When your doctor first mentions the words Peripheral Neuropathy, you may mistakenly believe that he or she is diagnosing you with a single disorder or disease.
This is not the case. Neuropathy, often called peripheral neuropathy, indicates a problem within the peripheral nervous system which is the network of nerves outside your brain and spinal cord.
Peripheral Neuropathy is not a single disorder but rather the result of many diseases that affect the nervous system.
When your doctor refers to Peripheral Neuropathy, he is simply naming the resulting pain and problems that some other medical condition has caused.
Peripheral Neuropathy is the pain you feel because of damage to the peripheral nervous system.
That’s one of the reasons why it is so difficult to diagnose and treat – because it is the consequence of another problem. Unless (and until) you diagnose and treat what is causing the Neuropathy, you are not going to be able to break free from its painful grip
Let me explain: The Peripheral Nervous System is a huge communication system that links the brain and spinal cord to every other part of the body. Your peripheral nerves tell your brain that your hands or feet are cold.
They also send messages to your muscles that tell them to move.
Nothing happens inside of your body without the peripheral nervous system knowing about it.
Every message that comes and goes from the brain and spinal cord does so through this vast communication network.
When something damages any of the thousands of nerves making up the network, signals can get blurred, rerouted, or even lost. This can create all kinds of chaos within the body.
While you may feel pain associated with Neuropathy, trust me when I say that a lot more is going on inside of your nervous system than you realize.
Depending on which nerves are damaged (and how badly), all sorts of things can go wrong.
Every nerve in the peripheral system has a unique job to do. Sensory nerves, for example, receive sensation from the skin.
When they are damaged, it can cause pain, numbness, and tingling as well as problems controlling body temperature.
Motor nerves control muscle movement, and when they are damaged, the patient may find it difficult to walk, hold onto things, or even move easily.
In addition, Neuropathy patients with damaged autonomic nerves may experience high blood pressure, increased heart rate, and even digestion and bladder problems.
While peripheral Neuropathy itself is not life-threatening, the effects of damaged nerves can be.
Imagine the detrimental effect of weakened nerves affecting the heart, lungs, or brain.
To make matters worse, Peripheral Neuropathy can affect dozens of different nerves, causing a mix of symptoms and potential complications.
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