In Search of Relief

Hello @dutchman09, welcome to Connect. I have idiopathic small fiber peripheral neuropathy in both feet and slightly above the ankles. I'm fortunate in that I only have numbness and some tingling as symptoms. I don't have any pain with it. In looking for "fixes" for my neuropathy I tried a lot of topicals and a few devices with little success. What I did learn is that there are a lot of companies and others making a lot of money off of people with neuropathy symptoms. I purchased a Zopec DT-1200 Electrotherapy system which claimed it helped neuropathy and had lots of good testimonials but it didn't work for me. I have heard of the Rebuilder but think it's just another one of those things (IMHO). I did find an article talking about it:

Recognizing Dubious Health Devices
-- https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/recognizing-dubious-health-devices/

I try to do research on any new treatments for myself before making any decisions. Here are a few of the sites I use:

Quazar's guidance about avoiding scams and snake oil cures
-- https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/how-to-avoid-quacks-and-snake-oil-treatments/

FDA's Health Fraud Page
-- https://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ProtectYourself/HealthFraud/ucm539101.htm

NIH's National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) which offers guidance about integrative health and how to evaluate it.
-- https://nccih.nih.gov/health/decisions

I'm also a big believer in not taking statins because I have neuropathy and statins can cause neuropathy.

The implications of statin induced peripheral neuropathy
-- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3103035/

Statin Neuropathy Masquerading as Diabetic Autoimmune Polyneuropathy
-- http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/28/8/2082.1

Medication Induced Neuropathy
-- https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11910-003-0043-8

@dutchman09, do you have any other symptoms of neuropathy other than your left foot? Mine did start in the toes but on both feet.

John

Hello John:
First let me thank you very much for your timely reply and quantity of informative links. I am particularly interested in "Statin Neuropathy Masquerading as Diabetic Autoimmune Polyneuropathy" since my Cardiologist has me on Crestor for the past eight years and I do not believe I have diabetes because over a year ago my then primary care physician said I no longer had to test my glucose daily and a recent August 15th blood test showed my Glucose result as 101 and my Cholesterol result as 129 .

This past June I was diagnosed with chronic axonal sensorimotor polyneuropathy which is now affecting both feet and beginning to affect my hands. However as stated in my original post, both the Neurologist and the Chiropractor were not open to prescribing me an electronic nerve stimulator. One only believed in prescription drugs and the other felt threatened by the devise. You have given me a wealth of articals to review and I am genuinely grateful.

Hi @dutchman09, I'm glad the information was helpful and even more happy that you are being a strong advocate for your own health. The way the healthcare industry is going a person really needs to advocate and work with the doctors to come up with a treatment plan. Here is a patient story I ran across earlier that might be helpful.

Breaking Away From Pain With the Help of ‘The Scrambler’
-- https://sharing.mayoclinic.org/2015/02/19/breaking-away-from-the-pain-with-the-help-of-the-scrambler/

Also the site with a little more information on the device:
-- https://www.st-team.eu/

Keep learning as much as you can about your condition, it can't hurt and it most likely will help you work better with the doctors on a treatment that works for you.

John

Thank you again, John, you've been most helpful.

Hi very interesting information. Have you tried low level laser 650nw? I found it nearly eliminated the numbness from my feet and toes in only 2 weeks.

Hi @holhealthcare, I have not tried low level laser therapy myself although I have looked into it. I just personally don't want to pay a lot of money for something that may or may not work based on discussions I've had with the treatment center offering the low level laser therapy. I have a friend that had many treatments and feels it has helped them but is pretty subjective and different for each person. It's good to hear that it has nearly eliminated the numbness for you. Do you also have pain with your neuropathy? There is good information regarding the low level therapy for pain issues.

The Use of Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) For Musculoskeletal Pain
-- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4743666/

I have been thinking about getting one of the new SaunaSpace single units which is a near infrared light therapy device.
-- https://saunaspace.com/shop/near-infrared-single-light-panel/

John

I purchased this low level laser device (from a slightly less expensive site) and my wife uses it on my feet and hands for 15 minutes each, every night. I use it on my hands and she attaches it to a camera tripod to use on my feet while lying on the couch. It has three different light intensities, solid and pulsating light rays and can be timed from 15 to 60 minutes. Here is a video about this Laser device: https://healthcaremarts.com/products/low-level-laser-therapy-device-hand-held.

Mine is Domer Technology. It is an excellent device I also use in my clinic.
I had terrible pain and burning toes and plantar foot. I used Chamomile German and a jade roller on it. The pain and burning went away. That's 3 years ago. I was left with the numbness. Feet feel about normal now.

That's also the one I use for myself and in my clinic.

Hi @johnbishop - thanks a lot for your comments on lllt and the publication, one I have not had in my collection as yet - I would like to add another one or two studies on low-level laser therapy, also caled photobiomodulation. On most recent studies, partially not as yet published, I understand that the applied dose per cm2 tissue which was usually from 1 to 5 joules seems to be consierably higher. So those laser lighter type output power of 1 to 5 mW would take quite some time if such recommended doses should be reached.
Also I share your intention on getting one of those low cost one-man-sauna, I found a lot of relatively low cost units on amazon.de, the german version, there again it may be interesting to see what infra red heat lamps they are using, as the absorption of water in the human cells depends on the wavelength used in the infra red spectrum. I am trying to add the link on water absorption of light. Mostly the manufacturers do not state the wave length of their heat lamps but should be able to disclose if one inquires. I think that the wavelength should be below 2000nm so there is some transmisison of light in subcutaneous tissue structures which could, like laser light, stimulate the repair of peripheral nerve damages.