How to survive the ravages of a neuropathic disease

How to survive the ravages of a neuropathic disease - without incurring insanity.

1. Find the right doctor - if at all possible
2. Find a doctor who is able to treat the disease - may not be possible
3. Obtain proper pain management - if at all possible
4. Take care of yourself - this is the most interesting aspect of your treatment

The details

1. Finding the right doctor is probably not very easy. You need a sympathetic and knowledgeable doctor - who actually knows something about the disease that you have. But more important than knowledge of the disease - is the sympathetic aspect of the doctor. If at all possible - a doctor who has directly experienced the pain of similar diseases - is the best approach. In this case - you will have a doctor who actually understands your pain - and will try to ease your discomfort by prescribing analgesics that will actually help you.

2. The doctor may not be able to treat the disease at all. Most neuropathies of the peripheral nervous system are not easily treated because the cause may be somewhat obscure. In the case of Diabetic Neuropathy - such treatment is well documented. Successful treatment requires that the cause be known. Else - it may be possible to treat only the second-level effects of the disease. The most common underlying causes of neuropathies are: insufficient blood circulation, and inflammation of tissues and or nerves.

3. Sometimes obtaining proper pain management is made difficult by the efforts of the DEA to accomplish its "War on Drugs" goals. The DEA intimidates many doctors by scrutinizing their history of prescriptions for narcotic drugs to patients who suffer the pains of neuropathic disease. These doctors are reluctant to prescribe sufficient drugs to sufficiently reduce the pain. Thus - the hapless patient suffers from inadequate pain management - courtesy of your Federal Government and its agency - the DEA.

4. Taking care of oneself - is an entirely new approach to the treatment of neuropathic disease. This is the where the really interesting stuff is happening as we shall see.

   Neuropathic diseases involve the Central Nervous System - the brain and spinal cord - and the Peripheral Nervous System - the rest of the human nervous system. Thus - the brain is a major part of the nervous system - and it can be employed to aid in the effort to help you to overcome some of the more difficult aspects of the disease.