The most common method your doctor will recommend to treat your neuropathy is with prescription drugs that may temporarily reduce your symptoms. These drugs have names such as Gabapentin, Lyrica, Cymbalta, and Neurontin, and are primarily antidepressant or anti-seizure drugs. These drugs may cause you to feel uncomfortable and have a variety of harmful side effects.
Peripheral neuropathy is a result of damage to the nerves often causing weakness, pain, numbness, tingling, and the most debilitating balance problems. This damage is commonly caused by a lack of blood flow to the nerves in the hands and feet which causes the nerves to begin to degenerate due to lack of nutrient flow.
As the blood vessels that surround the nerves become diseased they shrivel up which causes the nerves to not get the nutrients to continue to survive. When these nerves begin to die they cause you to have balance problems, pain, numbness, tingling, burning, and many additional symptoms.
The main problems is that your doctor has told you to just live with the problem or try drugs which you don’t like taking because they make you feel uncomfortable. There is now a facility right here in Locust that offers you hope without taking those endless drugs with serious side effects (see the special neuropathy severity examination at the end of this article).
In order to effectively treat your neuropathy three factors must be determined.
- What is the underlying cause?
- How much nerve damage has been sustained?
NOTE: Once you have sustained 85% nerve loss, there is likely nothing that we can do for you.
- How much treatment will your condition require?
The treatment that is provided at Stanly Wellness Center has three main goals:
- Increase blood flow.
- Stimulate small fiber nerves.
- Decrease brain-based pain.
The treatment to increase blood flow utilizes a specialized low- level light therapy (not to be confused with laser therapy) using light emitting technology. This technology was originally developed by NASA to assist in increasing blood flow and has been used in Europe for the past two decades.
The low-level light therapy is like watering a plant. The light therapy will allow the blood vessels to grow back around the peripheral nerves and provide them with the proper nutrients to heal and repair. It’s like adding water to a plant and seeing the roots grow deeper and deeper.
The amount of treatment needed to allow the nerves to fully recover varies from person to person and can only be determined after a detailed neurological and vascular evaluation. As long as you have not sustained at least 85% nerve damage there is hope.
Dr. Patrick Ess DC at Stanly Wellness Center will do a neuropathy severity examination to determine the extent of the nerve damage for only $70. This neuropathy severity examination will consist of a detailed sensory evaluation, extensive peripheral vascular testing, and a detailed analysis of the findings of your neuropathy.
Dr. Ess will be offering this neuropathy severity examination from now until Thursday. November 30th2017.
Call 980-355-7600 to make an appointment with Dr. Ess to determine if your peripheral neuropathy can be treated.
Most major health insurances are accepted including BCBS, Aetna, Humana, and Medicare.
Stanly Wellness Center is located right on Main St (24/27) in Locust and is situated next door to the Locust Post Office and the Dollar General across the street from the Wells Fargo Bank.
