Hi I’m new to the group also. I’ve been diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy.
It started in November 2019. In just 5 months my feet are completely numb. It is spreading up my knees . I also have it in my hands .It feels like a million ants are constantly biting me! I’ve been to physical therapy and pain management. I’m taking 1800 mg of gabapentin. I also have a lot of tightness in my mid section. It’s very concerning to me to have this, I have so many question about how I feel but not a lot of answers. I’m hoping that by joining this group that I will get the support that I need and maybe be able to help someone else.
Thanks for being here. Love and light.

Hi Carol Sue. It sounds very difficult to try to cope with the rapid worsening and spread of your peripheral neuropathy in your feet and hands. Is the gabapentin helping? I have had tightness in my midsection which was due to tightening muscles from anxiety which was related to depression. I cope much better with my pain when I work on my mental health. For pain, I take medical marijuana because it is legally prescribed throughout Canada and that is where I live. Very few things help with neuropathic pain, but my physical rehabilitation doctor says medical marijuana does. She found that gabapentin was overrated. I do not know if Lyrica is any better, but it has more side effects and can cause swelling. Are you getting fluid retention with the gabapentin? Relaxation and meditation can also reduce pain. Have you tried acupuncture? Best wishes.

Good morning, thank you for responding. I was wondering if medical marijuana helps. My pain management doctor suggested using it but he has no idea of how much is needed. How much do you use and what relief do you feel?
I get some relief from the gabapentin but what’s really bugging me is that I have no idea about how I’m supposed to feel using this stuff. Do you use the marijuana in conjunction with your medicine ?
Thanks for the relaxation tips to calm the tightness in my mid section. I’ve been working on my mental health issues for a long time but this disease has just zapped me into another dimension of life. I’ve gone from being very active to not being able to do the smallest of regular daily activities. I am very grateful to share my life with someone who tends to my needs but Geez this sucks ! Im really grateful to have found this support group and especially for your response to my message..
Love and light

My husband helps me in addition to care aides. Regarding medical marijuana, do you live in Canada or the US? Does your state have medical marijuana legal? How are you able to obtain it?
For me, I had to use trial and error on my own. I started with a very low dose. I tried smoking it but I did not like it. I currently take it in olive oil from a company in Saskatchewan called Cannimed, although I live in BC. I find this company to be very knowledgeable and professional and reliable. They mail it to me. If you check their website you be able to see the options available. It takes a while to find the right type in the right dose in the right form for you but when it does, it works. It also helps relax muscles and helps you sleep. It does not cause me constipation like some medications do. You will have to ask your pharmacist about taking it with gabapentin. I think you can, but you will probably be more sedated. You may find you can reduce the dose of gabapentin once you stabilize on the medical marijuana. Read as much is you can from your supplier and reputable websites. It looks like just the 2 of us are currently active on this group for now. But at least we have each other :-)

Hi good morning , I hope that you are feeling as well as you can today. I live in California and yes marijuana is legal. So my partner and I are going to
go investigate a dispensary. Like you have mentioned it’ll be trial and error.
It’s so good to share with you on this.leval. So how are you otherwise? Are you able to participate in any hobbies? What my fun stuff has come down to is reading, jigsaw puzzles, solitaire things that I can do on my iPad .
Yes we are not alone.. we have e@ch other

Hi Carol Sue. That is great, we may not be in the same country but at least we're in the same time zone :-)
Physically I cannot do much, so even though I am 51 years old and already have a bachelor's degree and a master's degree and several certificates and a lot of work experience, I decided to take some courses and programs towards a career direction I may be able to do at home online. I had to retire because of my physical disabilities and pain in January 2006. I have been on Canada pension physical disability since 2008 I think. I am trying to do exercise through a sitting elliptical trainer. I tried it once so far, and I enjoyed it. The delayed soreness was mostly due to being out of shape rather than aggravating my neurological conditions. I will take it slow and easy until my body adapts. I cannot use my arms much at all, so I need care aides who come 4 times a day. Because in addition to the compression neuropathy in my hands and forearms, I also have RSD, a neurological condition characterized by redness, pain, muscle stiffness and spasms. It led to fixed ankle joint contractures so I am wheelchair-bound, except I have leg braces which allow me to stand if I am l supported. In 2004, my neurological condition affected my feet and spread to my hands in 2008. My hands and arms of gradually got worse, so now I have to use a power wheelchair with head control. I use voice recognition software to type and a head mouse to move the cursor around. I also have pets, including a guinea pig and 2 pet rats :-)

Hi Maui1992, wow that's a lot for you to be dealing with and you’ve been dealing with it for a long time. By now I’m sure that you have some mega coping skills.
Also having the determination to take online courses is impressive. You go girl!
Yesterday I got to visit with my daughter, 2 grand daughters and my great grand baby thru Facebook. We had a really good visit. Adam my. great grand son just turned 1 in April. He’s just started walking. My heart just melts with every video I get of him doing something new. Do you have children? I have a son and daughter and a son that died in 2007.. I also have 2 cats Asia and Gracie.

I was diagnosed with an idiopathic neuropathy many years back. Nerves are electrified all the time. Like a walking electrical storm with Tinnitus 24/7. Medical has never helped. I did have ulnar nerve and carpal tunnel surgery back in 2018. It wasnt much help. I still lose strength in my fingers, and hand. Now I am dealing with my memory failing me at work.

Wow, a great grandbaby! No, we never had kids. We were looking into adopting a little girl from China when my neurological condition started and when they got worse and never got better and it was permanent, I was unable to take care of myself let alone children. Our pets have always been our kids, especially the 2 dogs we had from around 1993-2009. One was an Italian greyhound named Loonie, and the other was a Chihuahua named Gizmo. They were so cute, funny, well behaved, obedient, loving, entertaining "kids". I was Mom and my husband was Dad. We use those terms :-)… The 4 of us had great times together. We never got another dog after that because of my neurological conditions, and I could not take care of them since my husband worked full time. When my husband retires in a few years he will be getting a dog..

Hi there Dark Son. I also had carpal tunnel surgery to no avail. My ulnar nerve is also a big problem. Because of my RSD, which gets worse with surgery, my physical rehabilitation Dr. does not recommend surgery. She also says it is not very effective for compression neuropathy, especially when an MRI about 15 years ago showed my median nerve through the carpal tunnel to be permanently flattened. That cannot be undone. The cause was likely chronic swelling.
My memory is pretty awful taking courses online and whatnot. For me, it is mostly due to my medication, but also due to my brain being out of use for so many years, as well as the dreadful aging. Do you think it could be meds? Do you do work that aggravates your condition? And, I realize this is none of my business, but alcohol is known to make any kind of neuropathy worse over the long haul. Why do I bring this up you may ask? It is because your avatar looks like a glass of vodka!: :-),

I also found the muscle relaxant tizanidine to be helpful for nerve pain. There is also spinal stimulation which I never tried. There is also peripheral stimulation if your pain is more localized in the extremities. A physical rehabilitation doctor is best for this, also known as a physiatrist. Best wishes to you both. And neurologists.

I am also kind of new here too. I have the idiopathic type which means they don't know why I have it.
I have it in my feet toes & ankles & legs. I also have carpal tunnel.
I take Gabapentin but i have to keep increasing it.
I went to a pain dr. & they wanted me to put a spinal cord stimulator inserted but a lot of my dr's are against bc I have other underlying conditions. I also am loaded with abdominal adhesions so it could cause me more problems.
I also take Cymbalta & i just stay home & deal with the pain but it gets hard.
I wish you the best & wELCOME.

Hi Tiger eyes. I'm the same person you were talking to in the other post. I have the rat avatar picture and go by the name Maui 1992. I never knew a lot of your doctors are against the spinal cord stimulator, but now I understand why they would be because of all your underlying conditions. Would massage therapy help with your abdominal adhesions?
There are just 2 of us active in this group. Daily Strength has many other groups, including chronic pain groups which have more people for discussions. You will be able to get more advice and suggestions and support than just little old me. I am also in another group. You can check the date on the posts and see that very few people are active here. You can be a part of as many groups as you wish! It's a great site.