Today's post from articlesnatch.com (see link below) is a good general guide for people who are not sure what the feelings in their feet mean. Whatever conclusion you reach, it should always be discussed with a doctor but at least you'll have an idea what might be going on. The conclusions at the end of the article may be interpreted by some as being somewhat optimistic but again, every individual case is different, with different causes and outcomes, which is why a medical consultation is necessary.
The B-vitamin items mentioned may have different names in different countries but should be available in most health food or supplement shops.
Do I Have Neuropathy In My Feet?
By: Brandt R Gibson DPM
Often, I see patients in our office concerned about strange feelings to their feet. Many are found to have neuropathy (or peripheral neuropathy). Neuropathy is the poor functioning of nerves and can lead to significant abnormalities in the feet and legs. Do you have neuropathy? Some simple questions are:
- Are your feet numb or do your feet feel dead? - When you injure your feet, do you feel pain? - When walking on your feet, do you have difficulty feeling the feet or do you trip regularly because you can't feel your feet? - Can you feel heat or cold in my feet or hands? - Do your feet tingle? - Do you have regular "pins and needles" sensation to your feet? - Do you have burning, stabbing, shooting or electrical shock pains in your feet? - Are your feet overly sensitive to touch, including pain from bed sheets or other items that shouldn't hurt? - Do you feel like there is cotton, leather, or sock on your foot, even when there isn't? - Do your feet hurt significantly at night and keep you awake?
An abnormal answer to any of these questions usually indicates neuropathy. Neuropathy can be a complex problem with multiple possible causes including diabetes, AIDS or HIV, toxins and metallic poisons, certain chemicals, alcoholism, vitamin deficiencies or nutritional imbalances, it may also occur from systemic diseases (kidney failure, liver disease, rheumatoid arthritis, abnormal blood proteins, cancer especially with chemotherapy, leukemia and shingles). Entrapment may also lead to the symptoms of neuropathy. Diabetes is the most common, however in the United States.
There are multiple theories on the cause of neuropathy, but the most common theories included blood flow interruption to the nerves or nerve fiber damage (or a combination of these). Therefore, for many years it was thought nothing could be done to improve neuropathy. You may have been told this about your discomfort. That is no longer the case. Many new treatments are coming that may help neuropathy.
The most common natural substances to improve neuropathy are B complex vitamins: B1 (thiamine), B6, B12 and folic acid. Many of the over-the-counter vitamins that contain these products, however, are in a form that are not as easily absorbed or utilized by the body. In our research, we have found two products that provide the vitamins in a form that are beneficial and easily utilized by the body.
1. Metanx - A prescription item that contains L-methoylfolate, Pyridoxal 5'-phosphate and Methylcobalamin (all natural forms of folic acid, B6 and B12 respectively). These products work together to produce increased blood flow to the nerves and assist in nerve repair. Many people are encountering improved feeling in their feet and decrease of their symptoms. It usually will require treatment for at least 4-6 months to insure it has sufficient time to help repair nerves.
2. Neuremedy - A over-the-counter item that contains a form of B1 (benfotiamine) that is absorbed and modified by the body to the active form of B1 (thiamine). Most forms of this vitamin fail to be absorbed in the body, but the benfotiamine of Neuremedy is easily absorbed and utilized by the body. It has been shown to nourish dysfunctional nerves and allow them to conduct impulses more normally. It has been utilized since the early 1960s in Europe and Asia on thousands of patients.
So, neuropathy although a common problem doesn't need to continue to cause problems in your life. It can be treated often very effectively through the use of one of these two options. Many other options are also in the works.
Copyright (c) 2009 Mountain West Foot & Ankle Institute
http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Do-I-Have-Neuropathy-In-My-Feet-/774206
Today's post from families-and-chronic-pain.com (see link below) is a helpful look at what to do if your chronic pain leaves you feeling lonely and trapped in your situation. As with all these self-help posts, it may depend on the mood you're in as to how you take them. Sometimes there's nothing worse than someone telling you to pull yourself together and do something (you would if you could right!) but if you read this through, you may find one or two ideas that appeal to you and be able to act on them. Sympathetically written.
Emotional Isolation
How to deal with loneliness is so important for those living with chronic pain? When you are out of the loop from your job, your activities have been curtailed and your having to deal with loneliness and emotional isolation, that is tough to handle alone.
The feeling of being abandoned, emptiness and alone allows us to deal with loneliness by ourselves. It makes you have a longing for companionship. It stimulates that fear of being alone.
Friends have gone by the wayside. You are absent in their lives and they have a tendency to just forget you the longer you are apart.
This is not your fault because you have no control over your pain.
They do not understand, period.
So much of the time, our thoughts and being alone, can take us to unpleasant places that we just do not want to be in.
Often, the chronic pain takes over your thought process and you begin to shut the world out. This is not good for anyone to have to tackle alone.
So, Jerk Up Those Boot Straps and Lets Get Going!
You need to talk with someone that understands the stress and isolation you are feeling. Try talking to other pain patients the next time you go to the doctor.
Ask, how they might be handling their feelings of loneliness. You never know, you may have just found someone you can share your thoughts and feelings with.
How to Overcome Loneliness
A friend.
It does not matter, if you share the same injury or illness, but the fact that someone is having the same thoughts as you are.
Most pain patients are eager to discuss their feelings of how they deal with loneliness and perhaps you with them.
Even, if it is nothing more than, how long it takes to see your pain doctor. All the times that I have been to the doctor, their office is full of people, just like yourself.
Just talking with and sharing your feelings is so uplifting.
Get a pet.
A dog or cat, from a rescue shelter, will make you feel like you have saved or rescued something from disaster. Even a bird (if that is what you like)can be a true friend in time of need and help you to learn how to deal with loneliness.
They surely can not judge you for the way you are feeling. Their love is unconditional.
Go online.
Find a support group that you can interact with. I would caution you to be careful with online groups though. Some are not very friend oriented.
One that I found that is very supportive is Daily Strength.
Hobbies
Hobbies really help with coping with loneliness. You mind is sort of sidelined and your thought process is interrupted. When your mind is idle you tend to prey on the lonely feelings even more.
This in turn brings the pain into play again. If you can keep your hands busy, and your mind moving, your dealing with loneliness can be made easier.
Take A Walk
It does not matter how far you go, just go. Visit with neighbors who may be out as well. Just one caution-- do not talk about your pain.
As you know, they know you have pain and do not want to make you uncomfortable because they do not understand your pain. The last thing you need is pity.
How to deal with loneliness is one of the challenges most everyone has at one time or another, and you are no different. Being secluded and isolated can only drag you down and that is not how our lives are supposed to be.
Learning how to deal with loneliness is so important for you to move on. You never know, the next person you meet could be experiencing the same thing-- how to cope with loneliness.
http://www.families-and-chronic-pain.com/howtodealwithloneliness.html
Today's post from irishhealth.com (see link below) talks about the fact that many diabetics may be unaware that they also have neuropathic problems, partly because their symptoms are not yet painful enough for them to report to their doctors. As neuropathy is one of the commonest side effects of diabetes, one would assume that doctors are on the look out for symptoms in their diabetic patients but this is clearly not always the case. Both patients and doctors need to be better aware of the possibility of neuropathic problems and test for them (or at least ask the right questions) soon after a diagnosis of diabetes. In the same way, people with neuropathy should maybe ask their doctors if they are also susceptible to diabetes. The two conditions appear so frequently together, testing should really be a matter of course.
[Posted: Wed 11/06/2014 by Deborah Condon www.irishhealth.com]
Almost half of patients with diabetes who attended a diabetes care centre in Dublin recently were found to have neuropathy (nerve damage) in their feet.
Neuropathy is a potential complication of poorly controlled diabetes. If it occurs in the feet, it can impair sensation, movement and function.
If left untreated, it can lead to much more serious problems with the feet, including foot ulcers and amputation. However, early intervention and treatment can prevent more serious problems from occurring.
According to Diabetes Ireland, 47% of patients who attended its Diabetes Ireland Care Centre in Santry during the first three months of 2014 had neuropathy, however many of these were unaware they were affected.
"Every person with diabetes should have an annual foot assessment which should include, as a minimum, removal of the shoes and socks and a test for feeling (sensation) in each foot using a monofilament.
"Many of the patients I see say they had never seen a monofilament so I would ask GPs in the locality to encourage their diabetes patients to have an annual foot assessment and refer or ask them to make an appointment with a podiatrist," commented Theresa Kidd-Foley, a senior podiatrist at the centre.
She insisted that by doing this, people with diabetes could ‘significantly' improve their chances of avoiding foot-related complications, such as ulcers.
Figures from the HSE show that in 2013, more than 1,550 people with diabetes were hospitalised for foot ulcer treatment, spending an average of three weeks in hospital. Furthermore, 371 lower limb amputations were carried out on people with diabetes last year and according to Diabetes Ireland, this figure is particualrly shocking given that research has shown that 80% of diabetes-related amputations are preventable.
"I never really appreciated the need to look after my feet until I had a problem. I went to the Diabetes Ireland Care Centre and as well as having my problem sorted, I was educated on how to look after my feet properly each day and how to check my feet for signs of damage," said diabetes patient, George Casey, of Drumcondra in Dublin.
The Diabetes Ireland Care Centre is a not-for-profit initiative of Diabetes Ireland, which aims to reduce the number of people developing diabetes-related eye and feet complications as a result of poor management of the condition. It also provides information and support to people.
"People with diabetes must actively self-manage their condition and seek out the necessary supports they require to help them stay healthy," Ms Kidd-Foley said.
http://www.irishhealth.com/article.html?id=23731
