Pain management

  My mother,70, has Periphral Neuropathy and has seen many doctors.  She continues to look for more effective ways of dealing with the pain.  She mostly complains of the pins and needles and unconfortable numbness.  Many of the drugs "dope" her up more than she is comfortable with.  Do you have other suggestions? Any alternative medicine avenues to explore?  Could accupunture be a possible direction to try?  I know accupunture has been used for certain types of surgeries effectively.
  Thank you very much for your time.  Teri
========================================================================
Thanks for your question.  Can you give some additional information regarding
which medications your mother's physicians have tried?  A general class of
medications often used in PN are anti-epileptic medications, such as
carbamazepine (Tegretol), gabapentin (Neurontin), valproate (Depakone).
Some of the above medications do have a mild sedating side-effect, particularly
in older patients, but they are usually well tolerated after the initial
3-4 weeks of adjustment.  I am not aware of alternative medicine drugs or
of acupuncture as treatment for PN.
I hope this information is helpful.  Best of luck.
This information is provided for general medical education purposes only.
Please consult your doctor regarding diagnostic and treatment options.