I like to remember back to my days of in college perusing my History Undergraduate Degree (mostly so I can say I am using that degree) where we talked in the modern warfare class that in order to win the war, you may at times need to lose a battle. Well, with Peripheral Neuropathy this idea is no different. No matter how well you are "controlling" the effects of your neuropathy, there are going to be those times, when a flare-up hits and you can do noting else but give in and go to bed!
Webster's defines a flare-up as a sudden appearance or worsening of the symptoms of a disease or condition. My description would be best described by Clark W. Griswold, Jr. in the epic National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989) where he is talking about his boss and rants: " Hey! If any of you are looking for any last-minute gift ideas for me, I have one. I'd like Frank Shirley, my boss, right here tonight. I want him brought from his happy holiday slumber over there on Melody Lane with all the other rich people and I want him brought right here, with a big ribbon on his head, and I want to look him straight in the eye and I want to tell him what a cheap, lying, no-good, rotten, four-flushing, low-life, snake-licking, dirt-eating, inbred, overstuffed, ignorant, blood-sucking, dog-kissing, brainless, dickless, hopeless, heartless, fat-ass, bug-eyed, stiff-legged, spotty-lipped, worm-headed sack of monkey shit he is! Hallelujah! Holy shit! Where's the Tylenol? " Perhaps the greatest tirade in modern movie history and how I feel about flare-ups!
As Cousin Eddie says "That's the gift that keeps on giving the whole year." While Eddie is referring to the Jelly of the Month Club, the same could be the same for Neuropathy. However, unlike Clark, when a flare-up hits we will be looking for way more than Tylenol!!
Why am I writing about this? Well besides the fact that I am excited for Christmas and ready to watch Christmas Vacation (a yearly ritual in our family), I experienced a flare-up this past several days of which I am just now starting to recover from fully. I think flare-ups hit us all that suffer with neuropathy differently. Whether it is the weather, stress, lack of sleep, travel, a combination of the those or a totally different (identifiable or not) reason, you do not know exactly when a flare-up will hit, but most defiantly will know when it does in fact hit! The severity can also differ depending on... well I have no idea, but let me know if any of you figure it out. Online Community
My flare-ups normally entail an increased numbness in the upper calves and stiffness in my overall legs with a increased issue with balance. This is combined with a shooting pain that feels like a railroad spike is being driven up from underneath my feet. It is truly a toe curling pain, oh except when you do curl your toes, you get reminded of the throbbing pain on the top side of your foot. Whether it is because I tense up other parts of my body during this experience or some other phenomena, I find that every part of my body is hurting before long. 24-72 hours of this pain can truly make you question... well luckily, you are in too much pain and also tired to question much! Then this period will follow with an incredible fatigue that makes you feel like you have just been on a around the world run.
So the message I want to convey to our new sufferers with this condition, is there are going to be times with Peripheral Neuropathy where you simply need to give yourself a pass and crawl into bed! This is when the stronger pain killers come out and people are forewarned that you will not be participating in normal life for a few days. When I was first trying to get my symptoms under control to a point where I could still "function," I found myself getting depressed and angry at myself when I suffered a flare-up. While this may be a normal response, it does absolutely nothing for my neuropathy. If you ask any sufferer, your state of mind can have an enormous effect on the symptoms of this condition! So again, get in bed, cover up and surrender the battle! It will actually help you overall to win the war!
My final words would be to prepare for these times as it can make a horrible time just a little bit better! Make some comfort food and freeze it, make sure you have plenty of drinks to keep you hydrated, and find and use anything that makes you more comfortable. While I have mentioned these elsewhere in articles, I will post my "must haves" during a flare-up...
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