Foot neuropathy: What gives you relief?

Posted by kathrina @kathrina, Nov 5, 2019

It seems if I get enough activity/exercise daily I don’t have pain; if not, am awakened from sleep and must get up (even in the middle of the night). What’s going on & what more should I do to avoid rest-disruption?

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@daj3333

Has anyone tried Gabapentin in a prescription lotion form? I have pain, tingling on bottoms of my feet. I cannot take oral Gabapentin as it makes me sick. I’m hoping the lotion will help and I assume it won’t have the same gastrointestinal side effects.

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My pain doc prescribed a compounded lotion with Gabapentin, Lidocaine & a couple of other ingredients. It's at bit expensive and I'm not sure it works that well for me, but everyone is different, so you may want to give it a try. Experimenting with topicals, or any medications is trial & error in most cases so if you're like me, you're will to try anything once.

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@cher27

My pain doc prescribed a compounded lotion with Gabapentin, Lidocaine & a couple of other ingredients. It's at bit expensive and I'm not sure it works that well for me, but everyone is different, so you may want to give it a try. Experimenting with topicals, or any medications is trial & error in most cases so if you're like me, you're will to try anything once.

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Thank you cher27, I appreciate the reply.

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Compression socks/hose makes a difference for me. Stops the small stabbing pains around my ankles, reduces capillary breakage and numbness under my feet, and allows me to stand on my feet longer. I put them on in the morning and take them off before I go to bed. I have only been dealing with neuropathy for about 6 months.

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I too have noticed that eating anti-inflammatory foods assists with pain levels. I was on the Keto diet (Low Carb) a couple of years back when I had a knee replacement. I could completely move my knee when I woke up from surgery until the PT guy told me not to do that because of the stitches breaking...so I stopped for a few days. I had PT at home for about 2 months and never had to go out of my house for PT (Yes!). My doctor interviewed me because I am overweight, yet I had done so well with both of my knees, he wanted to share with other patients. I raved about the Keto diet! He is actually one of my doctors who had discussed the Keto diet with me and gave me literature about it. Also, just intermediate fasting helps so much! If you aren't comfortable with these, let yourself start getting hungry before you eat. The thing (hormone?) that produces hunger pains also provides natural anti-inflammatory effects in the body. You can look online to see what you might be eating that could be causing you some pain. The inflammatory foods I was avoiding: Processed wheat flour and sugar. I am thinking there is more. If anyone is interested, I would be happy to help a fellow foot pain sufferer. Keep on the Sunny Side!

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@kimegraves

@katriname
Sleep is such an important part of healing and I know how difficult it is to have pain during that time. I also have neuropathy that causes severe pain at night. What I have found is gabapentin, alpha-lipoic acid, low sugar diet and routine exercise really helps reduce my pain and paresthesia. I hope you find relief of your pain.

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I noticed that a good diet, avoiding fat food, alcoholic beverages and sugar lowers nuropathy side effects. I also had a very good experience with acupuncture, however, it is not covered by insurance and it's expensive.

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@cjay

How does the low sugar diet help?

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it helps very much.

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I try to walk outdoors about 4-5 miles in the evnings and I sleep like a baby. Also, I cut off late tv and try to keep my phone away from me for 45 minutes before I go to bed.

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@wac123

I try to walk outdoors about 4-5 miles in the evnings and I sleep like a baby. Also, I cut off late tv and try to keep my phone away from me for 45 minutes before I go to bed.

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That is so great! I have so much burning foot pain, I can hardly make it to the kitchen & am awakened at 3:00am every morning with unbearable pain. It seems some people with neuropathy do well with lots of exercise & others don't. I envy you.

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Hi,
I try to be proactive with my neuropathy. I do walk every night about a mile with my two Bernese Mountain Dogs. This undertaking is a full body workout, bunnies. I also do foot yoga at least once a week, and if I do not do a foot massage every night, my feet yell at me in the morning. I try to do a foot massage in the morning too! I also have cut back on sugar and know when I have had too much. For the most part I drink 60 to 80 ounces of water a day. Around my IVig days I double that. I also stretch, exercise, and lift weights. I did not do all of my routine for a week, as a result of finding new ways to challenge my doctors and boom, the neuropathy is back with a vengeance! I am getting back to the routine, as the alternative is pain. I also try to sleep on my side, so there is as little pressure as possible on the nerves in my feet.

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@smueller19

Compression socks/hose makes a difference for me. Stops the small stabbing pains around my ankles, reduces capillary breakage and numbness under my feet, and allows me to stand on my feet longer. I put them on in the morning and take them off before I go to bed. I have only been dealing with neuropathy for about 6 months.

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Do you use compression hosiery? I also have venous insufficiency, so I'm not sure
about using the pantyhose (thinking about buy the open toe). How it might
affect both the foot neuropathy and also my venous insufficiency. Any thoughts for both my painful legs and feet. Ugh.
Thank you in advance. Nancy

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