Looking for others experience with exercise and movement.

@alwynne good luck! Hope you find success with the program .

Welcome @alwynne, I also have had neuropathy starting in my mid to late 40s in the toes but never bothered to get a diagnosis until my mid 70s which brought me to Connect. My symptoms are pretty much the same as yours, only have numbness and some tingling in lower legs and feet. I'm 82 now and try to focus on staying mobile and working on my balance daily. I do use a walker in the house for bathroom trips during the night when needed because I'm not very stable when I first get up. I do think rehab and learning exercises to keep your leg strength up and help with balance is a great thing to do. I've had several PT sessions at my local Mayo family clinic to help with balance and walking.

There are quite a few discussions in the Neuropathy Support Group on numbness if you want to learn more about what others have shared. Here's a search link listing the different discussions and member comments - https://connect.mayoclinic.org/search/

I really envy those of you who can exercise in spite of pain. Every step I take is so terribly painful. This seems to be due to neuropathy for which I was supposedly diagnosed over a year ago. I would like to believe that just going out and forcing myself to walk would bring some kind of benefit. Anyone else have really painful feet but continue to walk longer distances.? Thanks

@johnbishop
Thank you John, one of the other problems I have with this diagnosis is the fact that I cannot have knee replacements because of the circulation issues of neuropathy and sometimes. I also find that I cannot get up from most chairs as they are too low and take more muscle effort. (I am not particularly looking forward to that sort of exercise in my rehab!)

@johnbishop
Thank you john. Its really interesting to hear of other journeys through neuropathy. When I was first diagnosed, (also in my 40's)( I am now in my mid 80s) I was asked "Are you a diabetic" No
"Are you an alcoholic? No, " Aah you fit in the third category, which is General". (which means they don't know what the cause is). Finally after a few years my 3 younger brothers developed signs of neuropathy. On reporting back to the neurologist, he said "Aah, your neuropathy is obviously GENETIC". I didn't actually hear the sigh of relief that he had my condition pigeonholed and could now put a reason in my notes, but I could feel a change. But then he went on to say that it was unlikely it would get better because it was genetic. So, I have my family to blame! Good luck in your journey,

@jum13 Hi, thanks for the wishes. Will give it my best shot. See my other replies for extra details. Best wishes

@heisenberg34 I am so sorry to hear about your pain on walking as my experience is of numbness in my feet so no pain but balance is very much a problem. I do hope this group will have some ideas for you. Stay strong!

I have been a Type 2 Diabetic since 1991. I went to see my GP in March 0f 91. His conclusion after a blood test (my A1C was 16, normal is around 5) was that I had crossed the border from Prediabetic to Diabetic. I had planted the major share of one thousand walnut tree seedlings and my feet were still numb six months later. He had been watching my numbers since my maternal Grandfather was Type 2 Diabetic.

Lately I have discovered two things: Working out in the gym three days a week for 90 to 100 minutes has improved my body. It helps me to some simple actions: getting out of bed, getting up from sitting down. sitting down, walking, more stamina and improved health. The second thing I learned was in the 90's. The process/procedure of envisioning! I tried two different ways one year and the results convinced that envisioning works. First, I caught the flu and I envisioned the flu bugs overwhelming my defenses. I got really sick. When my fever broke, I thought that was really stupid. I envisioned/told myself to recoup and reenforce my immune system defenses to start fighting and my body beat the flu in less than a week. A few months later the flu came by again. I was ready, put the system on alert, and I was down less than a one day.

My father was dying of a brain tumor. I went to see him and explained the envisioning process to him. Imagine how I felt when the health social worker came to see him later and she told him the same thing almost word for word. But then she said to him: "You are 77, you have seven children, bunches of Grandchildren, What do you want to do the rest of your life? You have a choice: You can either fight this cancer with envisioning with a lot of hard work and effort or you can say, I am tired and done. Your choice!" I was listening to her and realized she told him the whole truth and not just what all of us wanted to hear (My stepmother, my half-siblings, and me).

@alwynne You mention knee replacement. Been to two well-known orthopedic surgeons and both said they would not replace my bone-on-bone knees. With PN, fear of me falling on knee(s) and seriously damaging bone attached to replacement. No room for gel shots. I guess a common issue for us with PN. Few years back, my mom at 95 put a cushion on her chairs, helped her stand more easily at higher position. Wish you the best.

@alwynne Thanks for your kind response. I do, as well.