Peripheral Neuropathy

[[Ma...]]

So I had some just beginning on my toes when I came here 18 months ago.I read all the stories of how benzo tolerance or withdrawal caused it and there was a reasonable chance it would go away sometime after withdrawal. Maybe there is such a thing as benzo induced withdrawal neuropathy, but I would suggest those on the board look carefully of either other causes, or associated causes, the most obvious being diabetic associated neuropathy. Apparently even pre-diabetics can get peripheral neuropathy. Likely that is what happened to me, and now lately it is a little worse.

 

I am not blaming anyone here, but I think the board in general might warn those with this condition to monitor their blood sugars closely and be aware of that those with pre diabetes are at risk. And it may be the case that pre diabetics who have benzo issues are even more at risk. I am not sure that Ashton checked her patients for blood sugar levels and the whole notion of benzo only caused neuropathy is even a real thing

[[Pa...]]

Thanks for the reminder MattNapa, we should always check things out and not automatically assume everything is benzo withdrawal. 

[[pi...]]

I agree Matt, I suggest to members to get a thorough physical exam to rule out underlying causes. Actually, I had many of these during withdrawal and recovery. Luckily, none of the 'scary' tests pointed to something else, so my doc and I attributed my issues to withdrawal.

 

pianogirl

[[Ma...]]

Thanks for the replies After thinking bout this a bit more I am changing my tune once again. It is difficult to find clear facts on the risks of those who are pre diabetic in terms of PN risk. I was probably not even pre diabetic when I got neuropathy a little more than a year and a half ago. Also I have may have been a little hard on my claims of an 'unproven' theory of benzo induced neuropathy. I am not sure of the sample sizes Ashton used, though it appears there were only two subjects that had it, and whether she questioned her patients on whether they had other risk factors for PN. But is certainly not impossible and in my case it seems like a reasonable good guess just by sheer deduction. In other words if I had no other risk factors for PN and there is evidence of higher rates of PN in benzo patients, then it is reasonable to conclude I got this from my benzo use

 

My personal story does not necessarily change some of the warnings in my previous post that the board in general should try to warn persons that seem to be accruing benzo withdrawal symptoms to check that more traditional causes might be playing a role remains a good idea. I understand the administrators confirmed that they too are working on this

 

I do remain a bit puzzled on what caused mine to get worse after relative stability, but my 7 week go round with Percocet, marijuana, and cigarettes seems to be a rather obvious choice , much to my chagrin Also a short round with Amlodopine , a BP med that has a worrisome PN profile might also be part of it.

 

Finally I might pursue some neurological tests to see if the nerves being effected show signs of neuronal damage since I am a bit of believer in the evidence that PN can be healed to a large degree from some of the multi light therapies. And since these therapies seem t offer some improvement in neurological function in general maybe they can have some indirect effect in healing whatever has been damaged by benzos as I continue with my withdrawal. I suppose I would have preferred it had been diabetic neuropathy since, though in contradiction to popular conventional medical belief, I think my chances for improvement may have been better

 

Thanks for your time

 

 

[[ea...]]

Okay. I have to ask this. I currently take Amylidopine for essential hypertension. It has worked extremely well for me. Where have you read that it can cause PN?

I like your thinking about diabetes. Its more common than most people think, especially in the USA where being obese has become almost normal. Our diets just promote this, which is pretty sad. We are taught from day one to love high fat, high sugar foods. Magazines, online or not, show us foods that will probably harm us if we eat too much. TV is even worse.

Our bodies become prime for diabetes. It usually starts as slightly high blood sugars, and then can just keep going up until    BAM you are told you need insulin.

 

The problem with benzo wd is that your minds just aren't very logical. Almost everyone on BB worries that they have some dreadful disease, and totally deny that its benzo wd. I must get 3 PMs a day asking about this. Health anxiety runs rampant in benzo wd. And the really hard part of this is....sometimes, rarely, but sometimes, it turns out the person DOES have some disease. People on BB try to be conservative, as we don't want to sound like we are "prescribing" or "diagnosing"... I know I always tell people that if they really are scared, do see a doctor. But I also know that 99% of the time, it IS "just benzo wd."

 

Thanks for making me think this evening. This old warrior occasionally needs to think of something new!

east

[[Ma...]]

Hi east Thanks for the response. I am pretty damn skinny about 59 150 and my A1c was 5.6 in early 2017 which is not even pre diabetic. I was eating extremely low carb then. My eating slowly became much higher in carbs but I would find it really unlikely that I could have suffered from diabetic neuropathy when I received my neuropathy in May or so of 2018. I had just had a major kidney stone ordeal and tons of opiates for a few months. I kind of wish it was diabetic because you know me and far out belief system , no sarcasm intended, I think there are some therapies that hold greater promise than just getting off Benzos and hoping. That of course is not to say getting off the B's is not the greatest focus in my life

 

As far as Amlodipine. It is listed as  a rare side effect which apparently means it occurs in about 1 percent of those taking it. I do have raised liver enzymes and is supposedly not to be prescribed for those wit liver disease, which maybe if different than liver disease, and not for those with existing neuropathy. I really have no opinion on whether it contributed or not since its initial usage was at the same time as the opiates and cigarettes I have seen some online testimonials of Amlodopine patients who claimed it gave them nueropathy, but am not here to prove anything on this score I will try to put up a couple of links

 

https://www.drugs.com/sfx/amlodipine-side-effects.html

[[go...]]

MattNapa

 

Did you ever take a fluoroquinolone antibiotic like Cipro, Levaquin or Avelox - maybe during your kidney stone ordeal?  They can cause neuropathy.  I am multi Floxed but hoping my neuropathy might be from Benzos.

[[Ma...]]

Thanks for asking , but the only Fluoroquione was back in 2012 so I don't think it was related for me

[[ea...]]

MattNapa, the farther I get out post benzo wd, the more I slowly learn. I have had to face some very difficult things. I do see now that while on benzos my thinking and logic were NOT good. I made a lot of mistakes, and always blamed them on everything BUT my darn benzos. I have had to face this, accept it and slowly move on.

 

I can definitely tell you that if you take benzos too long, you may suffer some serious consequences. Health problem, intellectually problems, decision making, etc etc. Benzos, IMO, are FAR more dangerous than is generally known. I also know this varies from individual to individual. I guess some are more prone to have problems with these drugs, but I don't know why.

east

[Guest [Sk...]]

I have the same thing the burning tingling  feet and legs etc

 

and I find this works well for me, I apply it several times a day

cools the skin and it  takes away the burning tingling feeling for me 

as I heal.  Certainly eases it all for me, might help others too

so thought Id share it here.  Good luck.

 

https://www.hoofanhound.com/rapigel250g.html

 

Rapigel 250g The Best!!Arthritic joint and muscle rapid relieving pain - in humans and your pets. Rapigel rapidly relieves inflamed joints - swelling in joints - and in tendons. Highly Recommended by Human Arthitic Pain Suferer's world wide.

 

Pain or soreness associated with muscle, joint and tendon injuries Swollen and/or inflamed joints and tendons To assist warm up helping to prevent excercise induced injuries To aid recovery from intense excercise or overexertion How to use Rapigel

 

Rapigel is easy to apply.

Simply rub onto affected areas at full strength.

The clear gel can be easily applied to most areas and will leave no sticky or hard to remove residue.

Rapigel is ideal to combine with massage.

The gel formulation makes it ideal to combine with massage therapy

for a more intense effect to promote more rapid healing.

 

Muscles will particularly benefit from massage

with Rapigel due to the relaxation of muscle spasms and muscle fibres.

[[Ca...]]

I have the same thing the burning tingling  feet and legs etc

 

and I find this works well for me, I apply it several times a day

cools the skin and it  takes away the burning tingling feeling for me 

as I heal.  Certainly eases it all for me, might help others too

so thought Id share it here.  Good luck.

 

https://www.hoofanhound.com/rapigel250g.html

 

Rapigel 250g The Best!!Arthritic joint and muscle rapid relieving pain - in humans and your pets. Rapigel rapidly relieves inflamed joints - swelling in joints - and in tendons. Highly Recommended by Human Arthitic Pain Suferer's world wide.

 

Pain or soreness associated with muscle, joint and tendon injuries Swollen and/or inflamed joints and tendons To assist warm up helping to prevent excercise induced injuries To aid recovery from intense excercise or overexertion How to use Rapigel

 

Rapigel is easy to apply.

Simply rub onto affected areas at full strength.

The clear gel can be easily applied to most areas and will leave no sticky or hard to remove residue.

Rapigel is ideal to combine with massage.

The gel formulation makes it ideal to combine with massage therapy

for a more intense effect to promote more rapid healing.

 

Muscles will particularly benefit from massage

with Rapigel due to the relaxation of muscle spasms and muscle fibres.

Wow.. you just reminded me if something I have here to try (Flexall).. I used to use it on my injured leg as well as my back that it was for, as the menthol type sensation helped all the odd skin feelings of the early days...

Thanks Maaate..

 

 

[[Te...]]

https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-5891/amlodipine-oral/details/list-sideeffects

 

Matt, I have peripheral neuropathy. I just figured it was automatically the result of bp pills and have dealt with this throughout the benzo mess because that's how long I've been on the pills. Amlodipine also causes high blood sugar, but I don't have that.

 

I've noticed that it doesn't matter if a drug "rarely" causes something. During the benzo crap, "rarely" becomes "often" for me.

 

I take Amlodipine 2.5 mg. now. I used to take 10 mg. and had painful swelling and anxiety. It seems that people either do well with this drug or have terrible symptoms. I heard that it was banned in the Netherlands because of all its side effects, but I don't know whether that's true now or not. It also causes problems with the teeth among many of its side effects. BP pills are NOT benign, so don't ever think that. Look up the side effects, use askapatient.com.

[[Ma...]]

Hi Terry Thanks for this I got off Amlodopine, and am now on Losartan. It seems all BP meds have neuropatthy as a side effect. It is interesting that supposed rare side effects are never actually quantified by a number. I have seen some estimates that they occur around 1 percent of the time. If true that is more than rare considering how many people take them Maybe there is an interaction with the benzo issues Who knows

 

MY BP was pretty much under control before tapering, and I have talked about trying to get off with my naturopath, but I just feel the BP issues and the way my pulse, heart etc feel through all of this is just too much at least for now

 

I have seen a lot of your contributions here, especially on some of the 'explain to a lay person' threads. So I know you are extremely knowledgeable and it is pleasure to meet you a bit. And of course wishing you the best

 

                                                    Matt                           

[[Te...]]

Thank you, Matt!! That was very nice of you!! And I'm glad you got off the Amlodipine!

 

I've usually read 1% for rare side effects. I definitely think there's an interaction with the benzos. My pills don't do anything for chemical anxiety, but tapering during the benzo symptoms is VERY hard for me. With Labetalol I'm only going down 4 mg. every 9 days. And each pill I take is 200 mg.

 

I'm knowledgeable about bp pills because I've been on and off so many - Labetalol, Losartan, Amlodipine, Nifedipine, Hydralazine, Clonidine, Valsartan, Metoprolol, Diltiazem, HCTZ, Lasix, Terazosin, Lisinopril, Propranolol, Atenolol, Spironolactone. That's one of the reasons I'm protracted. They all caused problems, and I almost died from HCTZ because it put my sodium so low.

 

I've read that about other people on BB - they had no problems with bp pills before benzos. There are so many interactions with them that I'm not surprised.

 

Yes, I do think all bp pills have peripheral neuropathy as a symptom. It certainly has happened to me. I hate that numb, tingling feeling in my feet. I have numbness right now, just relaxing!

 

I wish you the best, too, Matt!!