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My 87 year old mom has e-tremors, balance issues, neuropathy and diabetes II. She is currently recovering from suspected mini stroke. Is neuropathy typically treated with meds and pt? Has anyone had experience with ultrasound therapy? Thx!

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I had brachial plexus neuropathy (cause unknown) which immobilized my arm from shoulder to wrist, and was so incredibly painful. The meds would knock me out, but not touch the pain. The other med - can't recall the name - didn't help either. The only thing that helped : acupuncture. Pain reduced 80% first session. Almost gone by third session. While I relied upon it before for lower back pain, until this experience I had no idea it could be so impactful. The only downside was it took me three months before I thought to try it. Smile.
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My Mom had neuropathy in her ankles not caused by diabetes.? She said she always felt she had a pair of socks on. She did not have any pain. But she could just be standing there and go down like a sack of potatoes. Her Neurologist said neuropathy is damage to nerves. No cure.
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Diabetic neuropathy is usually treated with Gabapentin, pain killers (including antidepressants) and physical therapy. I'm not familiar with ultrasound therapy. However, it sound like a scam to me. Obviously, bringing down the diabetes to a stable level helps. Diabetic neuropathy is difficult to treat.
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AlvaDeer Jun 2022
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7078690/
Being done, apparently, since 2018. I am uncertain of any "proven" results. As you say, this is difficult to treat.
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Ultrasound therapy "burns" the pain-causing nerves (like ablation). This means it only treats the pain and does NOT regenerate feeling. It has only been in use since 2018.

https://www.fusfoundation.org/diseases-and-conditions/neurological/neuropathic-pain

I recently spent a weekend with a senior tennis friend (68) who has diabetes and neuropathy in her feet. She is so desperate for a "fix" that she purchased a "light therapy" device online for $5,000! Supposed to do it 2x a day for 30 minutes for 12-18 months, and confessed she didn't think it did anything to help. Just putting this out there so you don't get bamboozled into buying a fraudulent treatment.
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lealonnie1 Jun 2022
A very valid point about fraudulent treatments........there are a TON of them and to my knowledge, none of them work! Although my mother insisted I and her doctors were 'withholding' treatments' from her for the past 15 years, that was untrue. Snake oil salesmen are out there selling 'cures' for neuropathy that do not exist. Buyer beware
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My mother suffered from non diabetic neuropathy and subsequent balance issues for 15+ years of her life. Nothing helped her, no meds are available that work except for Cymbalta, that I know of, but she couldn't tolerate it unfortunately. PT didn't help her either. Neuropathy is nerve damage and there isn't anything that fixes such damage. Cymbalta did help her with symptoms like deadness and pain, but caused other symptoms too severe to override the good, so the meds had to be discontinued. Penetrex cream did help her foot and leg symptoms to some degree. I bought it on Amazon but it's quite pricey.

Good luck.
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A good question for the MD. I would follow the advice of a specialist. Is the diabetes type II a result of obesity? If so there needs to be weight loss in all likelihood, as any obesity will very much adversely affect all the things you mention.
What is happening in terms of rehab? Much strength and balance can be regained if she is willing to work hard.
Each medical case is as unique as the person's own thumbprint. Therefore no one can give you a hard and fast answer as to what may help in any particular case. The MD will have the best guess as they can look at all facets of care and the whole of the patient.
Best out to you and hope you will update us as to what is working in your own case.
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