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Peripheral Neuropathy

Multispecialty Medical Clinic

Finally!!!   Good News for Peripheral Neuropathy Sufferers

Comprehensive Peripheral Neuropathy Treatment Program

Neuropathy Associates of Tulsa /// at Marion Medical, P.C.

Peripheral Neuropathy Screening Questionnaire

Suggestions for Taking Care of the Feet for Patients With
Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy (and for all neuropathy patients)

Ask Yourself The Following Important Questions About Your Sensory Neuropathy:

1)      Does pain, tingling, numbness, or burning keep me from or significantly interfere with my ability to complete my daily tasks?

2)      Am I unable to walk as far or as fast as I would like?

3)      Do I have problems sleeping because of my pain, tingling, numbness, or burning?

4)      Would I like to rely less on prescription medication that attempts to reduce the symptoms of my neuropathy but are often ineffective and have unwanted side-effects?

5)      Would I consider a conservative, non-toxic, bio-compatible treatment program option to treat my neuropathy?

What Are The Concerns for Patients with Peripheral Neuropathy:

1)      The pain, tingling, numbness, and/or burning can typically lead to the loss of proper proprioception (a "position sense" of knowing where your feet are in space).

2)      This causes the person to be 16 times more like to fall and significantly more likely to have an injury due to a fall potentially causing a fracture and/or “closed” head injury which could be devastating.

3)      The foot symptoms interfere with one's activities of daily living (one's ability to perform daily tasks such as shopping, grooming, driving, walking, and other things that a person must do on a daily basis just to function)

4)      The lower extremity symptoms also can significantly disrupt normal sleeping patterns creating a scenario whereby the patient is chronically tired and has no energy, and could risk falling asleep while driving..

5)      The peripheral neuropathy can disrupt one's "sense of feel" leading to a situation whereby the patient could develop a non-healing ulcer, which in a worse case scenario could lead to amputation.

6)      Quality of life is profoundly compromised

What Causes Peripheral Neuropathy:

There are several known causes for peripheral neuropathy. The most well known cause is diabetes. It must be noted however, that there are several other common causes of peripheral neuropathy.  These include:

1)      Chemotherapy Drugs (Platinum compounds, Vince alkaloid class, Taxane, etc)

2)      The “statin” drugs prescribed to lower cholesterol (16 fold increase over the general population)

3)      Vascular insufficiency (compromised blood flow to the feet)

4)      Metabolic issues (hypothyroidism, obesity, etc.)

5)      Auto-immune Disease (Lupus, etc.)

6)      Heavy metal toxicity (lead, mercury, etc.)

7)      Volatile organic compound toxicity (pesticides, etc)

8)      Cigarette smoking and/or alcohol use

9)      Chronic viral infections (EBV, CMV, etc.)

10)  Lyme’s Disease

11)  Direct compression

12)  Vitamin deficiencies (especially the “B” vitamin family)

13)  Spinal problems including spinal stenosis, disc problems, etc.

14)  Idiopathic

Issues With Traditional Drug Therapy For Peripheral Neuropathy:

Lyrica is currently considered the drug of choice regarding the current “standard of care” for treating the symptoms of peripheral neuropathy. Narcotic agents and anti-depressants have also been tried.  Regarding Lyrica, it is claimed that the drug will provide approximately 40% improvement in patient symptoms after 5 weeks of use.  In reality, that is not all that impressive and rarely reaches that degree of stated result.

And then there are the possible adverse reactions that may include skin redness, blisters, hives, rash, dyspnea (difficulty breathing), wheezing, dizziness, somnolence, dry mouth, swelling, blurred vision, weight gain, constipation, euphoric mood, balance disorder, increased appetite, and difficulty with concentration and attention.  The other potential side-effects include swelling of the face, mouth (tongue, lips, and gums) and the neck (specifically the throat and larynx).  Lyrica has also been reported to increase the risk of suidical thoughts or behaviors, and can change moods and behaviors.

The Baseline Reason for the Peripheral Neuropathy-Related Symptoms:

Regardless of the cause of your neuropathy (diabetes, vascular, drug induced, environmental, etc.), the baseline reason for the symptoms associated with the neuropathy is endoneurial hypoxia and ischemia (low oxygen and blood flow to the nerves) that can cause pain or loss of sensation and position sense.  This baseline issue must be addressed in order to improve one’s symptoms/condition, understanding that peripheral neuropathy is a chronic condition.  Concentrated “active care” is essential to address one’s aggressive symptoms.  Then long-term “supportive care” with follow-ups is important to stay on top of your peripheral neuropathy symptoms so that you may lead a better quality of life.  Many times, once “active care” is completed, the patient can perform a significant amount of supportive care therapy at home.

What Makes The Neuropathy Associates of Tulsa “Integrated Neuropathy Treatment Program” Unique?

Quite frankly, it is due to our “multi-modal” treatment program that utilizes metabolic, neurological, vascular, and physical medicine interventions through therapies that we describe as:

1) MIRV -  -  -  - (Monochromatic Infrared Vasodilation)

2) SENS -  -  -  - (Synchronous Electroneural Stimulation)

3) TONT -  -  -  - (Targeted Oral Nutritional Therapy)

4) EHIT -  -  -  - (European Homeopathic Injection Therapy)

5) MSM - -  - (Musculoskeletal Medicine / Rehab / etc.)

6) TNT -  -  -  -  - (Topical Nutraceutical Therapy)

7) NBT -  -  -  -  - (Neural Blockade Therapy)

Among other treatments when indicated.

We call this combination of targeted treatments our Integrated Neuropathy Treatment Program (INTP).

Specifics About the Program:

Comprehensive Treatment Program For Patients With Peripheral Neuropathy Consists of the Following:

1)      Includes MIRE Therapy (Monochromatic Infrared Photo Energy at 890nm) that we refer to as MIRV therapy (for Monochromatic Infrared Vasodilation ).  This therapy increases circulation and reduces pain and generally requires 24 to 36 sessions depending on severity.  MIRE/ MIRV is FDA approved.

2) SENS (Synchronous Electroneural Stimulation) utilizing an electronic current to “wake up” and “pattern” the proper nerve firing.  This therapy also generally requires 24 to 36 sessions depending on severity.  This device is also FDA approved.

3) Targeted Oral Nutritional Therapy to effect biochemical change in the body.

4) European Homeopathic Injection Therapy for qualified patients utilizing some of the most sophisticated FDA approved European homeopathic medicines available, along with Neuronal Blockade Injections .

5) Musculoskeletal Medicine :  Stretching & strengthening exercises plus balance and walking exercises that may include structural physical medicine interventions to the extremities and/or spine.

6) Topical Nutraceutical Therapy that provides for skin conditioning and pain relief.

The Oral Nutritional Medicine Component of the Program:

The suggested oral nutritional medicines are very conservative and biocompatible with the body and produce no side-effects.  The metabolic co-factors, botanicals, minerals, and micro-nutrients are recommended to assist with:

1)      Vasodilation of the blood vessels which shuttles more oxygen to the nerve cells

2)      Decreasing blood viscosity (thickness) to assist with overall circulation

3)      Reducing inflammation

4)      Protecting the myelin wrapper around the delicate nerves

5)      Quenching toxic free radicals that perpetuate the ongoing degenerative process

6)      Reducing pain producing substances called protein kinase C (PKC)

Assessment and Treatment Decisions:

Generally, the number and frequency of treatments within the program are dictated by the severity of the peripheral neuropathy related symptoms and the degree of impaired activities of daily living.  The severity is further graded by the findings of some very specific tests including the physical examination and QST neurological examination, electrodiagnostic evaluations including NCV/EMG/Axon II CPT exams, peripheral vascular testing with doppler, blood labs, functional abilities examination, Tinetti’s evaluation, and others.  Once the exams are completed, typically, the patient will undergo the above noted integrated, “active” treatment program for 60 to 90 days.  Generally the patient will at least begin to notice improvement by the second week of treatment.

InsuranceMAY cover part of the care such as office visits, injections, diagnostics, some rehab therapies, and DME (durable medical equipment towards the end of one’s active treatment program).  You MAY be able to take an expense deduction, as well as use a FLEX Spending Card.  As a convenience, we also have access to Care Credit available.

Our Mission Statement:

It is our goal to assist our patients back to their maximum health potential by offering the most advanced, non-toxic, biologically compatible treatments available within an integrated medical model.

You have suffered long enough.  Take control !!  Start getting your life back now !!

Call us now at :

Neuropathy Associates of Tulsa

at Marion Medical, P.C.

3808 E. 51st Street

Tulsa, OK.  74135

O:   918-749-3797

Fx:  918-749-3797