Guillain Barre’ Syndrome | Health Solutions Group | Boston Neuropathy Treatment

Neuropathy and Nutrition

If you suffer from peripheral neuropathy brought on by any of these medical issues:

· Diabetes

· Post-chemotherapy

· Shingles

· Guillian Barre Syndrome

· Lyme Disease

Or any one of a multitude of other health problems and your over-the-counter or even prescribed medication isn’t helping, you may be overlooking a very important link in the management of your neuropathy and your neuropathy pain. You may be missing a key element in your peripheral neuropathy treatment plan.

Look at what you’re feeding your body.

Many of the side effects from peripheral neuropathy you’re experiencing can be brought under control or possibly eliminated by following a good nutrition plan.

What Exactly Is “Good Nutrition”?

We hear so much today about the value of a good diet yet few people actually think about what they feed their bodies on a daily basis and what that food does to them.

A good way of thinking about it is “garbage in, garbage out”. It’s like putting a really cheap grade of gas into a Formula One race car. It may fuel the car, for maybe 100 feet from the starting line, but after that, the engine will sputter, stall and eventually just stop. It certainly won’t run at peak performance.

The same thing happens over time when we put bad food into our bodies. People who suffer from peripheral neuropathy are even more susceptible to the effects of poor nutrition.

Good nutrition involves putting the right mix of nutrients in the right amounts into your body. The right mix of protein, good fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals (and staying properly hydrated) all comprise a good diet. Even if you’re eating enough during the day, if you’re not getting the right mix of the ingredients that your body needs to function, you could be suffering from malnutrition.

Malnutrition leads to a host of medical problems and sometimes serious diseases, including diabetes. If you already suffer from peripheral neuropathy, you’re just making the problem worse by not giving your body the basic building blocks it needs to repair itself.

All the medications in every big pharmaceutical lab on the planet won’t fix your body if you don’t give it what it needs to fix itself.

The Link Between Nutrition and Neuropathy Treatment

Food is fuel. It’s what the body needs to function properly and support us in our daily lives. If you’re eating a healthy diet and giving the body what it needs to support you and take care of itself, it can not only lessen the effects of your neuropathy, it can even help you avoid other complications.

Unless you’ve been living in a cave for the last 20 or 30 years, you know the benefits of a healthy diet. Significant medical evidence has shown that, especially in the elderly and diabetics (two populations with a high incidence of neuropathy), a healthy diet can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, even certain types of cancer.

If you already suffer from neuropathy and you develop any of these other complications, your condition will be even more serious than for someone who doesn’t suffer from neuropathy.

For example, you already know that neuropathy can affect your sense of touch.

A further complication of that loss of sensation is that it can make it more likely that you will fall and possibly suffer broken bones. If your body doesn’t have the materials available internally to help mend those bones, your healing process can be severely compromised.

Even if your neuropathy is being treated with NeuropathyDR™ systems or other medical intervention, you still need a healthy diet to give your body and your mind what it needs to heal itself. It will help you keep your energy level high for your therapy sessions, keep your mind sharp to follow the doctor’s instructions and may even eliminate the need for medications with serious side effects.

NeuropathyDR™ Clinicians are up to date on the best diets for your particular case. Keep in mind that we’ll also typically recommend oral and sometimes topical nutrition supplements and dietary programs.

Does What You Eat Really Affect Your Neuropathy?

In a word, yes. If you want to be healthy and control or even stop disease, you have to eat a healthy diet. You can’t continue to put junk into your body and not expect the body to deteriorate. Especially if you already suffer from any of the health problems that lead to neuropathy.

One of the main components in diabetic neuropathy is metabolic syndrome. And that’s brought on by high blood sugar levels, high fat levels in the blood, and low insulin. If you’re not putting foods into your body that create those problems, you’ve already won half the battle.

Even beyond the blood sugar issues faced by diabetics, other neuropathy sufferers can be affected by diet as well. If you suffer from neuropathy, regardless of whether or not you have diabetes, here are some other problems you may be facing due to your diet:

Vitamin deficiencies – One of the most common is the lack of B-12. Even if you ‘re taking a supplement, your body may not be absorbing it properly and that can cause anemia and/or nervous system disorders. Talk to your NeuropathyDR™ Clinician about testing and what you can do to make sure you’re getting the right vitamins and minerals in the right amounts.

Alcohol abuse – In addition to what excessive use of alcohol does to the liver and kidneys, it can also lead to nutritional deficiencies because your body doesn’t properly absorb what you put into it. If you suffer from any form of neuropathy, your best course of action is to lay off alcohol.

Cancer – Studies have found a direct relation between certain types of cancer and poor diet and lack of antioxidants. Also, if you smoke, stop now. Cancer is one of the leading risks of smoking and other unhealthy habits but if you have neuropathy and you smoke, you’re a ticking time bomb.

Above all else, the best way to help your body fight your neuropathy symptoms is to give it the tools it needs to do it. Talk to your local NeuropathyDR™ Clinician about what you can do, in addition to their treatment, to feed your body well and give yourself everything you need to repair your body and fight your neuropathy symptoms.

Subscribe to our Weekly Ezine at “Beating Neuropathy” at http://neuropathydr.com to get your life back.

New Hope for Neuropathy Sufferers – Part 2

Chemotherapy Neuropathy Responds Exceptionally Well To NeuropathyDR Care

If you suffer from

· Diabetic neuropathy

· Post-chemotherapy induced neuropathy

· Postherpetic neuralgia (shingles)

· Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

· Or any other condition that causes nerve pain

You may not fully understand the root of your problems. To get a better understanding of how all this works, think about this…

Do You Know How Your Nerves Actually Work?

Think of your nerve impulses like the waves of an FM radio station. Not a straight line of current as so many of us think, but more of a wave-like motion. Each individual nerve has its own wave. When you suffer from neuropathy, your nerves have started to shrivel and retract. The gap between them is just too wide for the impulses to make it across. They stop communicating. Sort of like being in a dead zone with your cell phone. You know there are signals out there, you just can’t get them.

The ReBuilder® reads where those nerve impulses aren’t quite making it across the gap. And in an almost fluid, wave-like motion, it stimulates those nerves, helping them to regenerate and close the gap. The space between the nerve endings begins to close. The nerves learn to communicate again.

New Hope For Neuropathy Sufferers – Part 1

If you suffer from

· Diabetic neuropathy

· Post-chemotherapy induced neuropathy

· Postherpetic neuralgia (shingles)

· Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

· Or any other condition that causes nerve pain

Chances are you’re at your wits end when it comes to living with the pain of your condition.

Your doctor has probably prescribed medication…

You may have tried acupuncture…

You may have even consulted an herbalist for a more natural treatment regimen…

You’ve done everything you can think of and still haven’t found relief…

There is one more course of treatment to consider.

NeuropathyDR Treatment Protocol

Our clinicians are trained in a three-pronged approach to treat peripheral neuropathies and related disorders. First, lets talk about an amazing device, the ReBuilder® neurostimulator.

The ReBuilder® is a revolutionary advancement in the treatment of the pain of irritated nerve endings caused by neuropathy.

The ReBuilder® works by first measuring your nerve function and then adjusting to your specific needs. In the office, your clinician may apply this treatment in one of several ways with the professional units. But, if like most patients who undergo a successful clinical trial of care in the office, the next stage will be a home-care system. At home, all you have to do is sit in your recliner or even lie in bed with conductive socks and/or gloves while the signals from the ReBuilder® travel throughout your body – from your foot, up your leg, across your lower back and then down the other side.

All the while, the impulses are stimulating your nerves, relaxing and contracting atrophied muscles, and even inducing the brain to release endorphins to help relieve your pain.

All this from a small hand-held device that, once you’ve initiated treatment with a trained professional, can be used in the privacy of your own home, independently, on your schedule.

Stay tuned for more on this remarkable new treatment.

NeuropathyDr Clinics Advise Exercise With Caution – Part 3

If you have any of these conditions:

· Diabetic neuropathy

· Peripheral neuropathy

· Diabetes

· Post-chemotherapy neuropathy

· Autonomic neuropathy

You’ll want to keep this information handy when you’re starting an exercise program and adhere to these guidelines to make sure you don’t do more harm than good for your health:

Study This Checklist

Keep this “quick and dirty” checklist of things to think about when you’re ready to start exercising with you and refer to it often to make sure you’ve done what you need to do to have a successful exercise program:

- Talk to your doctor and get a medical clearance from him before you start any kind of exercise program - regardless of how “light” you think the exercise is.

- If you’re a diabetic, always test your blood glucose level before, during and after you exercise.

- General guidelines for exercising with caution:

· Always warm up and cool down

· Stretch and warm up your muscles before you start

· Know your target heart rate and stick to it – don’t exceed what you know it is safe for you to do

· Drink lots of water (regardless of the outside temperature)

· Get a good pair of exercise shoes and make sure they are properly fitted

· Keep a snack with you, protein and low glycemic carbs like maltodextrin

· Wear some kind of medical identification tag that tells people what your medical conditions are

Talk to your local NeuropathyDR™ doctor or physical therapist to find out how ready you really are for exercise and enlist their specialized knowledge in designing a safe exercise program before you start. You’ll get so much more out of it and you won’t hurt yourself and start the new year with a painful sports injury that could have been avoided with a little proper planning.

NeuropathyDR Clinics Advise Exercise With Caution – Part 2

In our last few posts we’ve talked at length about the virtues of regular exercise for helping with the symptoms of

· Diabetic neuropathy

· Peripheral neuropathy

· Diabetes

· Post-chemotherapy neuropathy

· Autonomic neuropathy

But what we haven’t addressed is that, depending upon what part of your you’re your neuropathy affects, you may need to modify your exercise routine to keep from developing some more serious problems.

Here’s something else to consider when designing your exercise routine:

Think About Your Heart and Circulatory System

If your neuropathy affects your heart or any part of your circulatory system, your exercise options could be limited. Discuss your options with your doctor before you start exercising. There are many options for exercise that will have a dramatic positive effect on your health but not push your heart beyond its limits.

Watch Out For Temperature Extremes

Neuropathy, specifically autonomic neuropathy, can have an adverse effect on how well your body regulates its temperature. If you don’t sweat like a normal person (you either sweat too much or not enough) your body is not regulating its temperature as it should. Also, avoid exercise in extreme temperatures (i.e., don’t do “hot” yoga or go for a walk when it’s freezing outside). Your neuropathy is going to limit how well your body can actually adjust to those temperature extremes.

And drink lots of water. A well-hydrated body is better equipped to control its temperature.

Next time, we’ll talk about a checklist of things you need to keep at the front of your mind as you design your exercise program for the new year.

NeuropathyDR™ Clinics Advise Exercising With Caution – Part 1

In our last few posts we’ve talked at length about the virtues of regular exercise for helping with the symptoms of

· Diabetic neuropathy

· Peripheral neuropathy

· Diabetes

· Post-chemotherapy neuropathy

· Autonomic neuropathy

Here are a few things to consider when designing your exercise routine:

First, ALWAYS talk to your doctor before you begin any exercise program. Ask him or her to do a complete examination of your feet and lets to make sure that you don’t have serious problems lurking that exercise may aggravate. If you do, get those under control before you start.

Precautions for Your Feet When Exercising

Make sure that your shoes are fitted properly to protect you from injury.

If your feet have nerve damage, don’t do any type of exercise that requires repetitive weight bearing – like jogging or step aerobics. That type of activity can cause ulcers or even fractures if you suffer from neuropathy in your feet and/or legs.

Always wear polyester or poly/cotton blend socks to keep your feet dry when you exercise. Invest in some good socks that will wick the moisture away from the skin. And even better- the new microfibers.

Handling the Holiday Stress-a-Thon – Part 6

For our final installment on doing what you can to reduce the harmful effects of holiday stress on your body, here is an easy stress management tool. When you come in from shopping, put away your packages, lie down for a few minutes and stretch the kinks out.

Stretching

You can stretch while lying in bed. This is a good stretching program that will give you a good total body stretch without ever getting on your feet. Do each of these small stretches 6 or 8 times:

• Start with your fingers and toes and gently stretch and contract them

• Next, move to your wrists and ankles and make circles with the joints

• Bend your elbows, bring your hands in to your shoulders

• Bend your knees, one at a time, toward your chest

• Bring your arms up to your ears and down, gently stretching your shoulder muscles

• Raise each leg, keep it straight, and raise it as far as you can.

None of these stretches requires a broad range of motion but will increase the circulation in your arms and legs and work your joints.

Remember, you don’t have to over exert yourself to stretch your muscles and improve your circulation. When you deal with debilitating pain, just doing those two things can lead to great improvement in your overall health condition.

Handling the Holiday Stress-a-Thon – Part 5

In our last post, we talked about the importance of learning to relax. Here are a couple of things you can do to help you relax your body and improve your mindset. Neither of them takes much time. You can easily fit them into your schedule and you’ll quickly reap the rewards from relaxation:

Yoga

Yoga will keep you limber and stretches the muscles in slow, easy, fluid movements. You can do it as slowly as you like. You don’t have to qualify as a Cirque Du Soleil acrobat to get the benefits of a good yoga practice. Just do the postures to the best of your ability. If it has been awhile since you’ve exercised, don’t expect to be limber overnight. Give yourself time.

Tai Chi

Tai Chi is a very slow moving martial art. Each and every movement is done slowly and through a complete cycle, works every muscle group in the body. Even though it is not a strenuous exercise program, the health benefits for your bones and muscles are undeniable.

Handling the Holiday Stress-a-Thon – Part 4

Of all the tips we’ve shared so far to help you make it through the holidays without a total meltdown, this may be the most important…

1. Relax…

One of the most useful things you will ever learn (diabetic or not) is to relax. For many, the ability to relax is not natural but it can be learned. Some ways to help yourself relax are:

o Breathing Exercises

Sit down or lie down without your arms or legs crossed. Inhale deeply. Push as much of the air as possible out of your lungs. Repeat the process but this time, relax your muscles while you exhale. Start with this exercise for 5 minutes at a time and increase your time until you’re practicing breathing at least 20 minutes at a time, once a day.

o Progressive Relaxation Therapy

Tense your muscles then relax them. Lie still and repeat the process for 5 minutes at a time, at least once a day.

o Exercise

We can’t say enough about the benefits of exercise. As we’ve said before, you don’t have to run a marathon to get the stress reducing benefits of exercise. You can walk or stretch and get the stress reducing benefit of exercise.

o Watch Your Mindset

When it comes to reducing stress, a lot can be said for the power of positive thinking. It’s really easy to let your mind overwhelm you this time of year…

“I’ll never get it all done…”

“What if they don’t like what I give them?”

“Oh man, I have to spend time with my brother again this year…”

Just watch your mindset and you can eliminate much of the stress of the holiday season. Replace negative thoughts with positive ones. Say a prayer or recite a poem or a quote that makes you feel good. Think of something that makes you happy. It may sound trite, but go to your happy place.

Next time, we’ll talk more about specific steps to take and exercises that will help you make it to the new year.

Handling the Holiday Stress-a-Thon – Part 3

This time of year, pay particular attention to how you handle stress. Think about:

How Do You Cope?

Everyone has a coping style. Some people are the take charge type and takes steps immediately to solve their problems. Other people just accept the problem, recognize that they can’t fix it, acknowledge that it’s probably not as bad as it could be, and go their merry way. Still others are hand wringers and feel perpetually out of control.

*The take-chargers and accepters have less problems with stress both at the holidays and on a daily basis and, as a result, their blood glucose levels don’t become elevated.

Have a great weekend, and start working on Your Habits Of Health, Today!

John