Living with Neuropathy - Welcome to the group

Welcome to the Neuropathy group.
This is a welcoming, safe place where you can meet other people who are dealing with neuropathy. Let’s learn from each other and share stories about living well with neuropathy, coping with the challenges and offering tips.

I’m Colleen, and I’m the moderator of this group, and Community Director of Connect. Chances are you’ll to be greeted by volunteer patient Mentor John (@johnbishop) and fellow members when you post to this group. Learn more about Moderators and Mentors on Connect.

We look forward to welcoming you and introducing you to other members. Feel free to browse the topics or start a new one.
Let’s chat. Why not start by introducing yourself? What concerns would you like to talk about?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Neuropathy Support Group.

@specialty555

@sunnyflower thank you so much!!! I am on my 3rd endocrinologist I saw her a week ago and she wanted all the reports and rest results. She called me on Friday and said I just have to confirm something cause it does not make sense to me...you were in the hospital they put you on treatment you felt great, was released and didn't fell well few days later they lower your dose then they take you off the medication?? I said yes! She said that makes no sense. I hope she will have an answer for me this week. I am just so frustrated. I am so sick and tired of feeling like this. I sleep for a few hours then I am up. I am so desperate. My levels have been so low then 1 time they were high but I just feel horrible. I wish you the best. Thanks for your info

Jump to this post

Oh my gracious! I hope they get this all figured for you STAT!! I 'm so sorry!

I have a lot of specialists over the years and also worked as a Medical Assistant for 20 years and coordinated a lot of patient care.

My take away is that we have to be our own advocate and fight like crazy to keep the doctors apprised of our status and ask a lot of questions. Ask for referrals and Diagnostics. They have 2-3 thousands of patients on their panels and even see other patients as well so they can't keep up on everything going on in each of our lives.

It can be exhausting and discouraging but do your homework, be prepared, don't be intimated, make a list of questions.

I am going to send my neurologist my list of questions for my upcoming phone visit and tell her I thought she may like to know ahead of time to make for a more efficient, productive visit. And, if she needs a longer appointment time to keep her on schedule, then I am willing to reschedule if within a reasonable time.

As an MA, I tried to keep my docs on schedule and they appreciated it. The docs are mostly all great but the system fails a lot.

@specialty555, I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers. Keep us posted, we really do care! Warmest wishes, Sunnyflower 😊🙏. @johnbishop @jesfactsmon @lorirenee1

REPLY
@sunnyflower

Oh my gracious! I hope they get this all figured for you STAT!! I 'm so sorry!

I have a lot of specialists over the years and also worked as a Medical Assistant for 20 years and coordinated a lot of patient care.

My take away is that we have to be our own advocate and fight like crazy to keep the doctors apprised of our status and ask a lot of questions. Ask for referrals and Diagnostics. They have 2-3 thousands of patients on their panels and even see other patients as well so they can't keep up on everything going on in each of our lives.

It can be exhausting and discouraging but do your homework, be prepared, don't be intimated, make a list of questions.

I am going to send my neurologist my list of questions for my upcoming phone visit and tell her I thought she may like to know ahead of time to make for a more efficient, productive visit. And, if she needs a longer appointment time to keep her on schedule, then I am willing to reschedule if within a reasonable time.

As an MA, I tried to keep my docs on schedule and they appreciated it. The docs are mostly all great but the system fails a lot.

@specialty555, I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers. Keep us posted, we really do care! Warmest wishes, Sunnyflower 😊🙏. @johnbishop @jesfactsmon @lorirenee1

Jump to this post

@sunnyflower thank you!!! How do you get the drs to address it asap?? I don't want to be too pushy but I am at the end of my rope. I actually had fallen asleep this afternoon and woke up to hearing my husband telling one of our workers that this is all I do...sleep- really? No I dont!! Then he proceeded to say I have been to so many drs and they don't know what is wrong but I won't let him do anything. I was so upset and sad. I am sure he just wants me fixed so do I. I was so horrified that he would say that to an employee. I want to walk into the drs office tomorrow and just say come on do something- I don't have much time left like this!! Thank you for listening to me. The night time is the worst I can't sleep and then when I do fall asleep and I wake up I feel like I never slept...blessings to you and thank you!!!!

REPLY
@specialty555

@sunnyflower thank you!!! How do you get the drs to address it asap?? I don't want to be too pushy but I am at the end of my rope. I actually had fallen asleep this afternoon and woke up to hearing my husband telling one of our workers that this is all I do...sleep- really? No I dont!! Then he proceeded to say I have been to so many drs and they don't know what is wrong but I won't let him do anything. I was so upset and sad. I am sure he just wants me fixed so do I. I was so horrified that he would say that to an employee. I want to walk into the drs office tomorrow and just say come on do something- I don't have much time left like this!! Thank you for listening to me. The night time is the worst I can't sleep and then when I do fall asleep and I wake up I feel like I never slept...blessings to you and thank you!!!!

Jump to this post

@specialty555
I don't know your's and your husband's situation, obviously. The one thing I have learned over the years of being a caregiver to my wife is, do not make any assumptions about her situation. Let her be the one who does the guiding. She guides me as to what she is feeling, what she needs, where does she hurt the most at any given time. It's really important to be a good listener, not make any assumptions. After all, when she is available here and now to tell me what's what, I need to just try to be there for her. I can't do anything for her pain lots of times but I do think "being there" helps her, and she affirms this. She just wants me to be there for HER, give her needs and wants the focus, let her talk and tell me what is on her mind. And this is especially important when talking with outsiders (even family) about her. Say what SHE believes about her situation not what I believe. She's no dummy, so I don't treat her like one. Again, not saying that this in any way applies to you and your husband, just talking about what we do in our own relationship. Best to you, Hank

REPLY
@specialty555

@sunnyflower thank you!!! How do you get the drs to address it asap?? I don't want to be too pushy but I am at the end of my rope. I actually had fallen asleep this afternoon and woke up to hearing my husband telling one of our workers that this is all I do...sleep- really? No I dont!! Then he proceeded to say I have been to so many drs and they don't know what is wrong but I won't let him do anything. I was so upset and sad. I am sure he just wants me fixed so do I. I was so horrified that he would say that to an employee. I want to walk into the drs office tomorrow and just say come on do something- I don't have much time left like this!! Thank you for listening to me. The night time is the worst I can't sleep and then when I do fall asleep and I wake up I feel like I never slept...blessings to you and thank you!!!!

Jump to this post

Hello specialty555,

It's harder to get appointments nowadays bc of covid-19. Many support staff, etc., including doctors, are working from home.

Are you able and willing to have a phone visit with a doctor? You can also do video visits as well. I have them even with my nutritionist, physical therapist and other specialists.

Scary at first if you are computer challenged but they do trial runs ahead of time with you and walk you through the process until you feel comfortable. If not video then just do phone.

Be sure to ask if you can be put on the cancelation list to be called to come in sooner should someone cancel.

Better than that, is that the nurses have authority over the doctor's schedule to get you on it sooner than the appointment scheduler does so ask to speak with your doctor's nurse. If you are a new patient and don't have an assigned doctor yet, I would still do this. Tell them how bad you are and plead to be seen ASAP. There are usually a few appointments left open for urgent patients for that day so call first thing in the morning!! SSHhhh!

I am very sad to hear that your husband isn't validating you and has humiliated and hurt you by saying what he did about you sleeping all the time. It's an inconvenience to some family and friends to have an afflicted person in their lives. I think there's a discussion about this kind of thing that I will ask John to direct you to by including him in this post.

I will pray that he will be kind, understanding, patient and helpful and rapidly gain insight into your situation and suffering.

I wish for you, the comfort of God and His peace through Christ which surpasses human understanding (Philippians 4 :7), which is the only thing that gets me through the many fires we all walk through here in this very temporary life.

Many blessings and warmest wishes, Sunnyflower. 🙏😊🌹
@johnbishop Hi John, would you use your resourceful skills, and please direct @specialty555 to the discussion about how some of our family members and friends can treat us bc we're afflicted/suffering? Thx so much!!

REPLY
@sunnyflower

Hello specialty555,

It's harder to get appointments nowadays bc of covid-19. Many support staff, etc., including doctors, are working from home.

Are you able and willing to have a phone visit with a doctor? You can also do video visits as well. I have them even with my nutritionist, physical therapist and other specialists.

Scary at first if you are computer challenged but they do trial runs ahead of time with you and walk you through the process until you feel comfortable. If not video then just do phone.

Be sure to ask if you can be put on the cancelation list to be called to come in sooner should someone cancel.

Better than that, is that the nurses have authority over the doctor's schedule to get you on it sooner than the appointment scheduler does so ask to speak with your doctor's nurse. If you are a new patient and don't have an assigned doctor yet, I would still do this. Tell them how bad you are and plead to be seen ASAP. There are usually a few appointments left open for urgent patients for that day so call first thing in the morning!! SSHhhh!

I am very sad to hear that your husband isn't validating you and has humiliated and hurt you by saying what he did about you sleeping all the time. It's an inconvenience to some family and friends to have an afflicted person in their lives. I think there's a discussion about this kind of thing that I will ask John to direct you to by including him in this post.

I will pray that he will be kind, understanding, patient and helpful and rapidly gain insight into your situation and suffering.

I wish for you, the comfort of God and His peace through Christ which surpasses human understanding (Philippians 4 :7), which is the only thing that gets me through the many fires we all walk through here in this very temporary life.

Many blessings and warmest wishes, Sunnyflower. 🙏😊🌹
@johnbishop Hi John, would you use your resourceful skills, and please direct @specialty555 to the discussion about how some of our family members and friends can treat us bc we're afflicted/suffering? Thx so much!!

Jump to this post

@sunnyflower is this the discussion you were wanting @specialty555 to see?

Living with emotionally challenged family: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/living-with-emotionally-challenged-family/

REPLY
@johnbishop

@sunnyflower is this the discussion you were wanting @specialty555 to see?

Living with emotionally challenged family: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/living-with-emotionally-challenged-family/

Jump to this post

HI John, I don't think this is the discussion. I don't remember when or in what discussion it was, but the subject talked about the need for family and friends to adjust their expectations of those of us who are afflicted and suffereing, I had talked about my daughters and that they had essentially placed me in the position of having to validate my poor health by printing my list of health conditions for them to see. They had offered to take turns coming to help me every other week. Nothing ever materialized so some time later I inquired about it and one daughter implied the other said they didn't want to enable me. So I hadn't heard from either and to this day we continue to pay for help.

Many others have talked about their spouses lack of insight/empathy/compassion into their plight/s. My take away is that it's an invonvienence for family and friends to have an afflicted/suffering family member and friends too. Friends fear more will be required in that relationship and it's uncomfortable to be around afflicted/suffering people bc it reminds them of their own mortality. Unfortunately they rob themselves b/c we all have so much to offer other human beings.

Hope that helps you find the discussion. It likely began in a discussion about another topic.

Take care and as always, thanks so much for your help. I was trying to not go off topic and redirect the conversation per the request of the monitors in my discussion w/ @specialty555 when she was sharing about her husband.

Hope you both have a blessed day! Sunnyfower

REPLY
@sunnyflower

HI John, I don't think this is the discussion. I don't remember when or in what discussion it was, but the subject talked about the need for family and friends to adjust their expectations of those of us who are afflicted and suffereing, I had talked about my daughters and that they had essentially placed me in the position of having to validate my poor health by printing my list of health conditions for them to see. They had offered to take turns coming to help me every other week. Nothing ever materialized so some time later I inquired about it and one daughter implied the other said they didn't want to enable me. So I hadn't heard from either and to this day we continue to pay for help.

Many others have talked about their spouses lack of insight/empathy/compassion into their plight/s. My take away is that it's an invonvienence for family and friends to have an afflicted/suffering family member and friends too. Friends fear more will be required in that relationship and it's uncomfortable to be around afflicted/suffering people bc it reminds them of their own mortality. Unfortunately they rob themselves b/c we all have so much to offer other human beings.

Hope that helps you find the discussion. It likely began in a discussion about another topic.

Take care and as always, thanks so much for your help. I was trying to not go off topic and redirect the conversation per the request of the monitors in my discussion w/ @specialty555 when she was sharing about her husband.

Hope you both have a blessed day! Sunnyfower

Jump to this post

@sunnyflower I was not able to find a discussion but I did find your post that talks about the topic. It is in the Neuropathy Medications discussion - https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/neuropathy-medications/?pg=4#comment-423296

REPLY
@sunnyflower

HI John, I don't think this is the discussion. I don't remember when or in what discussion it was, but the subject talked about the need for family and friends to adjust their expectations of those of us who are afflicted and suffereing, I had talked about my daughters and that they had essentially placed me in the position of having to validate my poor health by printing my list of health conditions for them to see. They had offered to take turns coming to help me every other week. Nothing ever materialized so some time later I inquired about it and one daughter implied the other said they didn't want to enable me. So I hadn't heard from either and to this day we continue to pay for help.

Many others have talked about their spouses lack of insight/empathy/compassion into their plight/s. My take away is that it's an invonvienence for family and friends to have an afflicted/suffering family member and friends too. Friends fear more will be required in that relationship and it's uncomfortable to be around afflicted/suffering people bc it reminds them of their own mortality. Unfortunately they rob themselves b/c we all have so much to offer other human beings.

Hope that helps you find the discussion. It likely began in a discussion about another topic.

Take care and as always, thanks so much for your help. I was trying to not go off topic and redirect the conversation per the request of the monitors in my discussion w/ @specialty555 when she was sharing about her husband.

Hope you both have a blessed day! Sunnyfower

Jump to this post

@sunnyflower, that would be a great new discussion to start with a descriptive title to make it easy to find. Great sleuthing @johnbishop.

REPLY

Hello. I am actually here for my mom who is 65 and has been rapidly getting worse for the last year. She is mostly bed bound and completely consumed by her pain all of her waking hours. we started to consider going to the Stanford pain management clinic thinking that she would get a diagnosis there, but it seems that they actually just wanted to look at her pain meds. She is severely depressed and talks about not wanting to have to live with this much pain. But she does NOT want to die. Do you think it would be worth trying to get into the Mayo Clinic or is there somewhere closer to us in California that would be a good program for her? she thinks she might have CRPS and has done all sorts of alternative medical treatments and is one of the most health conscious people I know... I am an only child and don't know what to do. I feel overwhelmed and lonely. Thanks for your input and any resources you might be able to supply. Jessamyn

REPLY
@colleenyoung

@sunnyflower, that would be a great new discussion to start with a descriptive title to make it easy to find. Great sleuthing @johnbishop.

Jump to this post

Ok. Let's see if I can start a new discussion! "Relationship & Expectation Adjustments". I think it's already understood that this is in the context of affliction. Just not sure what group to put it in?? Your thoughts? Sunnyflower

REPLY
Please sign in or register to post a reply.