Advanced Treatment Protocols For Peripheral Neuropathy

What is Neuropathy?

What is neuropathy, or neuropathy pain, and what are neuropathy symptoms?

Neuropathy, most commonly known as Peripheral Neuropathy is a condition of ‘damaged nerves’ in your peripheral nervous system.

Peripheral means outside of your central nervous system, the part of your body that is housed for protection by your spinal column.

The nerves of your body serve a vital roll in communicating to your brain about what the rest of your

body is doing.

This means your nervous system sends messages, back and forth, letting your brain know

what’s going on, so it can send out messages, telling everyone of your cells, tissues and

organs what to do.

Let me give you an example. Your nerve receptors would acknowledge that a finger is

‘burning’, carrying the message to your brain which then retaliates by sending a message

to your hand to pull your finger away from the hot surface.

As you can image, when you have a neuropathy, which are damaged nerves, this leads

to more damage to your body.

In general, neuropathy symptoms begin with lack of sensation, prickling in the toes or

fingers, and continue to extend to the feet and hands, causing burning sensation and

severe pain, which is particularly acute at night time.

Neuropathy pain is usually symmetrical, meaning one would have the pain on both sides

of the body –on both feet and both hands, for example.

Peripheral neuropathy usually develops suddenly.

Symptoms include numbness, where patients feel as if they are wearing invisible gloves,

acute pain, excessive sensitivity to pain, muscle weakness, loss of balance, high or low

blood pressure, trouble with moving muscles, lack of sleep due to pain, and atypical

sweating.

The type of symptom of peripheral neuropathy depends on the nerves that are damaged,

and this depends on the origin of the disease.

Two causes of neuropathy are diabetes and alcoholism.

Symptoms for diabetic neuropathy include numbness, tickling or pricking pain.

Some cases of diabetic neuropathy show no symptoms at

all, while others can be so sudden, that they cause immediate disability.

The pain may be either unbearable, or cause insensitivity to any kind of pain, both of which are dangerous.

Neuropathy pain may also be mild at the start and go unnoticed, but over a period of time, it could be come severe and complicated. Diabetic neuropathy could cause urinary and gastrointestinal

problems, weakness, and problems with sexual organs.

Symptoms for alcoholic neuropathy include sharp pains, lack of sensation, urinary

control, feeling like the bladder is not completely empty, problems with starting to

urinate, muscle spasms, lack of ability to tolerate normal body heat, nausea, constipation

and impotence.

Other notable symptoms can be drooping eyelids, varying tone of voice while speaking,

difficulty with swallowing, and problems with speech itself in some cases.

Neuropathic pain may be sudden or gradual; it manifests in different ways, depending on

its origin (such as with diabetes or alcoholism).

What is common to all neuropathy, however, is the danger to and the suffering of the

patient, who ought to seek treatment as soon as they are aware of the problem. We have a

way of accessing this damage and telling you how to repair these damaged nerves with

some non-invasive procedures if you have any of the symptoms above.

If you think you might have a neuropathy, talk to the doctor immediately and we’ll get

you scheduled for an examination and testing. It's only $100 and accesses the upper as well as the

lower limbs and feet. Don’t wait until it’s too late and your nerves are too damaged for

help.

To schedule your neuropathy exam call 567-940-9334

Many individuals suffer from burning and tingling in their extremities, and typically the feet are affected first and then later - their hands. This can be quite debilitating and can steal away one’s quality of life completely. Most often these symptoms are secondary to diabetes, and the condition is known as peripheral neuropathy -- peripheral because it occurs in the far periphery of the body (hands and feet), and neuropathy because it involves nerves and is pathological. Put simply, it is a disease of the nerves in the hands and feet.

This disease occurs as a consequence of poor circulation to the extremities, and this poor

circulation can occur for a variety of reasons with diabetes being the most common. Very often

genetic predisposition plays a role and other health challenges such as side effects from prescription

and non-prescription drugs can cause it, as well as chronic infection, demyelinating diseases such as

MS, obesity, heavy metal toxicity, and vitamin or mineral deficiency can be the root cause.

The root cause certainly matters since there are different treatment options that depend on it. Yet

regardless of what that root cause may be, one fundamental truth remains as a common denominator of therapeutic intervention, and that is the focus of our neuropathy program. 

Regardless of the cause, your neuropathy may be associated with some characteristic symptoms.

Although some people with neuropathy may not have symptoms, certain symptoms are

common and if you’re going to take care of yourself at home, it’s important that you know these.

The degree to which an individual like you is affected by a particular neuropathy varies.

Damage to your sensory nerves is common in peripheral neuropathy. Symptoms often begin in

your feet with a gradual onset of loss of feeling, numbness, tingling, or pain and progress toward

the center of the body with time.

The arms or legs may become involved. Your inability to determine joint position may also

occur, which can result in clumsiness or falls.

Extreme sensitivity to “touch” can be another symptom of peripheral neuropathy. The sensation of

numbness and tingling of the skin is medically known as

“paresthesia.”

Here’s where this all comes into play.

The loss of sensory input from your foot means that blisters and sores on your feet may develop rapidly and then… not be noticed.

Because there is a reduced sensation of pain, these sores may become “infected” and the infection may spread to your deeper tissues, including bone. In severe cases, amputation may be necessary, so you taking care of this neuropathy is very important. 

When damage to your motor nerves (those nerves that control your movement of your legs

and arms) occurs, symptoms can include weakness, loss of reflexes, loss of muscle mass,

cramping, and/or loss of dexterity. None very good.

Autonomic neuropathy, or damage to the nerves that control the function of your organs and

glands, may manifest with a wide variety of symptoms, including:

 Nausea , vomiting , or abdominal bloating after meals

 Urinary symptoms, such as incontinence , difficulty beginning to urinate, or feeling that the

bladder was not completely emptied

 Impotence ( erectile dysfunction ) in men

 Dizziness or fainting

 Constipation or diarrhea

 Blurred vision

 Heat intolerance or decreased ability to sweat

 Hypoglycemia unawareness : Low blood sugar levels ( hypoglycemia ) are associated with

trembling, sweating , and palpitations . In people with autonomic neuropathy, these

characteristic symptoms may not occur, making dangerously low blood sugar levels difficult

to recognize.

If you think you might have a neuropathy, talk to the doctor immediately and we’ll get

you scheduled for an examination and testing. It's only $100 and accesses the upper as well as the

lower limbs and feet. Don’t wait until it’s too late and your nerves are too damaged for

help.

To schedule your neuropathy exam call 567-940-9334