Peripheral Neuropathy (nerve pain)
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…
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 …
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…
How To Stop Duloxetine (Cymbalta) Without Withdr…
Based on what we hear from readers of our syndicated newspaper column and visitors to this website, most patients are not warned about how to stop duloxetine (Cymbalta). Perhaps the prescriber assumes…
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…
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…
Statins and Nerve Damage (Peripheral Neuropathy)…
By now, almost everyone agrees that statins like atorvastatin, lovastatin, rosuvastatin and simvastatin can cause muscle pain (myalgia). Most clinicians also acknowledge that statins are also linked t…
Statins, Low LDL Cholesterol and Nerve Damage in…
A new study from Germany reports that there is a connection between low total cholesterol and low LDL cholesterol and nerve damage in patients with type 2 diabetes (JAMA Network Open, May 31, 2019). T…
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…
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…
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…
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…
What Is the Other Side of the Opioid Crisis?
The opioid crisis keeps accelerating. While watching NBC News last night we saw yet another heartbreaking story about the devastating impact opioids are having across America. Three people in Dayton,…
Preventing Peripheral Neuropathy From Chemothera…
When you get a diagnosis of cancer the world stops. Your brain melts and you go into fight or flight mode. It is one of the most stressful times of your life. All you can think about is choosing the r…
How Many Breast Cancer Survivors Suffer Nerve Pa…
Chemotherapy saves lives, but it can also result in long-lasting side effects. Until recently, oncologists did not know how often breast cancer survivors had to live with pain as a result of their tre…
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…
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…
How to Ease Foot Pain with Purple Pectin
It's hard to stay physically active and optimistic when your feet hurt. That must be why so many people are looking for a way to ease foot pain, preferably a solution that does not carry significant …
Will Magnesium Conquer Nerve Pain?
It is a shame that nutrition is so often overlooked as a topic in medical school. Aspiring doctors need to learn a lot of information, and generally there is a feeling that nutrition is not as critica…
People in Agony Turn to Marijuana for Pain Relie…
A year and a half ago the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) made it much harder for people in pain to access hydrocodone-containing pain relievers. By restricting access to medications like Lortab, Norco …
Blood Pressure Pills Are Contributing to Nerve D…
Q. I have high blood pressure for which I take metoprolol, hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ), hydralazine and lisinopril. I have developed pins and needles in my fingers and numbness in my hands that keeps m…
Taking a Statin to Lower Cholesterol Resulted in…
Many people have found that statins have side effects that are difficult to endure. Although patients may complain of nerve pain or numbness in fingers and toes, doctors sometimes don't make the conne…
Could Your Antibiotic Cause You Permanent Nerve …
Did you know that the FDA has issued a safety notification about a class of popular antibiotics called fluoroquinolones (FQs)? The announcement involves the following drugs: Ciprofloxacin (Cipro) Gemi…
Vitamin (Benfotiamine) Reverses Nerve Pain
Q. I heard a caller on your radio show talk about a vitamin for peripheral neuropathy and restless leg syndrome. What is it? Can you tell me more? Benfotiamine for Neuropathy: A. The compound is benfo…