socks and neuropathy please read

Posted by faybe @faybe, 5 days ago

I have neuropathy in my feet and in the tips of my fingers. It bothers me tremendously it hurts, stings burns, etc. The strange thing about it is, I feel like I have socks on and cannot take them off. It feels like sometimes they are too tight and hurting the end of my toes. I can push my skin down and it helps sometimes. I am not crazy, this is true. Does anyone else have this problem? It is an awful feeling all the time. Never heard anyone else say this. Don't know what king of neuropathy I have. Fay

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

@faybe

I take Alpha Lipoid Acid from Amazon 600mg. The name of it Natrol, and you need to get the time release ones because the others burn your stomach, I usually eat before or after taking the ones that burn your stomach. They have stopped some pain and the burning. You really need to try them. God Bless Fay

Jump to this post

Thank you so much for letting me know I will definitely try them

REPLY

Fay, the sensation of having socks on, was what lead me to my self diagnosis of PN, then confirmed by a neurologist, about 20 years ago. My "treatment" includes balance and muscle strengthening exercises (developed by a physiologist), keeping my feet warm, taking 1000 units of magnesium daily, using a roll on cream called Soodox Active (mainly arnica) for any leg or foot pain during the night - it almost instantly relieves the pain which is usually a cramping.
Disciplining myself to daily exercise is my biggest obstacle; my balance is what limits my lifestyle. I feel very lucky that I am mostly pain free, but I am very aware that this is a degenerative disease and I seem to be in a place of rapid decline as I can do less and less of the household chores and my husband is flat out doing most of it.
Good luck!

REPLY

Yup have all your symptoms. I now go to sleep wearing bamboo socks. I've tried alot of different types and have not found anything that really helps. BUT I find that the softest of the socks seem to provide some relief while sleeping but not for walking. The types seem to vary with their composition over time. Look on Amazon and buy several different types and experiment with sizes and composition of bamboo. I have experimented with EVERYTHING you can think of. Some help...magnesium creams. Stay away from regular use of lidocaine since this will hurt your kidneys but will provide temporary relief when used generously. Creams with essential oils can sometimes help a bit. I'm experimenting with a TENS unit...BUT this is a big scam area. If you buy the book the Electric Body (I'm away from home right now) it gives you the ranges of electric and magnetic waves. This is a big issue. All the waves generated by TENS units may or may not help/hurt you. I've tried acupuncture for 7 weeks by a well trained person (trained for 7 years to become certified) and it seems to help a bit. Good luck on your journey. It is such an emotional drain to deal with this and what you loose as the disease progresses. I share my sympathies. Steve

REPLY
@snagydude

Yup have all your symptoms. I now go to sleep wearing bamboo socks. I've tried alot of different types and have not found anything that really helps. BUT I find that the softest of the socks seem to provide some relief while sleeping but not for walking. The types seem to vary with their composition over time. Look on Amazon and buy several different types and experiment with sizes and composition of bamboo. I have experimented with EVERYTHING you can think of. Some help...magnesium creams. Stay away from regular use of lidocaine since this will hurt your kidneys but will provide temporary relief when used generously. Creams with essential oils can sometimes help a bit. I'm experimenting with a TENS unit...BUT this is a big scam area. If you buy the book the Electric Body (I'm away from home right now) it gives you the ranges of electric and magnetic waves. This is a big issue. All the waves generated by TENS units may or may not help/hurt you. I've tried acupuncture for 7 weeks by a well trained person (trained for 7 years to become certified) and it seems to help a bit. Good luck on your journey. It is such an emotional drain to deal with this and what you loose as the disease progresses. I share my sympathies. Steve

Jump to this post

PS regular exercise and strength training as mentioned by some posters is a must and I assume that everyone should be doing this. You can find good exercises on the internet. BUT ... don't overdo it. Muscle aches are a warning that you are doing too much and it takes longer to recover from muscle aches. Be kind to yourself.

REPLY

Early in my "neuropathy career" I was told that neuropathy is also called the "socks disease" Feels like they are on even when they are not. My suggestion: learn to live with this. There is no cure for neuropathy.

REPLY
@faybe

Thank you so much. How did you get your pain to go away? was it the lotion? God Bless you and I pray you get better.

Jump to this post

My pain just stopped about 6 months ago and I only have occasional pain now. I just started to take fish oil a couple of months ago and I am seeing some good changes with that. I take Res-Q Omega-3 1250 - 2 daily and I have more energy and less inflammation, especially in my feet. Less discomfort with the tight sock feeling and sometimes I can even wiggle my toes up and down and spread them, which I couldn't do for a long time. We'll see how long this all lasts!!!
Res-Q is online and has sales all the time. I bought one to make sure I could take it, then bought more on sale.

REPLY
@snagydude

PS regular exercise and strength training as mentioned by some posters is a must and I assume that everyone should be doing this. You can find good exercises on the internet. BUT ... don't overdo it. Muscle aches are a warning that you are doing too much and it takes longer to recover from muscle aches. Be kind to yourself.

Jump to this post

I agree that regular exercise and strength training are musts. However, instead of being a warning, muscle aches can be a sign that you have microtears in your muscles and that they are able to grow--something I want desperately since this neuropathy has seemingly robbed me of some muscle. I lost several pounds due to this. So if I ache for two days I know it is probably a positive. Still, like you said we must be kind to ourselves. There is a point of overdoing and causing injury--so I believe supervision as in a pt therapist or gym trainer may be needed especially early on. And, no socks for me. This is a sensory disease that seems to differ among folks. I've got pins and needles as I watch Buzzr TV reruns!

REPLY
Please sign in or register to post a reply.