Dr Erickson Tells Neuropathy Like It Is!

Some people are very suspicious of chiropractors when it comes to treating neuropathy and in some cases, this suspicion is justified. Today's video however, is produced by a man who you can trust and is someone who this blog has featured several times before. The reason for that trust is that he provides you with accurate information that is not a prelude to promoting a clinic or a business. He knows what he is talking about when it comes to neuropathy and tells it basically, as it is. No promises of instant relief, no 'dumbing down' of the symptoms, just good, and very well explained factual information. If you are new to neuropathy, or want to listen to a very good overview of what's happening to you, or want to explain it to friends or relatives, you couldn't do much better than watching this video. It's twelve and a half minutes well-spent.

That all said, at the very end of the video is an invitation to fill in a form for 2 free visits and receive a link to watch the video in its entirety. It's entirely up to you if you want to do that but the information you have already received is so good, you may not feel the need to go any further. You can learn much more specific info about forms of neuropathy by watching other videos produced by Dr. E.

*This blog will never advertise commercial, individual services, people or institutions unless the information they give is completely unbiased, objective and useful for the neuropathy community; not simply a means of making money.

Its Like Lightning Personal Neuropathy Blog

Today's post from finless.blogspot.com (see link below) is another personal story of life with neuropathy and the various diagnoses that this person meets along the way. Personal stories like this are often the most powerful because they remind readers that they're not alone in how they're feeling, regarding the strange things that neuropathy does to their bodies. Well worth a read if you think you've got it bad!

It's Like Thunder...LIGHTNING...in my veins?? 

Posted by Davee Thursday, July 3, 2014

Good morning! I’ve decided to use my blog not only to writing, music, and other facets of entertainment, but, also to share my journey. I’ve had significant health problems for almost two years. Initially, my rheumatologist diagnosed me with systemic lupus (SLE) on June 19, 2013. However, the medication wasn’t working and I kept getting worse and developing new symptoms. So, after second, third, and fourth opinions, my neurologist believes instead I have fibromyalgia.

In April 2014 I visited yet another rheumatologist who I hoped would be familiar with autoimmune disorders. Following an extensive intake during my initial appointment, I found a place where the doctor also listened to me. Based upon my blood work, the doctor believes I have Sjogren’s Syndrome. She also made the diagnosis of Fibromyalgia and pre-lupus. I’ve never heard of pre-lupus, but, hopefully it stays in the “pre” category.

Thank you for listening, each week I will have a new installment chronicling my journey- Which is now more frustrating than ever. I test positive for ANAs in my blood, but, the lupus tests are negative. There are several varieties of autoimmune disorders, with different caveats and health variations. Learning to live with the unknown has become my routine.

It's like LIGHTNING struck my insides...

EEEEEK!

I also write fiction books and research at least one thing for each of my writings. I want to be as accurate as possible when talking about history, illnesses, dates, geographic areas....etc, but, you get my drift. In one of my recent books, I had characters who were struck by lightning. In order to get an accurate appraisal of the medical symptoms, longer term problems, or delayed symptoms, I turned to the internet.

Lightning is primarily an injury to the central nervous system, often with brain and nerve damage. Including muscle soreness, headaches, nausea, mild confusion, memory slowness, mental fog, and dizziness or balance problems.

HUH?

How interesting that the majority of the issues occurring with me involve my nervous system. It seems that I was struck by lightning and didn't know it...NAH.

It did get me thinking about why this would happen . What is going on within my body that's causing my nerves to misfire? I had horrible neuropathy all over my body. At times it felt like pin pricks everywhere. My lips and tongue would also go numb. I would occasionally lose feeling in my shins and forearms as well. At one point, I thought I was having a stroke and my doctor even instructed me to go to the emergency room.
(Thankfully, I was not having a stroke.)

The longer term problems are even more ironically similar:
Problems processing new information
Difficulty accessing old information
Slower reaction time
Distracted
Irritable and possible personality changes
Inattentiveness or forgetfulness
Headaches such as migraines
Chronic pain from nerve injury
Tinnitus
Difficulty sleeping - either sleeping excessively or insomnia

I suffer from each item on the longer term problem list. This list further proved to me that maybe studies could combine persons with chronic nerve injuries for treatment possibilities. I'm not sure if this is already occurring, but, it might be a good start. I know I currently take 3 different meds to make life bearable, but, it would be great not to rely on such drugs.

Progressing further in research, I discovered the delayed symptom list:
Personality changes/isolation
Irritability and embarrassment at not remembering people, job responsibilities, and key information
Difficulty carrying on conversation
Depression
Chronic pain ad headaches

BINGO YAHTZEE again!

I can no longer multi-task and I still grieve over it. I used to be the go-to girl. I could juggle several projects at once and it was a piece of cake. Now, I can't even load a dishwasher and keep up with a conversation! no joke
I've experienced depression, anxiety, and anger at the limitations this auto-immune disease has forced upon my life. I'm not the same woman and it hurts, mentally.

I have to take meticulous notes and my co-workers know I will need everything in writing. Sometimes I miss critical elements of a project, and I've asked my team leader to review all my work.

It's debilitating and it worse than sucks.

Maybe I can make it more interesting and say I was struck by lightning.

It's worth a shot.
 
 http://finless.blogspot.com/2014/07/its-like-thunderlightningin-my-veins.html?zx=5581fe1246b22b0b

What Does Neuropathic Pain Feel Like

Today's post from pain.about.com (see link below) is a short but useful description of the nature of nerve pain. There's nothing here that the experienced neuropathy patient won't know but sometimes putting your symptoms into words for others is very difficult - they just don't seem to understand - and why should they - nerve pain is pretty much unique and unless they can feel it themsleves, they won't really get what you're going through. This article will help put it into words for them - it's a, 'pass on to your friends and family' article and will help them get an idea of how you're feeling.
 

What Does Nerve Pain Feel Like?
Neuropathic Pain and its Unique Symptoms
By Erica Jacques Chronic Pain Expert Updated July 16, 2014.

Written or reviewed by a board-certified physician. See About.com's Medical Review Board.

Neuropathic pain, also called nerve pain, is one of the many classes of chronic pain. Nerve pain can be caused by nerve damage, irritation or destruction.
How Nerve Pain Feels Most people describe their chronic nerve pain with a similar set of words. Regardless of the cause, nerve pain can feel like any of the following:

Burning
Tingling
Shooting
Sharp
Stabbing
Prickling

Nerve pain may vary in intensity. For some, it can feel like mildly bothersome pins and needles. For others, the pain may be severe and nearly unbearable. Nerve pain may be localized (felt at or near the area of nerve damage) or referred (felt somewhere else in the body).

Nerve Pain Terminology

Because nerve pain is unique, it has some medical buzzwords associated with it. Nerve pain sensations may be described with these buzzwords, which include:

Allodynia: When a person experiences pain after a stimulus that shouldn’t cause pain under ordinary circumstances, it is called allodynia.
Hyperalgesia: If a person has hyperalgesia, mildly painful stimuli may be felt with greater intensity.
Dysesthesia: Dysesthesia describes some sort of impairment in sensation. It can describe pain that is felt when there is no stimulus present at all, also called spontaneous pain.

Other Symptoms Associated With Nerve Pain

Like other types of chronic pain, neuropathic conditions often cause other symptoms in addition to pain. If you have any of the following in addition to the pain described above, you may have nerve damage:

Partial or complete loss of feeling
Muscle weakness
Partial or complete paralysis
Changes in skin appearance and texture
Muscle disuse atrophy
Depression and/or anxiety
More Nerve Pain Information
Definition of Neuropathic Pain
Common Nerve Pain Conditions
What Causes Nerve Pain?

Sources:

National Pain Foundation. Neuropathic Pain: Symptoms. Accessed 2/2/10. http://www.nationalpainfoundation.org/articles/353/symptoms?PHPSESSID=9c14904e64a8ad966628202be1ce5892

The Merck Manuals Online Medical Library. Neuropathic Pain. Accessed 2/2/10. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec16/ch209/ch209c.html#sec16-ch209-ch209c-278

http://pain.about.com/od/typesofchronicpain/a/neuropathic_pain_symptoms.htm