“My doctor said I have peripheral neuropathy. He said it's "idiopathic,” which means they don't know why I have it. When I asked about treatment options, he said there aren't any. Can you help me?"
I’ve heard some version of this story many times in my clinic.
My answer?
Yes.
I do know why you have peripheral neuropathy, and I do have effective treatment options for you- not just for temporary pain reduction, but to reverse the nerve damage and provide long-term relief.
I've had excellent success with treating cases of idiopathic neuropathy, diabetic neuropathy, and chemotherapy-induced neuropathy, ranging from mild to severe.
How, you ask?
Let’s get into it!
First of all, I provide patient-centered clinical treatment for peripheral neuropathy through my online herbal clinic. The primary method I use is individualized internal herbal medicine formulas.
I offer additional support with a special herbal foot soak that I formulated over years of experience working with neuropathy patients.
In this article I am going to dive deep into how peripheral neuropathy “works”, what causes it, and how we use Chinese herbal medicine to reverse it. I will also cover some of the problems with nerve medications.
“Last Fall I developed a peripheral neuropathy which made my feet burn all night. It was impossible to sleep. After spending thousands in diagnostic studies, with no recommended course other than to strip veins, I tried something different. Within a few weeks of acupuncture and herbal treatment the pain subsided such that I had completely pain free days and nights. I'm still continuing treatment, but this has been one of the best decisions I've made to get well.” - Google review from Brian H.
Table of Contents
I. What the heck is ‘peripheral neuropathy’?
It’s a mouthful, isn’t it?
When you first started having symptoms you probably didn’t have a name for them⸺just this strange feeling in your feet or fingers that someone eventually informed you was ‘peripheral neuropathy’.
Peripheral neuropathy can present a variety of ways, pain, burning, tingling, altered sensitivity, phantom sensations, coldness, numbness, or pins and needles. No matter how it shows up peripheral neuropathy has one things in common: all of these symptoms are caused by changes in nerve function.
This is a well-known fact.
What is less well-known, but actually more important, is that the change in nerve function is caused by impaired blood circulation.
Every tissue and organ in the body needs oxygenated blood flow to function properly, including nerves.
Peripheral nerves receive blood supply from the small arteries and vessels in the tissue surrounding the nerve, as well as from blood vessels within the nerve tracts themselves.
Neuropathy symptoms of tingling, pain, burning, etc. are often mistaken for a nerve "acting up", or being "overactive."
It's actually the opposite!
These symptoms occur when the nerve is undernourished, not overstimulated. Think of the discomfort you feel as the nerve’s cries for help as they are cut off from the oxygenated blood they need to survive.
The sensation of numbness is more obviously a reduction in nerve function, but all abnormal sensations, including pain and burning, are the result of diminished nerve function.
Think of it this way: imagine you are out in the cold for a long time but forgot to bring your gloves. At first, you hands become cold, then they begin to really hurt. That pain is the blood retreating from your extremities to the core of your body. You are experiencing the sensation of nerves without quite enough blood supply. If you stay out longer, the pain goes away. Your hands are numb. So much blood has left your extremities that nerve function is mostly offline in your fingers.
Now imagine you go back inside where it's nice and toasty. As your hands go from frozen and numb to normal, there will be an in-between state where they are tingling, burning, and painful again.
That in-between state is where the blood supply isn't at 100% and so the nerve function is also not 100% normal. When the nerve is getting all the blood it needs, you experience normal sensation. When it's getting no blood, or very little, you experience absence of sensation. When it’s getting some but not enough, you experience altered sensation (pain, tingling, burning, dulled sensation, etc).
Reversing peripheral neuropathy is as simple as restoring good blood circulation in the body.
I help my patients accomplish this with Chinese herbal medicine.
In most cases, we begin with an herbal formula to bring down cardiovascular inflammation, open up blocked vessels, and support healthy nerve function. In addition, I recommend using my foot soak formula, which is designed specifically to support healthy blood circulation and nerve function.
However, the cause of the impaired blood circulation (and thereby the cause of the peripheral neuropathy) will be different with different people. We must determine your underlying cause, and treat you accordingly.
One of the great strengths of Chinese herbal medicine is that it is tailored to each individual’s needs; I will create herbal formulas just for you and your peripheral neuropathy.
If you want to learn more about how Chinese Medicine works, please watch my video About Chinese Medicine, or check out my blog by the same name.
There are many reasons why a person might develop impaired blood circulation. Sometimes it is a combination of multiple factors, rather than just one culprit.
High cholesterol levels can lead to blocked blood vessels.
High blood glucose (including pre-diabetes and diabetes) can cause vascular damage and cardiovascular inflammation.
A sedentary lifestyle leads to poor movement of blood.
A weak heart muscle or heart valve dysfunction can impair the heart’s ability to pump with enough force to move blood through the body effectively.
High blood pressure can cause damage to the vessel walls, and low blood pressure can result in not enough pressure to move blood through the body.
Chemotherapeutic agents used in cancer treatment can cause cardiovascular inflammation and damage.
And then there’s stress, which can increase blood pressure, blood sugar levels, and cardiovascular inflammation all at the same time!
What once sounded simple is starting to sound complicated! It’s easy to see why even though the diagnosis-peripheral neuropathy- is the same for everyone, the treatment must be tailored to you specifically in order to get the best result.
II. Why nerve pain medications are not the answer
Nerve pain medications* are the most commonly prescribed medications for treatment of peripheral neuropathy.
*specific drug names have been removed from this article due to Google censorship
These medications work by suppressing nerve activity to reduce pain sensation.
But remember: the problem is not “over-active” nerves. The problem is actually under-active nerves, nerves that are slowly dying and crying out to you for help with pain signals because they desperately need more blood supply to stay alive.
Taking medications like gab******n and pre******n work to reduce pain for many patients. The pain is suppressed, but the nerve degeneration and nerve death continues to march on since nothing has been done to improve the blood flow to the nerves.
Without addressing the root cause, the neuropathy will worsen. You’ll need a higher dose of gab******n. Eventually you’ll hit a maximum dose, gab******n will cease to work for you, and your neuropathy may eventually impair your ability to walk or perform motor tasks.
Another concern is the nerve pain medication's effect on your entire nervous system.
Think about it: this medication is suppressing nerve activity. Nerve activity is a basic need for being alive. When your nervous function is suppressed too much, cognitive function, balance, and coordination will suffer.
Let me tell you a story: a few years ago I called an Uber to take me home from the dentist. I’d been lightly sedated for some heavy dental work and wasn’t supposed to drive. Despite being a little ‘out of it’ myself, I quickly noticed the driver’s slurred speech. A few miles down the road I noticed he was having difficulty keeping the car in our lane. After he crossed the yellow line and caused a whole line of cars to swerve to avoid hitting us, I asked him to let me out.
I’ve treated a lot of patients who were on gab******n, so I recognize the pattern pretty well. Before I left I asked him if he was on gab******n.
“Yeah,” he said. “My doctor won’t give me anymore, and it still hurts.”
III. The best treatment for peripheral neuropathy
As I mentioned before, the treatment method for peripheral neuropathy is straightforward: improve the microcirculation of blood and the nerve function improves.
So why does your doctor have no explanation and nothing to offer you?
It mostly has to do with the fact that Western Medicine is only about 400 years old and its primary focus has been perfecting the very difficult art of saving our lives in emergencies, performing heroic surgeries, and treating late-stage diseases.
So they've been kind of busy with that.
Chinese Medicine, on the other hand, has been focused on prevention and treatment of early-stage disease and maintaining health for 2,000 years. So we tend to have more tools for improving quality of life and understanding the bigger picture of physiology as it relates to chronic conditions.
Another aspect of this gap in understanding of peripheral neuropathy has to do with the Western medical theory that nerve tissue and vascular tissue are completely separate, despite the fact that they are very clearly not. Chinese Medicine doctors dissecting cadavers thousands of years ago understood this, and that's why we already have treatment methods that work well. Modern researchers have recently been "discovering" the importance of blood supply to nerve tissue, but it still might take another few years (or decades) to make it from research papers into clinical studies and at last to a solution readily available from your family medicine doctor.
IV. Getting started with herbal medicine treatment
So, what’s the next step?
When it comes to reversing neuropathy, there are two ways I can help:
Clinical treatment through my herbal clinic
Let me explain what these options look like.
Most Chinese herbal medicine treatment is not one-size-fits-all. In order to get the highest success rate with every individual, I evaluate each person's case and determine the treatment that will work best for you. You can learn more about the process in the videos and articles About Chinese Medicine and How My Herbal Clinic works.
However, there are some conditions that I have treated so many times that I have created treatment protocols based on what I’ve seen work in the majority of cases in my clinic. I don’t create protocols for everything; most conditions have too many different presentations. But most cases of neuropathy respond well to my Neuropathy Protocol. Clinical treatment may be necessary if underlying digestive problems or other significant health issues are present.
The important differences between clinical treatment and treatment protocols are cost, time, and support.
Clinical treatment is more expensive than a treatment protocol, but you receive much more. You get direct support from me, and I'll be using my expertise in Chinese Medicine to evaluate your case and provide the best individualized treatment for you.
Treatment protocols are available to start anytime, and you don’t need to fill out any forms or schedule a consultation. They are more affordable than clinical treatment, and if you’re shopping for remedies you can purchase, I’m confident you won’t find anything better or more effective. It’s important to understand that treatment protocols do not include clinical support or individual advice beyond the standard instructions. If you don’t feel the need for clinical support - this is a great option.
Ready to start a neuropathy protocol? Get started here.
Want to learn more about clinical treatment? Keep reading!
I have been running an intensive Chinese herbal medicine clinic for over ten years, and have a passion for helping people find lasting, side-effective free, lifestyle affirming treatments for whatever is keeping them down.
I offer highly individualized herbal treatment for a wide variety of health concerns through an online system so anyone in the US can benefit from this medicine.
In my practice I've successfully treated many difficult cases — including atrial fibrillation, heart failure, post-stroke paralysis, and severe diabetic neuropathy. I’ve treated drug-resistant pneumonia, MRSA infections, seizure disorders, endometriosis, uterine fibroids, cystic acne, and migraines and that’s just naming a few. And yes…many cases of peripheral neuropathy.
If you are wondering if I can help you, the first step is to fill out my New Client Questionnaire.
It is important that you include as much detail as possible, including a photo of your tongue in good lighting. You can include any diagnoses you may have, but also take time to describe how you are feeling. (For example, rather than just saying “Migraines”, you might say something like: I have weekly migraines with pain behind both eyes, vomiting, and intolerance of light and loud sounds and the migraines are triggered by eating cheese” —or whatever the case may be.)
Next, schedule an initial consultation with me using our online scheduling tool.
Consultations can be done in-person, over the phone or through video chat. During this visit, we will go over important details about your treatment plan, including the duration of your treatment, what to expect when taking herbal medicine, and any lifestyle or dietary change that may be important in your healing process.
You can then move forward with your treatment plan by paying for your first herbal formula. Your herbs will be delivered to you within a few days.
This first formula will last for two weeks. At that time, you will fill out the Returning Client Questionnaire with any changes to how you are feeling and an updated tongue photo.
This tells me how the treatment is working, and if anything needs to be adjusted. I will write an updated formula and send out another two week supply of herbs. We continue like that for the duration of your treatment.
Throughout the treatment process, scheduling regular consultations is not necessary for most clients. All you have to do is fill out the Returning Client Questionnaire every two weeks to stay on track. However, if you have a very difficult case, or if you simply want additional support and have lots of questions - you can schedule follow-up consultations as needed.
So how much does Chinese herbal medicine treatment cost?
I’ll be honest with you: my herbal medicine programs are not cheap.
Our initial consultation is $200.
The cost of your herbal medicine is $400/month, for the duration of your treatment plan. Treatment plans will vary in length based on the condition, but the average treatment plan is 3 to 6 months, or $1200 to $2400 in total.
Keep in mind that our initial consultation is a one-time cost; most clients do not need to schedule follow-up consultations for a successful treatment plan.
Most treatment plans for peripheral neuropathy are 6 months in duration, $2400 in total (plus the cost of the initial consultation). Keep in mind that most people feel relief within in 4-6 weeks, but it can take some time to get stable improvement and reversal of the nerve damage.
This can sound like a lot, but in my clinic I frequently help patients who had previously spent much more on treatments that did not work. You might save a lot of money by starting here.
A great deal of time, attention, care, and clinical experience goes into analyzing your case and selecting the appropriate herbs for you. On top of that, I use the highest quality herbs that money can buy, rigorously tested for potency and screened for contaminants like heavy metals and pesticides.
It’s also important to remember that we are not treating you indefinitely, so the monthly cost is not a long-term recurring cost. Chinese herbal medicine treatment is focused on reversing the root cause of your condition, not suppressing symptoms indefinitely.
I have had great success using this process to treat patients for a wide variety of complaints. It is convenient for you, and allows me time to deeply consider your case.
Want to learn more about me, my process, or Chinese Medicine in general?
There’s a blog for that!
You’ll find information about me, my practice, Chinese Medicine, herb sourcing, and more in one place on my Herbal Clinic page.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Sean Dugan L.Ac.
コメント