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Is It Parkinson’s Or Neuropathy That Causes Burning Am Tingling In Your Feet And Legs? Who Treats It Because It Seems My Neuro Does Not?

A MyParkinsonsTeam Member asked a question 💭
Dana Point, CA
February 7
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A MyParkinsonsTeam Member

I have PD and also Diabetes. Both cause Neuropathy. You may want to check with Primary Doctor. If you have Diabetes you can improve
your symptoms by controlling your Blood Sugar.

February 8
A MyParkinsonsTeam Member

Harvard Health said the following about neuropathy:
Imagine experiencing burning, tingling, and numbness in your legs day in and day out, getting worse over time — and your doctors can’t find a reason for it.

That’s the situation for millions of people who suffer from idiopathic sensory polyneuropathy. The term “idiopathic” means that no cause can be identified; “sensory” refers to the type of nerve, in this case those carrying nerve signals such as pain or temperature; “poly” means “many” and “neuropathy” means nerve disease. So, this is a condition of unknown cause that damages multiple nerves; the most affected nerves tend to be those that provide sensation to the legs and feet.
Researchers publishing in JAMA Neurology describe the results of a unique trial in which 402 people with idiopathic sensory polyneuropathy were randomly assigned to one of four medications: duloxetine, mexiletine, nortriptyline, or pregabalin. After 12 weeks, each person rated their neuropathy symptoms on a scale from 1 to 10, noted any side effects, and reported whether they had quit taking the medication due to side effects, cost, or some other reason.

Though the trial is important and much needed, the results were disappointing.

No medication was a clear winner or highly effective. For this study, a key measure was whether a medication reduced discomfort by 50%. The most effective treatment was nortriptyline. Of the study subjects taking this medication, 25% reported their discomfort improved by at least 50%. The least effective treatment was pregabalin: only 15% of study subjects reported that much improvement.
Side effects were common with all of the treatments. Nortriptyline had the highest rate of side effects, at 56%. Mexiletine had the fewest at 39%. Fortunately, none of the side effects were considered serious.
People frequently quit taking the assigned medication. Duloxetine had the fewest discontinuations (37%). The highest quit rate was for mexiletine (58%). Reasons given for stopping included side effects and cost.

I wish the results were more promising but this is what I found for now.
Maria

February 8
A MyParkinsonsTeam Member

Hi just started having leg and foot pain
Going to neurologist next week. Hope she can help

February 9
A MyParkinsonsTeam Member

My husband takes gabapentin for his nerve pain. It seems to help. He is also diabetic, so the foot pain may be from that rather than PD.

February 8
A MyParkinsonsTeam Member

Hmm I take 300 maybe timefor an increase!?

February 15

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