Why Do I Have Neuropathy? A Personal Story

Today's relatable post from americannewsreport.com (see link below) is a very recognisable account of the way that neuropathy can take us by surprise when it arrives. You will undoubtedly recognise many of the experiences the author has gone through and sympathise with the frustrations that the disease can bring. Worth a read, if only because you may be reassured that you're not alone feeling the way you do, although at times it may feel like it.

My Story: Why Do I Have Peripheral Neuropathy?
October 13th, 2014 by Ed Coghlan
 
When we started the National Pain Report a couple of years ago, we had a pretty good idea that it was going to be successful. From prior work that I had in the field of chronic pain, I knew that pain patients were often frustrated about the lack of information that is available to them and how they are treated by the medical community.

So we figured we’d find an audience.

What I didn’t know at the time was that I was about to begin my own personal journey into chronic pain.

A couple of years ago, I was playing golf in Oxnard, California when I noticed that my feet were tingling — like I was walking with sand in my golf shoes — is how I would later describe to my doctor.

It didn’t hurt either my feet or the quality of my golf (such as it is) and I didn’t pay much attention to it. So I ignored it.

For much of the next year, I would get an episode or two, but it always receded and I never thought much about it. I never ever talked to my doctor about it.

Probably should have.

About a year ago, on a night before an important meeting I had in San Francisco, my body just went off. The tingling and numbness seemed to be everywhere in my body.

It didn’t hurt, but it was very unsettling.

So when I returned to Los Angeles, I began a journey I’m still on. To find out what the hell is the matter with me.

The first thing I did was what anyone born after World War II always does. I went to Google. It didn’t make me long to self diagnose.

I have peripheral neuropathy. It’s a tingling, burning and numbness that the Mayo Clinic compares to the loss of sensation that comes from wearing a thin stocking or glove.

There are a number of reasons for it — traumatic injuries, infections, metabolic problems and exposure to toxins. One of the most common causes is diabetes.

My father had diabetes and my grandfather had multiple sclerosis, so off to the doctor I went.

My family physician, who I’ve known for 30 years, ran a bunch of blood tests and said he didn’t see anything problematic. In fact he congratulated me on my blood chemistry. He referred to me a neurologist, who thought my blood sugar was a little high (101) — not diabetic high — but enough that he suggested I eat like a diabetic and try to lose some weight. .

I’m a physical fitness nut, so losing weight never seemed like something I needed to do, but in fairness and out of respect for the neurologist, I ate like a diabetic and lost 15 pounds in about two months.

So I looked better.

But the tingling remained, and sometime the burning is so intense that when I get home from work, I’ll put ice packs on my feet. When it’s especially severe, I feel it in my hands and my face.

He also gave me a nerve conduction test and told me to start taking Vitamin B-12, which I do. I’m also taking Gabapentin (the generic for Neurontin) and I honestly can’t say that it’s working all that well. I stopped taking it for a while. I’m taking it again, because, well, I have to do something.

I’ve gone back to my family physician and the neurologist in the past couple of months, and their diagnosis is the same — which is they’re not sure.

I had back surgery thirty years ago, have banged myself around pretty good on racquetball and basketball courts and hiking trails, and thought maybe something happened during that active life that might have pinched a never or something. They pretty much rejected that.

I’ve never been this unsettled about anything physically.

I have learned that often the cause of the peripheral neuropathy goes undiagnosed.

I don’t like living under the cloud of doubt.

It was Francis Bacon who said, “If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties.”

I don’t think Bacon had peripheral neuropathy.

Ed Coghlan is the CEO of National Pain Report. He lives in southern California.

National Pain Report invites other readers to share their stories with us.

Send them to editor@nationalpainreport.com

The information in this column is not intended to be considered as professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. It is for informational purposes only and represents the author’s personal experiences and opinions alone. It does not inherently or expressly reflect the views, opinions and/or positions of National Pain Report or Microcast Media.

http://americannewsreport.com/nationalpainreport/my-story-why-do-i-have-peripheral-neuropathy-8824993.html