Neuropathy

Nerve damage and disease can cause neuropathy — pain, weakness, numbness, and other distressing sensations. If you have neuropathy symptoms, visit Asher C. Goldstein, MD, and his team of pain specialists at Zephyr Medical in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. They offer extraordinary, highly personalized services to patients suffering from neuropathy and other pain conditions. Their extensive treatments range from injections and medications to peripheral nerve stimulation and ketamine treatment. Call Zephyr Medical today or book a consultation online to benefit from the team’s exceptional care.

What is neuropathy?

Neuropathy is pain and dysfunction affecting the peripheral nerves. These nerves connect the rest of your body to the spinal cord, the central nerve hub that communicates with your brain. The peripheral nerves send sensory information to your brain so that you know when something’s hot, cold, rough, smooth, pleasant, or painful.

Your brain reacts to the information: If your nerves send pain signals because you’re too close to something hot, you move away from it. This vital function protects you from harm and alerts you to tissue damage.

If you have neuropathy, this system doesn’t work. You might feel pain when there’s no tissue damage. A slight touch might be painful (allodynia), or something that would typically cause mild pain feels excruciating (hyperalgesia).

You might develop other unpleasant sensations, including:

• Tingling
• Prickling
• Burning
• Pins-and-needles
• Dull aching
• Numbness

Weakness and loss of function can also be a problem for some people.

What causes neuropathy?

Neuropathy has many causes. Health conditions that trigger neuropathy include:

• Diabetes (diabetic peripheral neuropathy)
• Shingles (postherpetic neuralgia)
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Celiac disease (gluten allergy)
• Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease
• Guillain-Barré syndrome
• Hormonal disorders
• Kidney failure
• Autoimmune disorders like lupus
• Strokes
• Alcohol abuse disorder (alcoholism)
• Nutrient deficiencies
• HIV (HIV-associated peripheral sensory neuropathy)

Problems within the nerve can cause neuropathic conditions like occipital neuralgia in your head. Or the nerve might be damaged or come under pressure, causing conditions like sciatica in your lower back or carpal tunnel syndrome in your wrist.

Cancer patients can suffer from chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy during their treatment. You can also develop neuropathy after having certain infectious diseases or contact with some poisons.

How is neuropathy treated?

The Zephyr Medical team designs a personalized treatment plan for you after determining your precise needs. Your plan is likely to include healthy living changes like:

• Quitting smoking
• Reducing alcohol consumption
• Exercising regularly
• Developing good sleep habits
• Eating a varied, nutritious diet
• Managing your stress

Medication can reduce some neuropathic pain. Low-dose tricyclic antidepressants and antiseizure medicines are often effective in regulating nerve responses. Depending on your kind of neuropathy and how severe it is, you might benefit from treatments like medical marijuana, laser therapy, ketamine treatment, and peripheral nerve stimulation.

Neuropathic pain is often incurable. To help you learn to live with pain without it ruling your life, the compassionate Zephyr Medical team recommends talk therapy.

Call Zephyr Medical today or book an appointment online to find the cause and solution to your neuropathy symptoms.