Peripheral Neuropathy: HOW TO DEAL..............

[drz]

The only thing I found to help with my neuropathy in many years of dealing with it, is to walk a lot and massage the feet and legs. The nerves are killed off by lack of oxygen so anything that helps the blood flow to the extremities helps a bit, but for me the neuropathy has been steadily progressive. It does wax and wane a bit and gets worse quickly if I sit very very long without walking around. The various pain meds can help some when pain is a problem but my pain generally decreased as the numbness increased. Dead nerves don't seem to feel as much. It is important to check you feet everyday as you may not feel sores or injuries when your feet are numb. I have heard of some magic cures but so far none of my doctors have endorsed any of them as having any value. An unknown or undiscovered infection is often the cause of amputation in people with diabetes and serious circulation and neuropathy problems.

[annekat]

I have fairly mild neuropathy in my feet and toes. After a day of wearing shoes, I take them off and massaging my own feet feels really good. I think one of those plug-in foot baths that vibrate or have jets would be very nice, too. But I don't know how different any of this would be with more severe neuropathy than mine, with discolored skin and such... I can see why you would hesitate on that, Dale. But I do think what drz says sounds right, that we need to increase the blood flow and oxygen to the nerves and tissues somehow.

[jola57]

My weggs is in my nerves and neuropathy is now part of the new me. I have learned to live thru dropped foot, nerve pain, no feeling, pins and needles, horrible burning sensation, feeling of elephant feet, losing toe nail 3 times (I am now a proud owner of two gel falsies), hot and cold, surgery, have I missed anything? I have not and so far don't think I will use anything for it, the relief is short lived and I would be more upset by its reappearance so I do hot baths, wear therapeutic tights when needed. But, to each his own, what works for me and drz will not do for others.
find meds that work for you, if your doc is game and one med doesn't work, try another and so on.
i do go for massage once in a while, I wouldn't recommend getting one while on heavy chemo meds. I am on 3mg pred and 7.5 mtx and never had a problem with massage. Deep tissue massage releases the toxins faster into your body so this is why it's not indicated during aggressive treatment phase.

[drz]

The only caveat I have heard about any risks from massage is possible injury to tendons or skin if massage was too aggressive while on high dosage of pred and also some antibiotic. The other meds for Wegs are rather quickly excreted from the body and don't build up anywhere. They also become inert rather quickly as they have a short half life so there is no chance of having an adverse reaction to the meds we take for Wegs except for Pred that can weaken skin and tendons at higher dosages. Your skin can become so thin it might tear from a vigorous massage at the high dosages of Pred. Another myth that was promoted for awhile by the massage businesses years ago was that it could help or increase your immune system but all my medical sources and massage therapists tell me this is not true so not to worry. Massages can and do increase circulation and relax your muscles which is generally good for us.

[windchime]

The only caveat I have heard about any risks from massage is possible injury to tendons or skin if massage was too aggressive while on high dosage of pred and also some antibiotic. The other meds for Wegs are rather quickly excreted from the body and don't build up anywhere. They also become inert rather quickly as they have a short half life so there is no chance of having an adverse reaction to the meds we take for Wegs except for Pred that can weaken skin and tendons at higher dosages. Your skin can become so thin it might tear from a vigorous massage at the high dosages of Pred. Another myth that was promoted for awhile by the massage businesses years ago was that it could help or increase your immune system but all my medical sources and massage therapists tell me this is not true so not to worry. Massages can and do increase circulation and relax your muscles which is generally good for us.

Just a note about massage in general. Deep tissue massages do release more toxins into the blood stream. Personally I detox for 3 days after a deep tissue massage and don't recommend that route. It feels good while getting it, but watch out. For anyone with a chronic illness that is not accustomed to deep tissue I recommend not starting them now. As nice medium to firm pressure will provide you with deep relaxation and release toxins at a much slower rate. Anyone on medication should inform their therapists what they are taking especially if it's prednisone or a blood thinner. Massage therapists should be trained to know the contraindications that go along with massage if you give them the information they need to make an informed decision.

You are correct that the industry, massage therapists and medical professionals used to say that massage was contraindicated in someone with a compromised immune system or actively on chemotherapy drugs. The thought process behind this was the massage increases the lymph circulation and it was felt that active disease could spread this way. A couple of years ago this changed and it is no longer contraindicated.

Elderly people with thin skin and easy bruising should also avoid deep tissue massage for the same reasons. If you're on the above meds you are a double whammy target. As you stated massages are a wonderful tool to make you feel better and that is, after all, our collective goal.

PS I've been a massage therapist for 12 years.

PPS Didn't mean to high jack the thread. Back to regular programming now.

[Meode81]

LOve the foot bath idea! will try!!

[annekat]

LOve the foot bath idea! will try!!

I don't have one of those special foot baths but remember a friend went to Goodwill to look for one and there were many of them there! I did find when my neuropathy was worse that just running some hot water in my tub and sticking my feet in there helped a lot, for awhile, anyway.

[windchime]

I don't have one of those special foot baths but remember a friend went to Goodwill to look for one and there were many of them there! I did find when my neuropathy was worse that just running some hot water in my tub and sticking my feet in there helped a lot, for awhile, anyway.

My podiatrist suggested an alternating hot and cold foot bath. You put your feet into one leave about a minute and then switch to the other one for about a minute. You do this for about 10 minutes and it's supposed to calm down the nerves. I haven't tried it, but know that hot and cold applied to a muscle that is in spasm will cause the muscle to relax so it should work for the feet too.