By: Joe Graedon November 25, 2024 30 Comments
    The Dark Side of Gabapentin as an Off Label Med

    Has your doctor told you if you are taking a drug for an unapproved use? By unapproved we mean for an “indication” that has never received a review from the FDA. It is estimated that when teenager…

    By: Joe Graedon September 9, 2024 38 Comments
    A Hidden Risk: Could Excess Vitamin B6 Damage Ne…

    Whether you utilize pharmaceutical medicines or look to natural remedies such as vitamins and minerals, you must make sure the treatment is not worse than the ailment. People who consult health care p…

    By: Joe Graedon July 29, 2024 82 Comments
    New Concerns About Gabapentin and Pregabalin (Ly…

    Several years ago, a review of the FDA’s Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) revealed some disconcerting data about commonly prescribed drugs for nerve pain (ISMP QuarterWatch Reports (March 27, …

    By: Terry Graedon July 10, 2024 2 Comments
    Show 1391: Key Steps for Healthy Feet

    This week, Joe and Terry Graedon welcome your questions about keeping your feet healthy. Dr. Jane Andersen is a foot and ankle specialist who will take your calls about a range of podiatric problems. …

    By: Joe Graedon July 10, 2024 32 Comments
    Why Is Antidepressant Withdrawal So Hard?

    A few years ago it was estimated that one out of eight Americans took an antidepressant medication (JAMA Internal Medicine, Feb. 2017) daily. According to my current calculations, 46 million people no…

    By: Terry Graedon February 19, 2024 20 Comments
    How to Use Capsaicin Ointment to Ease Pain

    Chronic pain has a devastating impact on your quality of life. Often, though, the medicines you would take to relieve pain can trigger dangerous side effects over the long term. Several readers report…

    By: Joe Graedon November 27, 2023 72 Comments
    Lyrica and Weight Gain | Can It Be Reversed?

    Pregabalin (Lyrica) has become a go-to drug for nerve pain (neuropathy). There aren't many medications in the doctor’s tool kit for this kind of problem. A similar drug, gabapentin, has been approve…

    By: Joe Graedon June 12, 2023 21 Comments
    Lyrica (Pregabalin) Side Effects Include Confusi…

    Lyrica used to be widely advertised on television to treat fibromyalgia or diabetic nerve pain. A few years ago there was this ad featuring Terry, a retired police officer. Terry describes his diabeti…

    By: Terry Graedon January 9, 2023 19 Comments
    Is Vitamin Deficiency at the Bottom of Burning S…

    What could cause a burning sensation on the bottoms of the feet? This symptom seems to indicate nerve damage, technically termed peripheral neuropathy. There are a number of potential causes, ranging …

    By: Terry Graedon December 12, 2022 24 Comments
    Will Cannabis Cream Really Ease Neuropathy?

    People with neuropathy are often desperate for relief. The causes of this nerve pain may vary, from drug side effects to the aftermath of an infection. Sometimes too little or too much of a common vit…

    By: Terry Graedon November 28, 2022 45 Comments
    What Natural Remedies Could Help Neuropathy?

    Neuropathy (pain, numbness or tingling, usually in the feet or hands) is caused by a malfunction of the nerves in the skin. We need such nerves to tell us about the world around us, and when they st…

    By: Terry Graedon October 31, 2022 22 Comments
    Supplements to Help Ease Diabetic Neuropathy

    Diabetes threatens the health of millions of Americans. In 2019, doctors had diagnosed more than 37 million people with this metabolic disorder. People with diabetes either don't make insulin (type 1 …

    By: Terry Graedon August 11, 2022 9 Comments
    Show 1311: Why We Should Fight Back Against Agei…

    This week on our nationally syndicated radio show, we explore the impacts of negative attitudes toward aging and how to fight back against ageism. In the US, many people hold negative stereotypes abou…

    By: Terry Graedon June 9, 2022 5 Comments
    Show 1304: Fixing Your Foot Problems

    In our nationally syndicated radio show this week, we have a guest live in the studio. Podiatrist Jane Andersen will be ready to answer your questions about foot problems and what you can do about the…

    By: Terry Graedon May 9, 2022 22 Comments
    Can You Help Nerve Pain with a Diet Rich in ALA?

    Doctors often have a hard time treating nerve pain, also called neuropathy. When diabetes causes neuropathy, physicians ask patients to control their blood glucose very strictly. In addition, they may…

    By: Terry Graedon December 23, 2021 7 Comments
    Vitamin B12 Helps Ease Nerve Pain of Diabetes

    People with type 2 diabetes often develop a painful nerve disorder called diabetic neuropathy. People with this condition may experience numbness, tingling, burning or pain in their hands or feet. The…

    By: Terry Graedon November 15, 2021 13 Comments
    Will CBD for Pain Make You Fail the Marijuana Te…

    One lesson learned from the terrible opioid crisis of the past few years: a lot of Americans are in a lot of pain. With doctors increasingly reluctant to prescribe narcotics for pain relief, people ar…

    By: Terry Graedon August 10, 2020 28 Comments
    Can a Supplement Relieve Neuropathy Pain?

    People who experience neuropathy pain tell us it can be excruciating. Sometimes this is a side effect of cancer treatment, though other individuals develop nerve pain as a consequence of taking a stat…

    By: Terry Graedon March 5, 2020 5 Comments
    Show 1203: How Yoga Can Help You Age Gracefully

    Stress is nearly ubiquitous in modern life. We all know it isn’t healthy, but we may not have a lot of tools for escaping or alleviating it. People under stress may feel they don’t have enough tim…

    By: Terry Graedon February 17, 2020 3 Comments
    Will CBD Oil Ease Neuropathic Pain?

    Pain due to misfiring of neurons (aka neuropathic pain) can be extremely difficult to treat. Once a pain pathway sets in, disrupting it becomes an enormous challenge. People have tried acupuncture, su…

    By: Terry Graedon December 29, 2019 8 Comments
    Will Acupuncture Ease the Pain of Neuropathy?

    Peripheral neuropathy, pain in the feet and legs (or occasionally even in the hands and arms), can be challenging to treat. Ideally, of course, the physician would identify what was causing the nerves…

    By: Terry Graedon October 3, 2019 12 Comments
    Show 1183: How to Manage Your Foot Problems

    Do your feet hurt? Foot problems can interfere with both work and leisure time activities. You won’t want to walk the dog or go dancing, not to mention stand at a cash register or move about a clini…

    By: Joe Graedon September 19, 2019 20 Comments
    Do Fluoroquinolone Antibiotics Damage Heart Valv…

    We have been tracking a tale of woe and intrigue with fluoroquinolone (FQ) antibiotics for more than 25 years. One reader reported hallucinations and a terrible skin rash after taking ofloxacin (Floxi…

    By: Terry Graedon August 2, 2019 2 Comments
    Show 1174: What to Do About Skeeter Syndrome

    Have your summer evenings outside been spoiled by the whine of a mosquito coming in for a bite? How do you deal with the resulting itch? Mosquito bites usually itch for a while and then go away, but s…

    By: Joe Graedon May 6, 2019 41 Comments
    Do Statins Cause Nerve Pain (Neuropathy)?

    Statin enthusiasts have a hard time accepting that statin-type cholesterol-lowering drugs have side effects. There is even one clinical trial analysis from the UK that concluded “At the doses tested…

    By: Terry Graedon February 11, 2019 32 Comments
    How to Help Neuropathy with Hiking Boots

    Neuropathy is pain that originates from the nerves. For some reason, due to diabetes, damage or some other difficulty, the nerves send pain signals even when the area is not in imminent danger (the us…

    By: Terry Graedon February 7, 2019 13 Comments
    Special Creams Fail to Fight Pain

    Americans spend hundreds of millions of dollars on specially formulated topical pain creams. Medicare Part D paid more than half a billion dollars for such prescription products in 2015. Doctors may p…

    By: Terry Graedon December 24, 2018 27 Comments
    Seniors Swear by Marijuana Oil for Pain Relief

    In an increasing number of states, the legislatures have legalized the medicinal use of marijuana. (Ten states and the District of Columbia have made recreational use legal, usually in addition to med…

    By: Terry Graedon October 22, 2018 20 Comments
    Will Alpha-Lipoic Acid Help Your Nerve Pain?

    Nerve pain (neuropathy) can be excruciating, and the medications doctors prescribe to alleviate the pain don't always help a great deal. However, alternative medications such as alpha-lipoic acid can …

    By: Terry Graedon October 18, 2018 5 Comments
    Do People Who Eat Fish Grow Old More Healthfully…

    Does eating fish or taking fish oil make any difference for your health? For decades, researchers have touted the anti-inflammatory benefits of the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil. They have sug…

    By: Terry Graedon July 9, 2018 20 Comments
    Will Benfotiamine Ease Your Foot Pain?

    Have you ever dropped a heavy can of food on your toe? The nail turns purplish-black and the foot hurts like crazy. After a few days, though, the pain calms down and only hurts when you wiggle or stub…

    By: Joe Graedon May 7, 2018 20 Comments
    Can the Antidepressant Amitriptyline Mess Up Mem…

    It is estimated that nearly two million people take the antidepressant amitriptyline every day. We suspect that most are not taking this drug to improve mood. That’s because amitriptyline (Elavil) h…

    By: Joe Graedon August 17, 2017 28 Comments
    Does Cannabis (Marijuana) Ease Nerve Pain or PTS…

    How well does marijuana work against pain or post-traumatic stress disorder? That is a question many patients and physicians would like answered. Now that opioids have been vilified, people in chronic…

    By: Joe Graedon May 15, 2017 12 Comments
    Will Overdosing on Vitamin B6 Cause Irreversible…

    Most people think of vitamins as benign nutrients. If a little is good then a "lottle" is better. In other words, the more the merrier. Most of the time people do not get into trouble if they take a l…

    By: Terry Graedon April 3, 2017 36 Comments
    Are There Natural Remedies for Nerve Pain?

    Physicians find neuropathy difficult to manage. This nerve pain can easily become chronic if it is not interrupted early in its course. When pain originates in the nervous system itself, relatively f…

    By: Joe Graedon December 5, 2016 22 Comments
    Cannabidiol Oil Solved Severe Seizure Problem an…

    Many doctors are skeptical about the benefits of medical marijuana. That's because they did not learn about this "herb" in medical school. If it was discussed at all, the likelihood is that the lectur…

    By: Terry Graedon November 28, 2016 4 Comments
    How Can You Overcome Long-Term Tingling?

    Tingling, numbness or pain are common symptoms that doctors term "paresthesia." Sometimes the tingling resembles the pins-and-needles feeling when an arm or leg "goes to sleep." What can be done to ov…

    By: Terry Graedon October 10, 2016 33 Comments
    Using Marijuana to Overcome Face Pain

    Pain resulting from nerve damage can be unrelenting and extremely difficult to treat. When the trigeminal nerve is affected, it causes face pain that is capable of ruining a person's quality of life.…

    By: Terry Graedon August 22, 2016 7 Comments
    Did Nexium Cause Bone Loss and Nerve Pain?

    Whenever you decide to take a new medication, you should know what you will get out of it in terms of benefit and what side effects you might experience. This is especially important for drugs you wi…

    By: Joe Graedon July 16, 2016 8 Comments
    Will Medical Marijuana Ease Pain and Prevent Dem…

    Two of our most complicated and challenging health problems are nerve pain and dementia. The drugs we have are often woefully inadequate. That's why it is so intriguing to learn that ingredients in me…