Treatment for Peraphal Neuopathy caused by trauma????

[stephen1076]

Hello,

I was involved in a motor cycle accident 15 years ago. I suffered major injuries to both legs, including a dislocation of my right knee. I tore the main artery in my leg and had a vein graft - I almost had my leg amputated from above the Knee. I also suffered nerve damage and as a result am left with painful Peraphal Neuopathy in my foot which I have lived with since. It is slowly getting worse and now I sometimes need a walking stick to get about. At the time of the accident It was decided that more surgery was not an option and the doctors more or less told me I would have to wait and see if the nerve repaired its self. It hasn't, and now with advances in treatment I am hoping that I can find something that will help me with the painful Peraphal Neuopathy in my foot. I am aware of a lot of different treatments.... Such As.

Use of vitamins B1, B2, B6, B12 and Alpha Lipoic Acid
Bathing of feet in Epsom salts
Anodyne Therapy - The use of UV light

As far as I am aware the above treatments are mostly helpful to Diabetic's who suffer from Peraphal Neuopathy - im unsure whether they would help someone like me..... I would be very grateful if anyone has suffered injuries like mine or knows some one that has and whether they can offer me any advice on this subject. All the doctors I have seen in the past few years have all said I should take strong painkillers and other drugs which are used to treat epilepsy and similar illnesses. All of these are highly addictive and have bad side effects and can cause damage to the kidneys during long term use. I don't want to go down that road but almost feel im been pushed down it by unhelpful doctors.

I would be very grateful if anyone can offer me any advice about this

Cheers

Stephen

[Susanne C.]

Welcome to the group! You will find lots of helpful advice here. Mine is not a treatable neuropathy, so I won't address that, but I would like to comment on your attitude toward pain medication.
If you can get by with a good quality of life without opiates or anti-seizure meds, of course it is wiser not to take them. But if you are limiting your activities, experiencing a distracting level of pain, etc., then you should consider why your doctors are advising you to take something.
I am a 50 year old mother of five, still homeschooling my youngest and running a large household with a minimum of five teenagers and adults at home. My favorite activity is hiking/walking as much as possible, which isn't very much as I have considerable muscle atrophy. I would not be able to fulfill most of my responsibilities nor would I be able to pursue my interests without the combination of gabapentin and Percoset that I am on. The pain is just too distracting and depressing. I know the meds are merely covering up symptoms, but the symptoms can't be treated and this way I enjoy a better quality of life as well as being a lot easier to live with.
Addiction is not really the word for the dependence that chronic pain patients develop. I would recommend that you read Living With Chronic Pain by Jennifer Schneider.
I hope that treatment is possible for you. You have come to the right place for information!