What Can Actually Happen To You If You Have Neuropathy

Today's post from neuropathytreatmentgroup.com (see link below) is actually an article attached to an advertisement for a neuropathy treatment and this blog does not support the treatment offered, nor any other form of advertising for so-called curative neuropathy products. Neuropathy is with you for life I'm afraid and all you can do is reduce the severity of the symptoms using chemical drugs or various alternative treatments and supplements. It can't be cured (at the moment), so please don't believe any website that tells you it can. HOWEVER, this article is packed with such useful and accurate information, I can only applaud the author and recommend the content to readers of this blog. It explains simply and clearly what can happen to you if you have neuropathy. Worth a read.

What No One Tells You About Neuropathy and Muscle Control
2016
 
Have you noticed your muscles acting a little strange since developing neuropathy? Perhaps they affect your ability to walk? Or maybe you find it difficult to use your fingers to pick something up? While we normally associated peripheral neuropathy with symptoms like pain, numbness and tingling – there are other symptoms as well.

The peripheral nervous system is made up of three different kinds of nerves: motor, sensory and autonomic. Each type of nerve controls different functions. Motor nerves send signals from the brain and spinal cord to your muscles – controlling motor functions like walking, dexterity and more. Sensory nerves do the opposite – relaying signals like temperature, pain, etc. from the muscles back to the brain and spinal cord. Finally, the autonomic nerves control involuntary or semi-voluntary functions like heart rate, digestion, blood pressure and more.

Peripheral neuropathy can affect some or all of these nerves. The symptoms you experience will depend entirely upon the type of nerve(s)that have been damaged as a result of your neuropathy. If your sensory nerves have been damaged you will experience symptoms such as pain, numbness, tingling or burning. Damage to the autonomic nerves can lead to problems with dizziness, sweating (either too much or too little), nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, difficulty urinating and more.

If your motor nerves fall victim to nerve damage – various motor functions can be affected. Lets take a look at five possible symptoms you might experience if your neuropathy has damaged your motor nerves:

Loss of balance and difficulty walking

Damage to the motor nerves can make walking difficulty. Your legs may feel heavy and difficult to move or you may feel constantly off balance. Since damage to the motor nerves disrupts the signals from your brain and spinal cord to the muscles – telling them what to do – even something as simple as walking can become a difficult task.

Damage to the sensory nerves can exacerbate this problem. The pain or numbness usually associated with damage to these nerves often affect the feet – making walking even more problematic.

For those suffering from symptoms related to motor nerve damage – extra caution should be used when walking on stairs or other areas where a fall risk is greater. Allowing extra time and avoiding rushing to perform tasks can also help limit your risk of falling.

Loss of Dexterity

Do you find it difficult to pick things up or use your hands to perform certain tasks? If so, that’s a sign your neuropathy has affected your motor nerves. Damage to the motor nerves can affect the ability of your brain to send signals properly to the muscles in your hands. You may notice somewhat delayed reactions in your hands or the muscles in your hands may feel weak – inhibiting your ability to perform even normal tasks like picking something up or moving your fingers.

Some common difficulties associated with loss of dexterity are inability to grip objects, loss of hand strength, difficulty writing or typing, difficulty performing tasks that require small movements, decreased reflexes and more. While you may not be able to restore complete control or strength to the hands – doing regular hand exercises can help you rebuild and maintain muscle strength and improve dexterity control.

Muscle Weakness; Deterioration

As damage to your motor nerves inhibits the ability of your brain and spinal cord to transmit messages to your muscles – you may find yourself limiting the use of your arms, legs, hands and feet. For many, this decrease in physical activity results in muscle deterioration and weakness. As the muscles deteriorate, you lose muscle mass and tone (this is often referred to as muscle atrophy).

Muscle weakness further contributes to the loss of dexterity, balance and difficulty walking previously mentioned. While exercise is often difficult and pain for those with neuropathy – there are low-impact exercises that will help you retain muscle mass and prevent muscle deterioration.

Try these 5 Low Impact Exercises for Neuropathy if you’re experiencing muscle weakness or deterioration!

Cramps; Spasms

The deterioration of muscle mass and the disruption of signals from the brain to the muscles can also lead to painful cramps, muscles spasms and twitches. For many, the cramping strikes at night and can range in severity from mild to extremely painful. In addition to cramping, many experience uncontrollable spasms or muscle twitching – which is visible just below the skin. While not as painful as cramps, they can be quite bothersome.

Loss of Muscle Control

As we’ve already touched on with the sections on loss of balance and dexterity – damage to the motor nerves affects your ability to control your muscles properly. The motor nerves carry messages from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles – telling them what actions to perform. As this line of communication is disrupted – the ability to control muscles is diminished. This is made manifest in loss of reflexes, inability to move hands or feet quickly, difficulty with fine motor tasks (i.e. buttoning a shirt, writing, etc) and more.

While the most common symptoms associated with peripheral neuropathy are pain, numbness, burning or tingling in the hands or feet – they are not the only symptoms. When the motor nerves fall victim to neuropathy the symptoms can go far beyond pain or numbness. They can affect your ability to control muscles and perform otherwise simple physical tasks. Though you may not be able to completely reverse these negative effects, alternative approaches like exercise can help you build and maintain muscle mass – thus helping to minimize the impact of motor nerve damage.

http://www.neuropathytreatmentgroup.com/what-no-one-tells-you-about-neuropathy-muscle-control/

What Do You Mean You Have Chronic Neuropathic Pain

Today's post from lifeinslowmotionblog.com (see link below) looks at a dilemma which faces us all when confronted by disbelieving or ignorant faces that don't have a clue what we're on about when we go on about neuropathic symptoms. It's human nature - people match what they hear our pain involves, with what they have experienced in their own lives. Only we know how different neuropathic pain is and how much it can influence our daily lives for the worse. The article talks about a 'communication dilemma' and indeed that's exactly what it is. Just explaining that 'chronic' pain is not a measure of how severe the pain is but a description of something that just never goes away, (chronic meaning, long-lasting) is difficult enough. This article attempts to put the problem into context and help us feel better about the situation when it comes to dealing with other people's opinions.

Explain Your Pain: The Communication Dilemma
Posted on July 30, 2015 by lifeinslowmotion

Hi Folks, I’m starting a new series called “Explain Your Pain” which will attempt to address the difficulty of explaining our chronic pain to our family, friends, and others who need to be in the know. In this first post “The Communication Dilemma” I lay out the problem, and in future posts I will give some thoughts on how to move productively move forward to explain our pain.

Something about chronic pain is mind-numbingly difficult to describe. Something about describing our chronic pain experience leaves us feeling ashamed, alone, and misunderstood. If you struggle to explain your chronic pain to family, friends, and loved ones, you are not alone.

We all have memories of those tongue-tied moments, those seconds that stretched into minutes, as we sifted through our brains to try and find the right words. The words never seem to come.

We all have those relationships that are just not the same, because we have never been able to find the right words to explain why we have suddenly become so unreliable, always cancelling plans.

We all have those tear-stained memories of feeling so misunderstood and so judged that we are unsure if we will ever talk to that one friend again.

We can all remember conversations that were intended to bring clarity and understanding but somehow ended up only adding to the overall confusion.

If you have chronic pain, you are familiar with this communication dilemma. You are familiar with the gap that exists between our intimate experience of chronic pain and how much our family and friends know about our daily experience. You are familiar with the gap, but so far have been unable to bridge it. So far, words have fallen short.

What about chronic pain is so impossible to describe and so difficult to comprehend? Why do conversations about chronic pain feel unnatural? Why is this communication dilemma a common and overarching theme in the lives of so many who struggle with chronic pain? Perhaps if we can begin to answer these questions, we can figure out how to move forward in this quest to explain, in this journey to be known.

Describing chronic pain is difficult because it requires that we put objective and concrete words to a subjective and abstract experience.

At first glance, chronic pain appears to be a tangible and physical experience, but this is not the full story. Our chronic pain is certainly physical, and it feels concrete to the one who experiences it, but in a somewhat paradoxical sense, it is also incredibly subjective and abstract.

Why? These paradoxical qualities exist simultaneously because of the discrepancy between what we experience and what the people around us see.

Chronic pain is tangible to the person who feels it, but abstract to the person who cannot see it. We are the only one who can feel our own pain, and depending on the type and severity of our pain, those on the outside are often unable to see any tangible evidence of what we are experiencing. Because no one can see our pain, the question of whether the pain is real or as bad as we say lingers between our relationships and underlies all of our conversations. And so people wonder, in silence or out loud, “If it cannot be seen, is it actually there?”

Our pain cannot be seen and it cannot be objectively measured beyond a wildly inaccurate 1-10 scale that means something different for each person who uses it. Because it is a subjective experience that cannot be objectively measured, the word of the chronic pain fighter must be taken as true despite no apparent evidence to confirm.

Because there is often no evidence of what we experience, our pain behaviors and responses to our pain are used to confirm our lack of sanity instead of the presence of our pain. Our grimaces, limps, and our groans, as well as our decisions to spend all day lying on the couch or cancelling work in response to something that is invisible are used to prove that we are exaggerating, crazy, or seeking attention, instead of serving as evidence for our pain.

Describing chronic pain is difficult because society has little understanding of the difference between acute and chronic instances of pain.

The terms “acute” and “chronic” as used to describe pain are not a part of our societal vocabulary. And because these important descriptive words have not become ingrained in our vocabulary, people tend to think that pain is simply pain.

When people believe that all pain is the same, this poses a huge problem, because most peoples’ experiences of pain are of the acute variety. When people hear the word “pain,” they then draw on their own experience of acute pain to understand our experience of chronic pain. They make the grave mistake of assuming that chronic pain and acute pain are more alike than they are unalike.

But all pain is not created equal. All pain is not the same. Chronic pain is vastly different than the more common experience of acute pain.

Chronic pain is a continuous and unrelenting experience, vastly different from acute experiences of pain. While acute pain has purpose, alerting us to bodily damage, chronic pain is often purposeless, our body’s pain system run amok. It is poorly understand that pain over time becomes magnified a hundred fold because of how it must be dealt with continuously and with no hope of a break. The hope that exists when pain is acute, that hope that the pain will one day go away gives strength to persist and keep going. However, this same type of hope for physical relief is not present when pain becomes chronic and may not ever go away.

Describing chronic pain is difficult because our pain is unpredictable and transforms over the course of an ever-changing story.

Our chronic pain is shifting and ever-changing. We feel one way on Monday and a different way on Tuesday. The intensity, quality, and presentation of our pain vary throughout the days, weeks, months, and changing seasons. New symptoms come and go. Old symptoms worsen and intensify. We have flares, relapses, setbacks, and periods of relative calm.

Because our pain is always changing, keeping people updated on our condition requires a continuous conversation. We cannot explain our pain one time and expect people to understand. With each new season, we have to supply updates and new information.

Our chronic pain is paradoxical and contradictory. It is a complex and multifaceted experience that is many times confusing even to those who experience it. If we don’t fully understand our own chronic pain, how can we explain it to others? We don’t know what triggers our pain or where that last flare came from. We don’t know how to explain why we felt good on Monday and bad on Tuesday, because we are unsure of the reasons ourselves. Oftentimes we are unsure if or how our various symptoms connect, and oftentimes we do not have a clear diagnosis. When we are dealing with conditions that we have a hard time explaining ourselves, we will struggle even more to convey what we do know to the people around us.

Describing chronic pain is difficult because long-term and unrelenting suffering makes people uncomfortable and sometimes people do not want to know.

Sometimes people do not want to understand our pain. Listening does not come naturally to people, and this is especially the case when the topic is one that makes people uncomfortable. Unrelenting suffering that may never go away makes people uncomfortable because they are unable to fix our problem or give us effective advice. Unrelenting suffering makes people uncomfortable because it inconveniences them and because when we suffer, oftentimes the corner edges of our suffering will affect them as well.

Sometimes describing our chronic pain is difficult because people do not want to listen long enough to fully understand. Sometimes people do not want to listen long enough to understand because our suffering makes people feel uncomfortable and they are unsure how to respond.

Describing chronic pain is difficult because we are too exhausted to keep explaining.

Because our pain is complex, confusing, and contradictory, it takes great energy to explain and keep people up to date. At times we feel able to explain our pain, but we choose not to because we want to save our precious energy for more important things. The physical effects of our chronic pain wear us down and exhaust us. We must carefully decide how we will use our small pool of energy, and sometimes explaining our pain doesn’t seem like a worthy enough endeavor.

For all of these reasons, we eventually reach a state in which we are no longer willing or able to attempt these difficult conversations. And over the years, we tend to move towards one of two tactics.

Instead of seeking to explain our pain, we start to complain about our pain.

We become so hardened and bitter towards those who never seem to want to understand that we move into angry and bitter complaining. Our attempts at productive conversations seem pointless, so instead we move towards ceaseless complaints of how horrible our pain is. Often this turns into a downward spiral as we push people further away, and confirm everyone’s beliefs that perhaps we really are crazy, exaggerating, and attention-seekers.

Instead of seeking to explain our pain, we burrow inward, shutting everyone out, living in silence.

Many of go into hiding. Explaining our pain has become such an exhausting and futile effort that we begin to live out our chronic pain in secret, hiding how much pain we are actually experiencing. Over and over again, we plaster a smile on our faces, pretending that everything is ok, when it is far from ok. We stop explaining because we are exhausted and need every drop of our strength to fight this pain that haunts us.

There is a third option. It is possible to move out of our silence without moving into unhelpful complaining. It is possible to successfully explain our pain. Most of our past conversations were unsuccessful because of the simple fact that we were not prepared, and I believe it is possible to prepared. Once we begin to understand the nature of our chronic pain ourselves, we will better know what topics are important to convey to other people. It is possible to speak the truth about our pain with confidence. It is possible to speak about our pain in a way that will enable others to truly understand.

Once we are prepared, explaining our pain will no longer be a hopeless endeavor.

Stay tuned!

http://www.lifeinslowmotionblog.com/explain-your-pain-the-communication-dilemma/

Why Do I Have Neuropathy A Personal Story

Today's relatable post from americannewsreport.com (see link below) is a very recognisable account of the way that neuropathy can take us by surprise when it arrives. You will undoubtedly recognise many of the experiences the author has gone through and sympathise with the frustrations that the disease can bring. Worth a read, if only because you may be reassured that you're not alone feeling the way you do, although at times it may feel like it.

My Story: Why Do I Have Peripheral Neuropathy?
October 13th, 2014 by Ed Coghlan
 
When we started the National Pain Report a couple of years ago, we had a pretty good idea that it was going to be successful. From prior work that I had in the field of chronic pain, I knew that pain patients were often frustrated about the lack of information that is available to them and how they are treated by the medical community.

So we figured we’d find an audience.

What I didn’t know at the time was that I was about to begin my own personal journey into chronic pain.

A couple of years ago, I was playing golf in Oxnard, California when I noticed that my feet were tingling — like I was walking with sand in my golf shoes — is how I would later describe to my doctor.

It didn’t hurt either my feet or the quality of my golf (such as it is) and I didn’t pay much attention to it. So I ignored it.

For much of the next year, I would get an episode or two, but it always receded and I never thought much about it. I never ever talked to my doctor about it.

Probably should have.

About a year ago, on a night before an important meeting I had in San Francisco, my body just went off. The tingling and numbness seemed to be everywhere in my body.

It didn’t hurt, but it was very unsettling.

So when I returned to Los Angeles, I began a journey I’m still on. To find out what the hell is the matter with me.

The first thing I did was what anyone born after World War II always does. I went to Google. It didn’t make me long to self diagnose.

I have peripheral neuropathy. It’s a tingling, burning and numbness that the Mayo Clinic compares to the loss of sensation that comes from wearing a thin stocking or glove.

There are a number of reasons for it — traumatic injuries, infections, metabolic problems and exposure to toxins. One of the most common causes is diabetes.

My father had diabetes and my grandfather had multiple sclerosis, so off to the doctor I went.

My family physician, who I’ve known for 30 years, ran a bunch of blood tests and said he didn’t see anything problematic. In fact he congratulated me on my blood chemistry. He referred to me a neurologist, who thought my blood sugar was a little high (101) — not diabetic high — but enough that he suggested I eat like a diabetic and try to lose some weight. .

I’m a physical fitness nut, so losing weight never seemed like something I needed to do, but in fairness and out of respect for the neurologist, I ate like a diabetic and lost 15 pounds in about two months.

So I looked better.

But the tingling remained, and sometime the burning is so intense that when I get home from work, I’ll put ice packs on my feet. When it’s especially severe, I feel it in my hands and my face.

He also gave me a nerve conduction test and told me to start taking Vitamin B-12, which I do. I’m also taking Gabapentin (the generic for Neurontin) and I honestly can’t say that it’s working all that well. I stopped taking it for a while. I’m taking it again, because, well, I have to do something.

I’ve gone back to my family physician and the neurologist in the past couple of months, and their diagnosis is the same — which is they’re not sure.

I had back surgery thirty years ago, have banged myself around pretty good on racquetball and basketball courts and hiking trails, and thought maybe something happened during that active life that might have pinched a never or something. They pretty much rejected that.

I’ve never been this unsettled about anything physically.

I have learned that often the cause of the peripheral neuropathy goes undiagnosed.

I don’t like living under the cloud of doubt.

It was Francis Bacon who said, “If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties.”

I don’t think Bacon had peripheral neuropathy.

Ed Coghlan is the CEO of National Pain Report. He lives in southern California.

National Pain Report invites other readers to share their stories with us.

Send them to editor@nationalpainreport.com

The information in this column is not intended to be considered as professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. It is for informational purposes only and represents the author’s personal experiences and opinions alone. It does not inherently or expressly reflect the views, opinions and/or positions of National Pain Report or Microcast Media.

http://americannewsreport.com/nationalpainreport/my-story-why-do-i-have-peripheral-neuropathy-8824993.html

Do We Have To Accept Chronic Neuropathy

Today's post from jennifermartinpsych.com (see link below) offers some wise words and advice about 'accepting' the fact that you may be living with chronic pain and by doing so, you somehow wave a magic wand that makes it all okay from that point on. Many self-help sites urge us to accept our chronic condition and that if we don't we're being unrealistic and somehow weak. This article however advises that we should indeed accept the reality of our situation but that doesn't mean giving in to it! Worth a read if you're having trouble resisting throwing bricks at the kids!

Accepting Chronic Pain: Is it Necessary? 
Jennifer Martin, Psy.D Clinical Psychologist PSY 27586 August 3, 2015

As published on Pain News Network (www.painnewsnetwork.com) on March 25, 2015

A patient of mine told me the other day, “I don’t think I will ever be able to accept my chronic pain. It has completely changed my life.”

I think this is something that most people with chronic pain contend with at some point in time; wanting to hold onto hope that their diagnosis isn’t chronic or not wanting to come to the realization that they will have to live with the pain forever.

When most people hear the word “acceptance” they equate it with the notion that they should feel that it’s okay or it’s alright to have a chronic condition. Many people don’t ever feel okay about having to live with pain or an illness for the rest of their lives. It is not something that is easy to get used to and it’s not fair.
Accepting chronic pain does not mean giving into it and it doesn’t mean that you stop looking for treatment.
Accepting chronic pain does not mean accepting a lifetime of suffering.
Accepting chronic pain does not mean you are never allowed to feel angry or sad.
Accepting chronic pain does not mean that you have to give up hope for the future.

When I use the word “acceptance,” I mean accepting the reality of your situation and recognizing that this new reality could be permanent. Those of us with chronic conditions may never like this reality and it may never be okay, but eventually it is necessary to accept it and learn to live life with it. It is the new norm with which we must learn to live.

Acceptance also involves making adaptations and alterations to our lives. We must find new things that bring us joy and we must have hope for the future.
Accepting chronic pain means learning to live again.
Accepting chronic pain means advocating for ourselves and our health so that we can be as healthy as possible.
Accepting chronic pain means learning our limits and learning to cope with feelings of guilt when we have to say “no.”
Accepting chronic pain means being able to look at your diagnosis as something you have, not who you are. Your condition does not define you.
Accepting chronic pain means re-evaluating your role as a husband/wife, mother/father, etc. as well as your life’s goals -- and figuring out how you can maintain these roles and attain your goals with your chronic condition.

For many of us, learning to accept our chronic condition isn’t easy. It is a learning process with a lot of ups and downs. It is something we may resist and something we may think impossible. It is difficult to accept something that has completely changed our lives and possibly the direction we thought our life was going to take.

Why is it necessary to accept your chronic condition?

Once you are diagnosed with a chronic condition, it will be always be with you. The sooner you are able to begin the process of acceptance, the sooner you will be able to learn exactly how to live with it. It is also how you will learn to cope.

Accepting chronic pain means learning to live life in a different way than before your diagnosis. It means learning to pace your activities, educating yourself, taking your medications, advocating for yourself, and surrounding yourself with support. It also means accepting that some aspects of your condition are out of your control.

Chronic pain can be unpredictable. There may be days when you feel in control of your pain and you are able to accomplish everything you would like to. There may also be days when your pain is unbearable, you feel angry about your situation, and all you can do is rest. Accepting your chronic pain means adjusting and adapting to the ways in which your life is different now that you may be living with this kind of unpredictability.

Your life may never go back to what it was prior to your chronic pain. But that doesn’t mean you can’t live a happy, successful, hopeful life with pain. Learning to accept your chronic pain can help you get there.

http://www.jennifermartinpsych.com/yourcolorlooksgoodblog/2015/8/3/accepting-chronic-pain-is-it-necessary

I Have Sciatica Why Are You Grabbing My Foot

It is 5 am in Badwater, CA. There are approximately 100 runners toeing the chalked line. There is 135 miles, over 10,000 ft in elevation gain and 120 degree heat under the Death Valley sun between them and the finish line. I see my runner crossing the horizon towards our support car, his stride looks shortened, but smooth for mile 60. Over the next 75 miles we take turns passing off race essentials. At 4 am, as a team, we cross the finish line at Whitney Portal.

So how did this journey begin?

From the moment I met him I could hear the “thud”. It was the sound that his foot made as it he walked through the clinic.  He tells me he is a runner, but not just a runner, but he is running in the Badwater Ultramarathon in July. 135 miles of “thudding” into the ground! To bring the pressure up a notch, this is going to be his 11th consecutive finish. As I watched him move and walk, I can't stop focusing on the stiffness of his foot which is causing the "thud". But how do I explain his lack of foot mobility is contributing to what he is actually coming to see me for… SCIATICA?

What is Sciatica?

Sciatica is a general term used to describe inflammation of the sciatic nerve or nerve roots which comprise it. Sciatica can be caused by a disc injury or stenosis (narrowing of spaces of the spine), which puts pressure on the nerve roots. When our foot hits the ground force is transferred up the leg and into our lower back. Our foot is designed to pronate upon impact to allow for shock absorption.  The bony anatomy of our foot and ankle causes a biomechanical chain reaction. This generates a rotation in the leg then into the pelvis which helps to recruit the gluteals to provide the stability of the back. However, if the foot remains supinated, ground reaction force is transferred into the spine instead of being absorbed through the foot and leg. When the mobility of the foot is limited, the lower back is forced to move more to compensate for the lack of motion. The increase motion of the back decreases the amount of space the nerve has to pass through the spine.

When the foot pronates it causes a rotation up the leg which
helps to dissipate force and maintain good motion of the back.

When the foot remains supinated the foot remains rigid forcing
the back to rotate more which decreases space for the nerves.

To improve his foot mobility I begin to facilitate pronation of his foot. IT worked! His sciatic pain decreased.  I worked on it some more and his pain was gone! He was able to walk and jog in the clinic without his symptoms. 

From the moment I helped his foot become more supple and pronate, his sciatic pain got better.

So when you foot hits the ground: is it supple (pronated) or rigid (supinated)?

             

You can even see from the pictures above the difference in the position of the pelvis.

Techniques

Mobility

The technique is performed to increase mobility of the foot to reduce stress to the lumbar spine. This will help minimize your risk of sciatica. Stenosis is narrowing of the canal in which the nerves exit the spine. If you have a herniated disc, this is NOT a technique for you.

For forefoot runners, it is also important to have a mobile foot. The motion of supination and pronation occurs in the forefoot instead of the mid and rear foot.

Strengthening
After mobilizing the foot, it is important to retrain the muscles and joints in this new motion. This allows the newly acquired motion to be recognized as a movement path. If your body doesn't use this motion, the foot and ankle will become stiff again.

Here are examples of exercises which use the muscles and joints in all 3 planes of motion to retrain the body.

Please consult with a health care professional prior to performing these exercises. If it increases your pain, STOP!

OPTIMISTIC PEOPLE HAVE HEALTHIER HEARTS

People who have upbeat outlooks on life have significantly better cardiovascular health, suggests a new study that examined associations between optimism and heart health in more than 5,100 adults.

"Individuals with the highest levels of optimism have twice the odds of being in ideal cardiovascular health compared to their more pessimistic counterparts," said lead author Rosalba Hernandez, a professor of social work at the University of Illinois. "This association remains significant, even after adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics and poor mental health."

Participants' cardiovascular health was assessed using seven metrics: blood pressure, body mass index, fasting plasma glucose and serum cholesterol levels, dietary intake, physical activity and tobacco use -- the same metrics used by the American Heart Association to define heart health and being targeted by the AHA in its Life's Simple 7 public awareness campaign.

In accordance with AHA's heart-health criteria, the researchers allocated 0, 1 or 2 points -- representing poor, intermediate and ideal scores, respectively -- to participants on each of the seven health metrics, which were then summed to arrive at a total cardiovascular health score. Participants' total health scores ranged from 0 to 14, with a higher total score indicative of better health.

The participants, who ranged in age from 45-84, also completed surveys that assessed their mental health, levels of optimism, and physical health, based upon self-reported extant medical diagnoses of arthritis, liver and kidney disease.

Individuals' total health scores increased in tandem with their levels of optimism. People who were the most optimistic were 50 and 76 percent more likely to have total health scores in the intermediate or ideal ranges, respectively.

The association between optimism and cardiovascular health was even stronger when socio-demographic characteristics such as age, race and ethnicity, income and education status were factored in. People who were the most optimistic were twice as likely to have ideal cardiovascular health, and 55 percent more likely to have a total health score in the intermediate range, the researchers found.

Optimists had significantly better blood sugar and total cholesterol levels than their counterparts. They also were more physically active, had healthier body mass indexes and were less likely to smoke, according to a paper on the research that appears in the January/February 2015 issue of Health Behavior and Policy Review.

The findings may be of clinical significance, given that a 2013 study indicated that a one-point increase in an individual's total-health score on the LS7 was associated with an 8 percent reduction in their risk of stroke, Hernandez said.

"At the population level, even this moderate difference in cardiovascular health translates into a significant reduction in death rates," Hernandez said. "This evidence, which is hypothesized to occur through a biobehavioral mechanism, suggests that prevention strategies that target modification of psychological well-being -- e.g., optimism -- may be a potential avenue for AHA to reach its goal of improving Americans' cardiovascular health by 20 percent before 2020."

Believed to be the first study to examine the association of optimism and cardiovascular health in a large, ethnically and racially diverse population, the sample for the current study was 38 percent white, 28 percent African-American, 22 percent Hispanic/Latino and 12 percent Chinese.

Data for the study were derived from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, an ongoing examination of subclinical cardiovascular disease that includes 6,000 people from six U.S. regions, including Baltimore, Chicago, Forsyth County in North Carolina, and Los Angeles County.

Begun in July 2000, MESA followed participants for 11 years, collecting data every 18 months to two years. Hernandez, who is an affiliated investigator on MESA, is leading a team in conducting prospective analyses on the associations found between optimism and heart health.

"We now have available data to examine optimism at baseline and cardiovascular health a decade later," said Hernandez, who expects to have an abstract completed in 2015.

Co-authors of the current study were Kiarri N. Kershaw of Northwestern University; Juned Siddique, Honghan Ning and Donald M. Lloyd-Jones, all of Northwestern University; Julia K. Boehm of Chapman University; Laura D. Kubzansky of Harvard University; and Ana Diez-Roux of Drexel University.

The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and the National Center for Research Resources funded the research.

Neuropathy! Never Heard Of It Well Now You Have

Today's post from post-gazette.com (see link below) is an excellent newspaper report of the state of neuropathy at the present time. With the use of individual case studies, the article describes neuropathy very accurately (although the statistic of 40 million Americans with neuropathy may be a little far-fetched - the most accepted figure is 20 million but hey, who's counting - one is too many!) Accurate reporting about nerve damage and the pain it brings is hard enough to find so an unbiased report like this is extremely valuable. It allows people living with the disease to feel a little better that they are not alone in feeling how they do and it educates a wider public, most of whom have no clue what neuropathy is. Hopefully it also helps stimulate the medical powers-that-be to work harder in researching the disease and finding an effective treatment. A cure is too much to hope for but an effective treatment of the symptoms must surely be within reach. Definitely worth a read.

Neuropathy affects millions with no guarantees from treatments
David Templeton Pittsburgh Post-Gazette dtempleton@post-gazette.com Sep 13, 2016

Five years ago when Harold Frazier reached 220 pounds and flirted with diabetes, he took to walking 10 miles a day and shed 30 pounds, returning his blood sugar levels to normal.

Problem solved. Or so he thought.

Unexpectedly one day Mr. Frazier, now 63, was unable to lift his foot to the curb. In time, his feet began feeling numb with burning sensations upon awakening each morning and eventual decline in leg and arm function. Today he says he has about 40 percent function of his limbs, forcing his retirement as a maintenance man at the Irwin townhouse complex where he lives.

“Every time I move when I’m asleep I wake up, and I’m lucky to get four hours of sleep a night — and that’s a great night,” Mr. Frazier said, noting he no longer can raise his arms above his head.

“If I am arrested, and they say, ‘Stick ’em up,’ they’ll have to shoot me because I can’t,” he said. “I have lost all the power in my arms.”

Arresting the pain

Mr. Frazier and 40 million other Americans struggle daily with peripheral neuropathy. Initial symptoms typically involve numbness in the feet or hands and may affect other parts of the body such as internal organs. Over time the person can experience sensations of burning, freezing, throbbing or even shooting pain that’s often worse at night, the Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy reports.

Surprising perhaps is the fact that 70 percent of people with diabetes and up to 40 percent of those who undergo chemotherapy develop painful neuropathy with no cure and limited if any effects from major treatments including Lyrica and Cymbalta, among other drugs.

Alternative treatments exist, each with advocates. But for most people, neuropathy can hinder daily quality of life, preventing activity and exercise, a good night’s sleep and a pain-free existence.

“The pain can be either constant or periodic, but usually the pain is felt equally on both sides of the body — in both hands or in both feet,” according to the foundation website (foundationforpn.org).

Erin Kershaw, chief of the division of endocrinology and metabolism at the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC, said once you develop neuropathy it is difficult to reverse, so prevention is key, especially given that diabetes and alcohol consumption are common but preventable causes.

“Small nerve-fiber burning is extremely uncomfortable,” she said, describing the effects of nerve damage. “It can feel like your feet are on fire all the time,” requiring pain therapies that may have limited impact on reducing pain levels.

Numbness also can result in foot injuries the person may not be aware of due to lack of feeling. This may result in ulceration that’s hard to treat, sometimes leading to amputations. Dr. Kershaw said prescribed drugs do help a substantial number of patients but usually do not eliminate all of the discomfort.

“Neuropathy is a problem that requires more awareness and more research,” she said. “When you see a patient, you are hurting inside because you know the existing therapy is not helping them with pain that’s there every day.”

Cause and effect

About 60 percent of all cases of neuropathy involve diabetes, with chemotherapy-induced neuropathy responsible for about a quarter of all cases and idiopathic neuropathy (where a cause isn’t identified) representing about 10 percent. HIV/​AIDS, repetitive stress, alcohol abuse, inflammatory response, carpel tunnel syndrome, autoimmune diseases and vitamin deficiencies, among others, can cause or contribute to the condition. The American lifestyle and diet also can contribute to and worsen symptoms, studies indicate.

“If nerves are dead, they’re dead,” said Marlene Dodinval, the Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy’s senior program coordinator. “There is nothing you can do about it.”

The foundation held an international research symposium last week, during which cannabis was discussed as a treatment. It also is working with eight universities nationwide to create a peripheral neuropathy research registry and create a database of patients available for research.

“Neuropathy is an ignored condition,” Ms. Dodinval said. “There is work underway around the world, and more needs to happen.”

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved only pregabalin (Lyrica) and duloxetine (Cymbalta) as treatments for diabetes neuropathy, according to a study update published last month in the American Family Physician journal.

Other nerve-pain and antidepression drugs can serve as second-line drugs with third-line drugs that include opioids. Other treatments include topical creams, sprays and patches including lidocaine, with transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation providing relief for some, it says.

The update found insufficient evidence to support acupuncture, chiropractic procedures, laser treatments, full-body vibration, electromagnetic field application, and such supplements as alpha lipoic acid, acetyl-l-carnitine and primrose oil. The supplements are championed by some patients with some supportive research.

Ms. Dodinval said some people swear by creams and supplements of capsaicin, an active ingredient in chili peppers.

Relief via support groups

With few effective treatments, Mr. Frazier joined the Pittsburgh Area Peripheral Neuropathy Support Group that meets the third Wednesday of each month April through October at the Brush Creek Evangelical Lutheran Church in Irwin. Members discuss treatments, exchange tips and listen to scheduled speakers.

Bill Wilshire, 70, of North Huntingdon faces his own issue with neuropathy, the exact cause of which is unknown. It began when he kept feeling his socks bunching up under his toes. Pulling up those socks never helped because they weren’t actually bunched up.

Eventually the altered feeling of his toes turned to numbness that affected his balance, eventually jeopardizing his ability to walk. But the retired social studies teacher says he’s one of the lucky ones because he feels numbness but little pain.

Another member, Gerry Getman, 69, of Peters, was undergoing chemotherapy in 2008 for multiple myeloma that’s in remission when he began feeling tingling in his toes and hands. He expected it to go away, as sometimes occurs with chemo-induced neuropathy. But his tingling progressed into pain and burning in his feet, especially at night.

In time, he, too, lost feeling in his legs, reducing his ability to walk without assistance. Now the retired entrepreneur with a doctoral degree in chemistry says he’s 50 percent disabled and controls the discomfort in his arms and legs by keeping his mind occupied.

“I would describe it as fairly severe,” he said. “I have it 24/​7, but it’s always more intense when my mind is not occupied. I actually try to get pretty close to exhausted. I work on the computer until midnight or 1 in the morning so that I can drift off to sleep.

“I think mine has stabilized, and I’ve developed a lifestyle to deal with it quite effectively,” he said. “I mean, you have to. Life goes on.”

David Templeton: dtempleton@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1578.

http://www.post-gazette.com/news/health/2016/09/13/Neuropathy/stories/201609070171?pgpageversion=pgevoke

WOMEN WITH PTSD MORE LIKELY TO HAVE FOOD ADDICTION

Women who have the largest number of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms are almost three times more likely to develop an addiction to food, a new study suggests.

The findings don’t prove a direct link between PTSD and women overeating or becoming addicted to food. And it’s also possible that certain women are prone to food addiction and experiencing trauma, PTSD, or both.

Still, the research seems to add to existing evidence connecting PTSD to overeating and obesity, although the overall risk is fairly low, the researchers from the University of Minnesota said.

The findings can be helpful, said the study’s lead author, Susan Mason, an assistant professor with the university’s division of epidemiology and community health. “If clinicians providing mental health care are aware that PTSD is sometimes accompanied by problematic eating behaviors, then they may be able to offer better and more tailored care to their patients,” she said.

PTSD is an anxiety disorder that develops in some people after they experience a horrific event, like a natural disaster, violence or warfare. Those with PTSD may become endlessly vigilant, have a difficult-to- impossible time relaxing, and can develop flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety.

Previous research has linked PTSD to higher rates of obesity and being underweight, Mason said, along with addiction problems. It’s difficult for researchers to figure out exactly what’s going on, however, because they can’t use the gold standard of research, a clinical trial, to examine a possible connection. It would be unethical — and probably impossible — to randomly assign some people to develop PTSD and then compare them to healthy people.

In the new study, researchers tried to get a handle on possible connections between PTSD and food addiction.

Food addiction is defined as a kind of psychological dependence on food, with symptoms like other kinds of addictions. For instance, physical withdrawal if those with the disorder stop eating certain foods, using food to make them feel better and eating when they don’t need to.

Mason said she wasn’t aware of research pinpointing how many people suffer from food addiction.

The researchers examined the results of Nurses’ Health Study II surveys of more than 49,400 female nurses in the United States in 2008 and 2009. The women joined the study in 1989 when they were 25 to 42 years old.

According to Mason, the researchers found that 6 percent of the one-third of women who had no signs of PTSD showed signs of food addiction. Of the 10 percent of women who had the most symptoms — 6 to 7 on a 7-symptom PTSD screening questionnaire — nearly 18 percent had a food addiction.

The researchers noted two things: Nurses reported their most common trauma experience was treating individuals with traumatic injuries, and early onset of symptoms predicted a higher prevalence of food addiction.

Why do these numbers matter? “It is a big deal if a substantial proportion of women are feeling highly distressed or feel that their functioning is being undermined by their relationship with food,” Mason said.

Still, she said it’s not clear how all this is connected to obesity. The nurses in the study who seem to be addicted to food “are substantially heavier than women who do not meet those criteria, but we don’t yet know whether the food addiction causes obesity, or the other way around, or if the two things are both caused by some underlying factor we don’t know about.”

Dr. Timothy Brewerton, executive medical director with The Hearth Center for Eating Disorders in Columbia, S.C., praised the research. “This study represents a major advance in validating the concept of food addiction, and in linking food addiction with trauma and PTSD,” he said.

He noted that the study adds support for the idea that food addiction is real — “there are a lot of naysayers in the eating disorders community in regard to the existence of food addiction”– and suggests that trauma and PTSD could be a cause. “The greater the number of PTSD symptoms, the greater the probability of food addiction,” he said.

As for future research, Mason said researchers want to look at larger groups of people to see if the connection holds up.

The study appears in the Sept. 17 issue of JAMA Psychiatry.

Have you read this book

It looks lovely, but I can't find any additional information on it or the Author, and there are no reveiws. 

Any readers?

What To Do If You Think You Have Neuropathy

Today's post from gobeyondrelief.com (see link below) is a compact article giving advice to people who begin to feel the unique symptoms of neuropathy and are worried what they should do about it. It's true; in order to climb onto the medical windmill, you need to get some sort of evaluation from your doctor or neurologist. If that person is sympathetic and sensible, most neuropathic symptoms will give a pretty clear idea of what's wrong. However, you may have to go through a whole raft of tests before an official conclusion can be reached. Most of the time, a patient's story should be enough. His or her background; other medical conditions and life style; combined with the symptoms he or she describes, will lead to a pretty quick and certain diagnosis. At that point, you may be put onto the treatment treadmill, according to the severity of your symptoms and then it's a question of finding the treatment that works for you. Be warned; this can take some time, as everybody with neuropathy reacts differently to different treatments and finding something that calms your symptoms down enough to make your quality of life better, is no easy task. Whatever happens, if someone claims to be able to cure your neuropathy - they can't - medical science is not there yet. The best they can do is treat the symptoms. Good luck. 

Think that you may have Peripheral Neuropathy – What to do Now?

by Dr. Cohen February 13, 2015

If you are experiencing any of the symptoms of peripheral neuropathy, you should seek medical evaluation and treatment immediately. This could be pain, numbness, or a “pins and needles” feeling in your legs or feet. It might show up as muscle weakness or a loss of coordination. If you are concerned, especially if you have diabetes, you should schedule a medical evaluation.

Peripheral Neuropathy Medical Treatment

Doctors will prescribe treatment that will vary depending upon the source of the condition and the amount of pain or discomfort. Medications are commonly prescribed to help alleviate pain and discomfort.

These are some typical medications prescribed for this condition:
* Pain relievers: Doctors will often prescribe medication that could range from over-the-counter anti-inflammatory pain relievers like aspirin to prescription opiates. The type and strength of medication depends upon the amount of pain or discomfort and other treatment options.
Anti-seizure medication: Some drugs that have been developed to treat epilepsy can also help relieve pain.
Capsaicin: This substance is found in hot peppers, and it is included in some topical treatments that are often used in combination with other medications. The patient will be given a cream or ointment. In some patients, this causes some skin irritation, but that usually goes away after a few days.
Antidepressants: Certain kinds of antidepressants seem to interfere with the ability to feel pain and provide relief.

Of course, doctors also try to treat the underlying causes of this disorder. For example, when diabetics are able to control their blood sugar, they can minimize nerve damage and give their body a chance to heal. In the case of carpal tunnel syndrome or a tumor, surgery may be called for to relieve pressure on nerves.

Alternative Medicine Treatments for Peripheral Neuropathy

In some cases, a physical therapist or chiropractor may be able to treat symptoms of nerve discomfort. Some patients prefer to try alternative treatments instead of relying upon prescription medication or surgery. Many doctors are open to trying them to see if they are effective on a case-by-case basis.

Chiropractors may offer these treatments:
TENS: Also called Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, this involves nerve stimulation with adhesive electrodes that are placed upon the skin.
Physical therapy and physical manipulation: Certain movements and exercises may help combat muscle weakness and numbness.
Support and aids: In some cases, the patient may also need foot and hand braces, a wheelchair, or a walker.

Acupuncture is another alternative therapy that is used to treat this condition. This science originated in China, but it has gained more credibility in the U.S. and other Western countries over the last few decades. An acupuncture therapist uses needles to attempt to improve blood circulation, eliminate nerve blockages, and sometimes to try to treat the underlying causes of the condition.

Treatment at Home

Doctors and alternative therapists will also suggest good home care for patients. For example, people with numbness in their extremities may be advised to protect their hands and feet and frequently check them for injuries.

Of course, people who have an underlying disease that causes this condition will be advised to follow their treatment regimen to control the condition. In any case, healthy meals, a reasonable exercise program, and avoiding alcohol and smoking are also suggested.

Most patients should check with their doctor before beginning an exercise routine, but walking, yoga, and tai chi are frequently suggested as very beneficial. Of course, patients should ease themselves into a new exercise routine gradually if they have been sedentary before.

What’s the Next Step?

Anybody who experiences the symptoms of numbness, tingling, weakness, and pain should seek help from a medical professional as soon as possible. Your doctor will take your medical history, diagnose the condition, and suggest treatment options or suggest a specialist or therapist for certain conditions. If you prefer to try alternative treatments instead of medication, that should be discussed with the physician.

Since there is no way to be certain that the problem is Peripheral Neuropathy until it is properly diagnosed, people should not try to diagnose and treat this condition on their own. These symptoms could have other causes. The most important key to recovery may be treating the underlying cause of the symptoms, and this is what your physician is trained to do.

In conclusion, if you are experiencing any of the symptoms associated with Peripheral Neuropathy, there is hope. Proper diagnosis is the key to getting relief from this painful and debilitating condition.

http://gobeyondrelief.com/peripheral-neuropathy-natural-treatment-options/