Peripheral Neuropathy medication does it work?

[s5oxy]

I am in process of trying different diabetic peripheral neuropathy medications to find what works best. However being new to this I am not sure what to expect in terms of how well they may or may not work.
Can anyone advise if it's a case of just a reduction of pain or might there be a chance of almost no pain with the right medication?
I am not going to mention the side effects of the different medication, thats a whole other subject!
Thanks

 

[rebrascora]

I think it depends how bad the neuropathy is and how well you can keep your BG levels stable. I am not speaking from experience, but I mostly got the impression from what I have read here on the forum that the medication takes the edge off it rather than totally relieving the pain.

Some people (presumably with mild neuropathy) find they get pretty good relief from compression stockings.
I suppose as with all things diabetes related it will be quite individual.

 

[MikeyBikey]

I think it depends how bad the neuropathy is and how well you can keep your BG levels stable. I am not speaking from experience, but I mostly got the impression from what I have read here on the forum that the medication takes the edge off it rather than totally relieving the pain.

Some people (presumably with mild neuropathy) find they get pretty good relief from compression stockings.
I suppose as with all things diabetes related it will be quite individual.

Anyone with diabetes should consult their GP before wearing compression stockings as there is probably an increased risk of a limb threatening blood clot for anyone with PAD (more common amongst diabetics and/or smokers) . In fact I was told the risk of a clot from wearing them was higher than the risk of of a DVT through not wearing them!

 

[MikeyBikey]

I suffer both phantom (LBKA)and neuropathic (as the result of Covid Toe) pain. The default medication is Gabapentin. Whilst it took the edge of mild phantom pain in the early days it has never touched neuropathic pain. A few nights a week I suffer severe phantom in the early hours and have to take seriously strong painkillers. An alternative to Gabapentin is Pregabalin but they hrefer not to prescribe it to those over 60 or reduced kidney function (eGFR). Please let me know if you find something that works

 

[Eddy Edson]

Anyone with diabetes should consult their GP before wearing compression stockings as there is probably an increased risk of a limb threatening blood clot for anyone with PAD (more common amongst diabetics and/or smokers) . In fact I was told the risk of a clot from wearing them was higher than the risk of of a DVT through not wearing them!

Absolutely. And a timely reminder not to adopt message-board lore without checking with an actual expert.

 

[Docb]

Absolutely. And a timely reminder not to adopt message-board lore without checking with an actual expert.

Agree but there is a slight complication in that you need to choose your expert wisely because as far as I can see, when it comes to medication for neuropathy there is no clear path to finding something that works and even proper experts can offer different opinions and approaches. Finding a solution might be more down to luck than judgement.

I am going down the same route @s5oxy trying to find something to relieve sensory disturbances probably unrelated to diabetes. Tried all the standard stuff under GP supervision to no effect except for intolerable side effects. Saw the neurologist who tut tutted at the scatter gun approach of the GP and proposed a very slow build up of gabapentin. I am in the middle of this process now. The good side is that the slow build up has minimised the side effects but the downside is that at the current dose it is having no effect. At least the slow burn is allowing me to increase the dose to try and find a level that works.

Good luck with your search and keep us up to date on how it is going.