Neuropathy and its toll on the body

 Al Ritter

I don’t speak as a doctor and my experience with neuropathy should not be construed as medical advice, I can only tell you what I have painfully learned over the years as a Neuropathy sufferer.

There are many reasons for Neuropathy, that burning, tingling, and sometimes stabbing pains that occur mostly in the feet, but sometimes in the hands and even in the chest.

Diabetes is the number one cause, but others include site trauma (broken bones, surgery, accidental injury, etc.), vitamin deficiencies, auto immune problems, heavy alcohol use, and a thing called idiopathic (when the doctor can find no clear cause.

 I’ll make a statement here that can be controversial, there is no known cure for Neuropathy. I have endured some torturous treatments in the past which included over 170 injections into my feet of a “magical mixture” of vitamins and things that were never fully explained. A device applied to my feet that include suction cups and electro stimulation similar to a TENs unit. This was to no avail.

We are constantly subjected to ads on social media about compressions socks and the “Pink Salt and Turmeric elixir.” Other snake oil salesmen claim they have found the root of some distant rare plant and claim they have contracted a pharmaceutical manufacture to produce a limited run of these special pills. All lies, based on the fears that the patient has about never getting better. Ask me how I know!

First, you have to be diagnosed with Neuropathy, that normally happens by making an appointment with a Neurologist, and if the scarcity of that specialty in your area is anything like mine, usually will take a year. The test is an EMG and is basically electro stimulation of the nerves. It amounts to measuring the time it takes the nerve to react to that stimulation from one end to the other.

Then the Neurologist has to make an informed guess as to the cause of the Neuropathy, usually through a medical history and always includes Diabetes as the number one possibility.

If caught early dietary supplements can help, including vitamins and others. My personal experience showed a progression in 15 years from my feet to almost my knees. One experience in the fall a few years ago where I almost set my foot on fire next to the fire pit, and I never even felt it!       

I got some advice from a doctor that has helped a lot, he explained the nerves have a protective sheath around them, and one particular supplement can help rebuild that sheath Alpha Lipoic Acid. I figured why not I had tried everything else. After the first bottle the Neuropathy was slowly retreating from my knees back towards my feet. After 2 ½ years of this supplement I can now say it is strictly limited to just my feet.

Sadly, my Neuropathy isn’t just limited to my feet, I also have it in my chest, caused by a combo of trauma and auto immune problems. I had the Neuropathy in my feet for over 15 years now, but the Neuropathy in my chest has only been 6 years. Sadly, the Alpha Lipoic Acid hasn’t helped the chest pains, but it keeps the foot situation at bay.

Different people react differently to different supplements and treatments. My major concern was becoming a fall risk, and that’s why I tried some many different things for relief. Other things that seem to help have been the use of “hospital socks,” You know the ones imprinted with the little grippers on the bottom, that in addition to shoes with think insoles like the Skecher Brand. These are just the things that help me, your results may vary.

The one thing to take away from all this is…..there is no cure, only things that may slow it or stop it in its progression, learning to live with it IS hard, but it’s not the end of the world either.

Best of luck in your personal endeavor