WhenThat Numbness in Your Legs Becomes Painful

(Newswire.net — November 5, 2019) Darien, CT —

Have you experienced numbness that had started in your feet slowly worked its way up your legs? It may be barely noticeable at first. You may shrug this off as nothing serious since there is no pain to speak of in the beginning. What you don’t notice is what can hurt you later on. The muscles in your legs receive information from the nerves outside the spine. These are called peripheral nerves. When these nerves are damaged, the muscles in your legs send faulty information to the brain. The brain then signals the muscles to compensate. This may not seem to be too bad but what happens when the pain starts to become crippling? What about when it starts to prevent sleep and requires medication?

Initially, you are not concerned about the possibility of falls, which can be disastrous as we all aware of. Most cruelly, with or without pain, peripheral neuropathy robs people of the things they loved doing. What happens when people give up physical activities like playing tennis or bike riding? Left untreated neuropathy renders everyday simple activities such as walking the dog impossible. With the loss of balance, walking without support is risky, stepping over the cat can be deadly, and picking up the grandchildren becomes a thing of the past.

Estimates of the number of Americans with peripheral neuropathy vary, with the National Institutes of Health putting it at 30 million while the Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy puts it at 40 million Americans. The Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy has established a research registry to compile data and biosamples on peripheral neuropathy patients, sets the average age of those with the disease at 63, though onset often goes unnoticed and undiagnosed for several years.

The most common medications prescribed for neuropathy are anti-seizures and anti-convulsants medications. Lyrica is FDA approved to treat diabetic neuropathy. There are possible side effects to take into consideration, drowsiness, weight gain, dizziness, and nausea. Anti-depressants are also approved to treat the pain associated with neuropathy. This would be Cymbalta which carries the risk of fatigue, drowsiness, and dizziness. So it would make sense to question whether or not the cure is worth the physical cost of treating neuropathy. Neuropathy cannot be cured but can be helped.

Here are some things you can start doing right away. B-Vitamins are a good starting point. Most Americans are deficient in B-Vitamins. You can ask your physician which type to take, there are several to choose from. If you smoke, stop immediately. Smoking really makes it more difficult to gain adequate blood supply to the muscles and nerves in your legs. The legs figure predominately in cases of neuropathy. Warm baths will not only relax the muscles but also stimulates blood flow. Exercise, of course, is indicated to alleviate some of the pain associated with peripheral neuropathy. You should really start to exercise under the guidance of a physical therapist. Your doctor can recommend a physical therapist.

If there is one thing to take away from this article is that you need to stay active. If you can no longer walk your dog because it hurts to walk it is important to regain that ability. Even if the pain is bad, work through the pain. Activities that bring you joy can help combat the mental fatigue that may accompany the medications. Simply relying on medication is not enough. You must advocate for yourself and fight to keep doing what defines you as a person.