Furry Friends

This is a personal post from an ex- banker, turned Aids activist Bob, who writes for Positive Lite, a Canadian site for people with HIV (for link see below). I'm sure many people will identify with what he says (and dog owners will already be very much aware of the theraputic effects they can bring!).

Furry Friends Friday: the Peripheral Neuropathy Edition

I hope you’re not getting sick of seeing these guys. These are our three errant hounds in their very best “we are not amused” pose.
Actually, it’s all a front. They are easily amused, if tickling their tummies counts.

We’re fortunate to be living right out in the country where our dogs (left to right Dudley, Dougall and Peggy) can roam quite freely, at least within the confines of an invisible fence. So I don’t need to take them for walks. Which is just as well because walking has been a touchy issue of mine lately. Blame it on the peripheral neuropathy in my feet.

It’s probably a side effect of the meds I take. Peripheral neuropathy is all about irreversible damage of the nerve endings; it’s an odd mixture of numbness and pain. That combination makes no sense, I know, but that’s the only way I can describe it.

Anyway, I have no ability to scale down or replace my existing meds, because – well, there is nothing else out there I’m not resistant to. So . . a long time ago, my HIV doctor had put me on amitriptyline, an anti-depressant, in this case prescribed for pain reduction. It didn’t work, but in recent visits we’ve revisited that drug, stepping up the dose to 100mg a day. The good news is that it seems to reduce some of the pain, and I’m left with the numbness and just a dull but bearable pain, instead of the ouchy, ouchy feet I had before. That’s enough to let me walk, if not long distances, at least ones I would normally encounter in everyday life.

The downside is that the amitryptyline makes me feel funny, light-headed. That’s likely the anti-depressant effect kicking in. I don’t need that. I seem to be continually addressing side effects of pills prescribed to counteract side effects of other pills. But the larger picture is that I’m better off than I was pre-amitriptyline.

I also found that comfortable shoes help. When I’m around the house, for instance, I wear a pair of slippers, just like your granddad wore. Outdoors, I wear New Balance brand shoes, which are particularly good for hurty feet, I’ve found.

The bottom line is that there are no miracle cures for this condition. However there are small steps you can take to make your feet less hurty. At least that’s my experience.

http://positivelite.com/content/