How can a person be diagnosed with Neuropathy if not Diabetic?

Posted by Dino Soke @dinosoke, Dec 24, 2025

I was told that I have Neuropathy in my right ankle and server infection in my left ankle. Now I am understanding that a person must be a diabetic in order to be diagnosed with Neuropathy. Is any of that true?

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Profile picture for Dino Soke @dinosoke

@justlucky I really appreciate you taking time out of your day and responding back to this post I created. Everything anyone post on here I read and anybody that makes any type of a suggestion I look into. So I looked at anything that might have Satin in it and unfortunately nothing does. I have been receiving reports of people that have had some sort of spinal problems and those I am able to relate with. To this day my L1, L2, L3, L4 S1 and C2 are Herniated. Sadly I have been living with this pain for a while and no chance of having an operation to repair them. According to the CMO at General Hospital here in Los Angeles CA if I do find someone to operate on me that person should have their license removed from practicing medicine and I need to learn just to live with the pain because I have 100% of walking into the hospital and less than 90% of walking out on my because of where the disc are and where the nerve is located and so he said he will not take the chance to of having that happen and said he prey's that I don't and won't find someone else to talk them into doing it. So considering all of the responses I have received I'm leaning more towards that being the main reason for everything then anything else.
Now another question maybe you might know. I was asked "Why am I not on disability because of all this?" My response was because I am still able to work even though in tremendous pain and the fact that I am still in my 40's. Is this or would this be grounds for a disability case if you would know?
Okay again Thank you for your feedback.
Smile Always Dino

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@dinosoke - So sorry for your pain. I'm sure that is hard to face every day. Perhaps others can tell you about disability coverage, I'm afraid I don't know anything.

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Not necessarily at all, Neuropathic pain can stem from Injury, Spinal deformity, Spinal injury or a birth defects eg Spina Bifida which has Thethered Spine. I also understand it can be caused by the Shingles Virus also.
Home this helps only medication like Gabapentin, Pregablin, Norytripline, Ametripline can help with Pain.

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Hello, I had a nerve conduction test given by a neuro surgeon. I suggest you get one. I was diagnised with idiopathic neuropathy. Good Luck. I also had 19 vials of blood taken to see if any other problems, autoimmune, vitamin deficiencies, showed up. Nothing did. Accupuncture has really helped me by the way.

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Profile picture for Dino Soke @dinosoke

@justlucky I really appreciate you taking time out of your day and responding back to this post I created. Everything anyone post on here I read and anybody that makes any type of a suggestion I look into. So I looked at anything that might have Satin in it and unfortunately nothing does. I have been receiving reports of people that have had some sort of spinal problems and those I am able to relate with. To this day my L1, L2, L3, L4 S1 and C2 are Herniated. Sadly I have been living with this pain for a while and no chance of having an operation to repair them. According to the CMO at General Hospital here in Los Angeles CA if I do find someone to operate on me that person should have their license removed from practicing medicine and I need to learn just to live with the pain because I have 100% of walking into the hospital and less than 90% of walking out on my because of where the disc are and where the nerve is located and so he said he will not take the chance to of having that happen and said he prey's that I don't and won't find someone else to talk them into doing it. So considering all of the responses I have received I'm leaning more towards that being the main reason for everything then anything else.
Now another question maybe you might know. I was asked "Why am I not on disability because of all this?" My response was because I am still able to work even though in tremendous pain and the fact that I am still in my 40's. Is this or would this be grounds for a disability case if you would know?
Okay again Thank you for your feedback.
Smile Always Dino

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@dinosoke I had to quit my job in 2015 due to the pain in my hips, knees, and feet from osteoarthritis and neuropathy. You can't begin receiving disability payments until you've been "retired" from your job for 5 months first. Everything that we'd been told was that almost everyone who applies for permanent disability is turned down the first time, and that you'll need to appeal in order to qualify.
So when I applied, I went in person to our local SS office armed with the medical records from my GP, 2 orthopedists, a neurosurgeon, and 3 neurologists as evidence that I would never be able to do my job again(I drove a truck and delivered heavy loads to customers for over 35 years). It took about 2 months before I was notified that I indeed did qualify for disability. I was put on permanent disability, which meant that I had an ADA card proving that I was disabled, and qualified for handicap parking passes for both of our vehicles. I received benefits for 10 years before SS sent me a letter a couple of months ago stating that because I'm turning 67 next month, that I no longer am qualified for disability benefits, but instead will begin receiving my regular SS benefits due to my age.
Why you have to be unemployed for 5 months before receiving any benefits is beyond me, I think it's a stupid rule, but it is what it is. Gather your medical records from all of your doctors, and have them ready when you finally decide that you're no longer able to continue working. We had to sell our home and move in with our son and his family for 2 years when I walked away from my job. We lived on my wife's income alone for over a year before I started receiving any benefits.

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My sisters and I inherited our neuropathy from my mother. My eldest daughter has also inherited this condition from me. I have tried gabapentin, which threw off my equilibrium so badly I had two terrible falls while taking it. The same with lyrica. My balance is still less than what I had before the neuropathy, due to the partial numbness in my feet. But (knock on wood) I've not had any falls since stopping those medications. Usually acetaminophen works to keep discomfort manageable but when the pain occasionally is overwhelming, my doctor has prescribed a small dose of hydrocodone, which helps.

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Profile picture for mrmacabre @mrmacabre

@dinosoke I had to quit my job in 2015 due to the pain in my hips, knees, and feet from osteoarthritis and neuropathy. You can't begin receiving disability payments until you've been "retired" from your job for 5 months first. Everything that we'd been told was that almost everyone who applies for permanent disability is turned down the first time, and that you'll need to appeal in order to qualify.
So when I applied, I went in person to our local SS office armed with the medical records from my GP, 2 orthopedists, a neurosurgeon, and 3 neurologists as evidence that I would never be able to do my job again(I drove a truck and delivered heavy loads to customers for over 35 years). It took about 2 months before I was notified that I indeed did qualify for disability. I was put on permanent disability, which meant that I had an ADA card proving that I was disabled, and qualified for handicap parking passes for both of our vehicles. I received benefits for 10 years before SS sent me a letter a couple of months ago stating that because I'm turning 67 next month, that I no longer am qualified for disability benefits, but instead will begin receiving my regular SS benefits due to my age.
Why you have to be unemployed for 5 months before receiving any benefits is beyond me, I think it's a stupid rule, but it is what it is. Gather your medical records from all of your doctors, and have them ready when you finally decide that you're no longer able to continue working. We had to sell our home and move in with our son and his family for 2 years when I walked away from my job. We lived on my wife's income alone for over a year before I started receiving any benefits.

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@mrmacabre First and foremost. I am very sorry to hear about all of what you had to go through in order just to survive here in the United States. If that is going to be my case then I won't be able to make it. Sadly to say that I have no family to rely on nor any friends I could count on and I would be in worse shape than I was previously before any of this had started. I have been working mostly under the table mind you in bar's and night clubs only while doing this I had been living on the streets living day by day because there wasn't a way for me to save up for a room nor an apartment because once I received my paycheck I had been either staying on the street walking round each night after work or finding an empty space somewhere just to sleep and then payday would come and how little I would receive went to getting a hotel room for as many days I could and washing clothes. I would always put on a smile and I never once would ask for a handout nor beg for anything. You would never know I was homeless until you asked me where I lived and I would say "Right here" and point to the street. No on could ever believe that a person who is liked so much and a person works as hard as I do in making sure that everyone is safe and having a good time and a person who goes out of his way listening to people and helping them when and where I could lived on the streets but unfortunately it was true. Today though with the help of a friend who I had met at a motel introduced me to a family member of theirs and said that they are looking for someone to rent a room out of their house because of their Mom passing away and gave me a break until I was finally able to catch up and am making my rent for 2 years now and proud to say that I have been off those streets going on 3 years this April and if this is going to be the case of not having any income, well let me just say there's no way I am going back to where I have just left. I honestly don't think I can make it through any of that again. Sadly to say that but it's the truth.
Right now I am trying to hide the pain so they don't see that it's bothering me so much that just standing up once sitting down is a mind and physical challenge for me and when the owner of the place is standing in front of me and all of a sudden one of those electric volts zaps me it's kinda hard not to show the pain you are in because my throbbing vein on the side of my face and the redness on my face kinda gives it away and then you know that the owner of the bar and the owner of the company I also work for are showing a lot of concern about my health due to liability issues and how much longer will I be able to handle the job and if they only knew just how much pain I am actually in I would be out of a job again. Life truly does suck when you are alone in this world.

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Profile picture for amanancy @amanancy

Hello, I had a nerve conduction test given by a neuro surgeon. I suggest you get one. I was diagnised with idiopathic neuropathy. Good Luck. I also had 19 vials of blood taken to see if any other problems, autoimmune, vitamin deficiencies, showed up. Nothing did. Accupuncture has really helped me by the way.

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@amanancy Thank you for your response and information on this. I will write this down and ask the Doctor if this is another option for me.

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Profile picture for bryce49 @bryce49

My sisters and I inherited our neuropathy from my mother. My eldest daughter has also inherited this condition from me. I have tried gabapentin, which threw off my equilibrium so badly I had two terrible falls while taking it. The same with lyrica. My balance is still less than what I had before the neuropathy, due to the partial numbness in my feet. But (knock on wood) I've not had any falls since stopping those medications. Usually acetaminophen works to keep discomfort manageable but when the pain occasionally is overwhelming, my doctor has prescribed a small dose of hydrocodone, which helps.

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@bryce49 Thank you for your response. Sadly I don't take any of those medications. I have fallen 3 times now because I couldn't get my balance. Only thing is that 2 or 3 of those times I was at work and I took a step backwards and lost my balance. Thank God in my line of work I wear a kevlar vest and that saved me twice of being hurt because I landed on the curve in the parking lot those two times. I am having more and more difficulty with just standing up once I have been sitting for a second then anything else. It takes me a good minute to actually get my legs to start to move forward without actually losing my balance and falling down. I have to have something to hold on to until I am able to move forward. At work I am always asked why don't I grab a chair and sit down for a minute and I always say no. How can I do my job if I am sitting I tell them. I don't and won't show them the real reason why I can't sit down for any amount of time.
Thank you again for your response.

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Profile picture for Dino Soke @dinosoke

@mrmacabre First and foremost. I am very sorry to hear about all of what you had to go through in order just to survive here in the United States. If that is going to be my case then I won't be able to make it. Sadly to say that I have no family to rely on nor any friends I could count on and I would be in worse shape than I was previously before any of this had started. I have been working mostly under the table mind you in bar's and night clubs only while doing this I had been living on the streets living day by day because there wasn't a way for me to save up for a room nor an apartment because once I received my paycheck I had been either staying on the street walking round each night after work or finding an empty space somewhere just to sleep and then payday would come and how little I would receive went to getting a hotel room for as many days I could and washing clothes. I would always put on a smile and I never once would ask for a handout nor beg for anything. You would never know I was homeless until you asked me where I lived and I would say "Right here" and point to the street. No on could ever believe that a person who is liked so much and a person works as hard as I do in making sure that everyone is safe and having a good time and a person who goes out of his way listening to people and helping them when and where I could lived on the streets but unfortunately it was true. Today though with the help of a friend who I had met at a motel introduced me to a family member of theirs and said that they are looking for someone to rent a room out of their house because of their Mom passing away and gave me a break until I was finally able to catch up and am making my rent for 2 years now and proud to say that I have been off those streets going on 3 years this April and if this is going to be the case of not having any income, well let me just say there's no way I am going back to where I have just left. I honestly don't think I can make it through any of that again. Sadly to say that but it's the truth.
Right now I am trying to hide the pain so they don't see that it's bothering me so much that just standing up once sitting down is a mind and physical challenge for me and when the owner of the place is standing in front of me and all of a sudden one of those electric volts zaps me it's kinda hard not to show the pain you are in because my throbbing vein on the side of my face and the redness on my face kinda gives it away and then you know that the owner of the bar and the owner of the company I also work for are showing a lot of concern about my health due to liability issues and how much longer will I be able to handle the job and if they only knew just how much pain I am actually in I would be out of a job again. Life truly does suck when you are alone in this world.

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@dinosoke GEEZ, that really sucks, I'm sorry to hear that you got such a raw deal in your life. Have you tried qualifying for welfare benefits? Since you have a place to stay consistently maybe they could offer you some assistance. It's worth looking into at least.

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