Neuropathy Pain Relief

Peripheral neuropathy has been recently granted a status as a disease in recent years, but it is more accurately described as a symptom, rather than a disease itself. Nearly a tenth of Medicare patients, at a cost exceeding 4 billion dollars a year, have the diagnosis because neuropathy is often found among the elderly. The peripheral nerves -- motor, sensory and autonomic -- connect your muscles, skin and internal organs to the spinal cord and brain. The smallest nerves are affected the most, and these are the ones furthest from the brain and blood supply. So the tips of the fingers and toes are first and usually the worse, but then the hands and feet are touched. The penis is especially vulnerable, as are the eyeballs and kidneys, but eventually some types of neuropathy affect every organ of the body, including the relatively nerve-insensitive heart. Some neuropathy is transient, meaning that it appears and disappears, while others are progressively debilitating. Few neuropathies get better without healing the underlying cause, but there are therapies even for cases without apparent causes.

Visit your health care provider!

Sounds like silly advice, right? The vast majority of neuropathies are attributed to medical causes. One third of neuropathies are sequelae of diabetes mellitus, and another third are related to health issues such as kidney disease, autoimmune disorders, tumors, infections, neurological problems and orthopedic issues. Some strange cases involve heredity, nutritional deficiencies and toxins. At the very least, consult your primary care physician, and if he or she suspects neuropathy without an obvious cause, consult a neurologist.

Medication can improve neuropathy suffering

Recently the American Academy of Neurology published guidelines based on experimental evidence for diabetic patients suffering from neuropathy pain. Several recommendations include antidepressants such as Wellbutrin, amitriptyline, imipramine, Effexor, Cymbalta and Lexapro. Some anticonvulsants, such as gabapentin and valproate, show good results. Pain management by opioids is favored for very servere, non-diabetic cases; tramadol, morphine sulfate and oxycodone are possibilities. Topical capsaicin medications are also useful as a first line of defense.

Alternative therapies

Several alternative therapies involve non-medication techniques. The very best therapy involves massage of any type. Massage stimulates muscles and nerves, especially those that have been subjected to the first therapy of old age: sedentariness. Sitting too often and not getting enough exercise is as poor for your nerves as the rest of you. Also, nerves age just as the rest of the body; consider adding fish oil supplements to your diet, as these improve the myelin sheath. Think of the myelin sheath as the rubber insulation of a wire. That is the best analogy for the nerves. They are the wires of communication to the brain about what is happening at your peripheral portions of the body. Movement and stimulation of the muscle tissue provides healthier circulation and relief from pain. TENS, or transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation, has long been effective as a pain therapy. TENS devices are portable and really help some people. Some very new techniques also include magnetic field therapy and medical marijuana.

Neuropathy is painful, but rarely the primary cause. Medications are simple, but rarely the only cure. Improving health is a lifestyle management system, where every little bit adds up. Get off the couch and go for a walk, take your fish oil supplement, remember your antidepressant, check your blood sugars and take your insulin and insulin sensitizers as prescribed. Health is rarely to be found in one substance, place or activity.

The vast majority of neuropathies are attributed to medical causes