TENS unit

[Monkey1mill]

I have PAD as well as pain in legs from fibromyalgia.  Would a TENS unit be safe and probably helpful for my leg pain (especially calves)?

[Monkey1mill]

thanks for responding. I did take neurontin with no help. The lyrica helps dull the pain but causes severe swelling of the feet, legs & hands so I had to quit taking it.  I have been offered pain meds but will do so only as a last resort because they make me sleep 4 to 6 hours each dose. Good luck. Let me know if acupuncture helps. If so I might try that.

[ggreg]

I would like to add that, while I cannot comment on the TENS machine, altho I have heard it helps some people, I have a lot of pain in body and legs from breaking my back in three places, and I also have Restless Legs Syndrome or RLS from the lower spinal injury, too.  The RLS causes a spasm-like deep aching pain in the calves.  Also, the lower spinal injury itself, it causes a very sharp pain.  And the rest of my spine injuries cause my torso to hurt, much like fibromyalgia, nothing can be done for it to give me total relief.  I will tell you what medication I take for the low back and RLS, in case you haven't thought of them.  

I take opiate drugs for my RLS.  There are several treatments for it, but the vast majority get the best relief from pain killers, makes the calves stop hurting and stops the RLS.  I take Lyrica for my lower back injury.  That drug is a miracle drug.  No medication helps my upper back and torso pain except physical therapy, altho the opiates dim it somewhat.

Thus, I would like to try acupuncture sometime, to maybe do something about the upper back and body pain, they say after a number of tightly spaced treatments, that you only need to have treatments about twice a year.  Those would be my comments.

[Monkey1mill]

PAD is peripherial arterial diease of my legs as I was told by my doctor after a certain kind of test.  The TENS unit I am refering to is a device that emits electrical pulses to the muscles. It can be set to emit electrical impulses at several different levels.  When I was tested for pinched ulnar nerve in arm (which I had) she said it would hurt but I found that for several hours after the test my arm felt much better than it had since I had fibromyalgia.  That test also produced electrical impulses to check the nerve. That is what made me wonder about the TENS unit. It is used by chicropractors and orthopedists

[dr_simran]

Hello Monkey1mill,
Kindly clarify what do you mean by TENS unit and the PAD you are referring to. This would help to solve your problem.

Best