skin biopsy

[michelenebelung]

After many years of suuffering and thinking and everyone else think im insane I finally have some answers. I had a skin biopsy and they found out I have small fiber neuropathy. Which is the reason for the restless leg syndome. Now im in the process of figuring out why I have small fiber neuropathy. But since my new doctor says im addicted to pain pills and I live in indiana (new laws) he has stopped my pain pills ans put me on neurpro and tramdol. I really hope this works cause I cant stand the pain or the wwithrawl.

[Polar Bear]

I came across this article with regard to WED/RLS and peripheral neuropathy.
http://jnnp.bmj.com/content/72/4/555.1.full

I hope your new medications will indeed work. Sometimes we have to remember that we don't want to take pain relief medication but if it works, it works. And for the majority of people, including WED sufferers, the word dependent is perhaps a better word rather than addicted.
The book.. Clinical Management of Restless Legs Syndrome (second edition) by Hochang B Lee MD, Mark J. Buchfuhrer MD, Richard Allen PhD, W ayne A Hening MD is a wonderful source of information on all aspects of WED/RLS. I use it constantly for reference and take it with me to my doctor appointments. It is around £20 sterling on Amazon and well worth every penny.

[badnights]

I have read a paper which states that neuromas (masses pushing against the foot nerves that innervate the toes) can cause the restlessness of WED/RLS and periodic limb movements in sleep. We hear a lot about neuropathies being common in WED/RLS, but not about which causes which.

Are your WED/RLS symptoms being controlled by the tramadol and Neupro combination? Tramadol is more or less an opioid, interesting that he kept you on that.

I agree with pb, you are not addicted unless you were using more and more, for some purpose other than pain relief. Otherwise, dependence is the proper word to use.

[ViewsAskew]

I thought I replied to this last week - but I was away, so maybe I just read it.

Doctors throw around that addicted word without realizing its implications....and that it's NOT addiction when you are physically dependent on it. Yes, if you stopped it, you'd likely have issues. But, you don't, as far as I know, go around trying to get more and more of it, increase your dose, do anything to get more, and the other things associated with addiction.

Like badnights, I don't think they yet understand the relationship between neuropathy and WED - or if there is one. The two may simply coexist, or one may spur the other.

If you do a search on small fiber neuropathy and SFN, you'll find posts going back several years. One of our past members had both, but it took them a long time to figure it out, too. And, someone recently had both. Reading their posts may provide some insight regarding what they did.

I imagine it's nice to know this, though you still don't really know what to do, do you?