … until I stopped enjoying them, and thank goodness I did stop enjoying them. I feel the same way about my years of long-distance running. I have a friend who loves telling how "bad" running is for the body. Bad? So, okay. Bad it may be. But I damn sure enjoyed my running days while they lasted! Now, PN, that's another story … 🙂 ) Take care, Ed. As I said at the top, it's great to be talking to you again! ––Ray
I have been putting up with NP for years and now at age 93 my right leg is worse. A doctor gave me 2 shots for water on the knee and pain but only lasted less than a month and too expensive to continue. Sitting in my recliner takes away the pain, also a Tylenol helps when needed, and chair exercises. I blame it on all the hiking I used to do since I've never heard of a cause, or a cure and doctors avoid talking much about it, so I just sit in my recliner and think about the good old days. Martha
Connect
Connect
Like
Helpful
Hug
Hi Ray - I tend to listen carefully when I go to a doctor, and you'll notice they use words used like .... perhaps, it could be, there is a slight reason to believe, might be and so on. Unless they have scientific proof, data like a written report, IF they say anything, it is more speculation. The good old raising of the eyebrow is another one of those hmmm....perhaps. My gut feeling is that many meds we are prescribed throughout our life might cause a lot of the idiopathic cases. PN can show up years after taking a med. Damage to nerves is not necessarily immediate which would account for the many idiopathic cases. Doctors are afraid to say this med is the cause of your PN. After all, they can't without proof. Heavy drinking? Perhaps and perhaps not. I think it is a coin flipper. After all, there are over 100 other causes and factors that can cause PN. Have a good day and keep moving. Ed
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
1 ReactionHi Jake!
Dilantin, probably. But back in the early 2000s, there was little else.
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
1 Reaction@chemist1
Yeah, more than likely the Dilantin. Even fewer drugs in the 60’s!
Giving away my age👴
Take care,
Jake
Hi, Ed. It's great to be talking to you again. I'd mentioned my past heavy drinking in my reply to Jake only because it had come up in conversation with one of my neurologist's MA's. As she called it, the evidence of drinking that had gone on more than 30 years ago had shown up on a recent brain MRI (part of an early look-see into what might have caused my PN), but even the MA said, "Naw, there's very little chance the drinking had anything to do with it." So I've dismissed any thought I might have had that drinking was the culprit. These days, I accept: idiopathic means idiopathic. (A secret? I know I mustn't say this, but I enjoyed my drinking days! … until I stopped enjoying them, and thank goodness I did stop enjoying them. I feel the same way about my years of long-distance running. I have a friend who loves telling how "bad" running is for the body. Bad? So, okay. Bad it may be. But I damn sure enjoyed my running days while they lasted! Now, PN, that's another story … 🙂 ) Take care, Ed. As I said at the top, it's great to be talking to you again! ––Ray
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
1 ReactionI have been putting up with NP for years and now at age 93 my right leg is worse. A doctor gave me 2 shots for water on the knee and pain but only lasted less than a month and too expensive to continue. Sitting in my recliner takes away the pain, also a Tylenol helps when needed, and chair exercises. I blame it on all the hiking I used to do since I've never heard of a cause, or a cure and doctors avoid talking much about it, so I just sit in my recliner and think about the good old days. Martha