neuropathy - need doc. advice

[PepsiLvr]

Hello again,

I have what I believe is neuropathy in my lower legs and feet. I want to determine 1) if this was caused by my diabetes (I'm sure it was) and 2) if being dxd 3 years prior to my dxd of 1/04 could have helped the situation. Back in 01/01 I just started to have some pain and tingling but now it has progressed to 95% numbness. My question is, what kind of doc would be best to determine the answers to my questions related to the above? I was thinking neurologist but I don't really know exactly what one does :confused: . Any help is appreicated. Thanks.

[Katjic]

I think you should go see neurologist as soon as possible. He will do some tests, like EMG (Electromyography) to determine if you have neuropathy and how bad it is.
There are some good medications that can help with neuropathy – like neurontin, and neurologist can prescribe it to you if he thinks you need it.

The best thing is to go and check it out so you can get treatment as soon as you can.

Good luck and keep us posted

[dpav]

This is a good idea to use the neurologist. But about neurontin, be extremely careful when you use this medication. It is extremely dangerous. It is also not categorized for pain control as of yet. It is only a seizure control drug. Yet it does do a lot of good to relieve pain and burning due to neuropathy.
Study the interactions and warnings very carefully. If you have heart beat interruption or palpitations, Respiratory changes or difficulties, nausea and or vomiting, you should not continue this medication. Many have these reactions and the doctors mistakenly tell patients to continue taking it to see if it goes away. Theses are danger signs and doctors are not to keep you on it with any of the problems I described. Many get good relief from this med. But just be careful.
The EMG or nerve induction test will help with knowing what your nerves are doing and how the muscles are responding.
I hope this is helpful.
Don

[Deager]

Kat and Don are correct. The first person to see is a neurologist. Jack was dx with neuropathy back in 1979 and at that time there was no treatment for it, altho the doc did tell him to start taking extra vitamins. Right.

Your neuropathy is probably worse now because you weren't dx sooner as it is poor control that makes neuropathy worse and since you didn't know you were diabetic, how could you control it? The best treatment for neuropathy is good control.

As for neurontin, Jack was on it last year. He was up to 12 pills a day at 600 mg each!!!!! When the doc wanted to up it again, he said 'uncle'. (We weren't married at the time or I would have screamed bloody murder at anything over 3 a day!) The neurontin didn't help his pain in the least. He didn't have any of the side effects that Don describes. He is on Mexiletine (a heart medicine) now and it isn't helping either. The doc has doubled the medication once already and wants to do so again. I say no. Jack gets to decide.

As an aside, I am currently on Neurontin, even tho I am not diabetic and don't have neuropathy. I am having some problems with my ulna and radial nerves in my arms and my neurologist prescribed it for me. I'm lucky in that it has helped my pain a lot. It is just masking the problem, of course, but we are progressing in dx my problem and the solution.

However, it is funny....I haven't had any of the side effects Don describes....buuuuuttttttt.......this drug has made me calmer in dealing with my mom and boss! Also, it makes me very woozy so during the week I don't take the lunchtime pill or I can't drive home. Another wierd thing is that I see things darting by in my peripheral vision....just dark shapes. Things that are NOT there. Spooky. Have you heard of these things with neurontin Don? I'm really curious.

Diane

[Katjic]

I was on 2400 mg of Neurontin a day for a couple of months.
It didn't really help for my neuropathy pain but I didn't have side efects either.
I guess it efects everybody in a different way, but you can't know unless you try it. If you have bad side efects, then you should stop taking it of course. I'm sure there's some other medications out there that can help with neuropathy pain..

[KLD]

Are you seeing an endocronologist, pepsilvr? It's probably a good idea to see a neurologist as well, but my eye specialist referred me to an endo recently. He feels it's important for all diabetics to see an endo because it is his or her job to coordinate the care we, as diabetics, receive from the other medical specialists who look after our individual problems such as heart, kidney, eye, and nerve problems.

Karen D.

[PepsiLvr]

Thanks for your advise everyone. I think I will end up making an appointment with a neurologist. To answer your question KLD, yes, I am seeing and endocronologist. I've seen my endo a couple times but it doesn't seem that he wants to coordinate care with any other docs. He hasn't even advised me to have my eyes checked or anything like that. Thank God I have these forums to help me coordinate my own care. I have since made an appt. with an opthomologist (sp?) and it looks like I will be seeing a neurologist as well.

I've come to learn that I can't trust anyone to provide decent care for me. I have to do that myself. Actually, my general doc. (who stupidly dxd me with type 2 and said that sugars of 150 -180 were "good") didn't send me to an endo and if I didn't know any better would not have made the appt with the endo and have been properly dxd! My general doc is also the one who I feel delayed the treatment of my neuropathy because he never got all of the bloodwork reslults back 3 years ago when I had a bloodtest yet he signed off on them saying "labs good" when he was missing the CBC results. I didn't know any better at that time :mad: .

Sorry but I guess I had to vent there :) .

Thanks again everyone!!

[dpav]

One little response to the neurontin side affects question.
There is a detailed flyer inside the bottle that the medicine comes in for distribution the pharmacist will give it to you if you ask for it. I asked for that and read it. If you can read that it will give you so much more than you will receive in the normal drug flyer that you get from the pharmacy. This is where I read about the 12 unknown caused deaths from neurontin.

It can help and it can be bad. As it was stated before you may need to try it to know which way it will react on you.
Don

[lgvincent]

I didn't care much for Neurontin. It didn't seem to help me, as far as I could tell. I do like Carbatrol though. It does seem to help with the numbness some although it could just be my imagination.