Reasons why peripheral neuropathy is worse at night While standing upright, your body weight gets distributed evenly, but when you lie down, a significant proportion of your weight puts pressure on a particular region, leading to increased nerve pressure and causing pain.
Try relaxation techniques:
Relax your muscles by first tensing them while breathing in, then breathing out and releasing the tension. Use the power of your mind: imagine lying down, gently falling asleep, staying asleep during the night, and feeling rested in the morning. Try 10 minutes of meditation before bed.
Soak your feet in a warm bath to relax your nerves at night. Be sure to check the water temperature to avoid burning your feet. Exercise regularly. It increases blood flow and oxygen to your feet, reducing pain.
There are several reasons why nerve pain can be worse at night. The first reason is that when you lie down, the blood flow to your extremities decreases, which can aggravate the nerves and cause pain. Additionally, lying down for an extended period can cause nerve compression and irritation.
There are a few reasons why peripheral neuropathy feels worse at night. Numbness is a common symptom of peripheral neuropathy. When you are sleeping, the position of your body can affect how much numbness you experience. If you sleep on your side, you may find that the numbness in your arm or leg worsens.
Smoking constricts the blood vessels that supply nutrients to the peripheral nerves and can worsen neuropathic symptoms. Exercise can deliver more blood, oxygen, and nutrients to far-off nerve endings, improve muscle strength, and limit muscle atrophy.
Some recommended sleeping positions include sleeping in a recliner, sleeping on the back with a pillow underneath the legs, and sleeping on one side of the body with a pillow between the thighs.
If the pain is mild, you can still go for a walk, but maybe just not as far as you could before. So if your symptoms are not that painful, that's even more of a reason to consider walking. If your pain is manageable while you walk, it's a good idea to gradually increase the frequency and duration each time you walk.
What can slow neuropathy's progression—at least for many patients—is correction of the underlying cause. If the patient's neuropathy is caused primarily by diabetes or prediabetes, strict control of blood glucose levels through diet, exercise and medication can do the trick.
ABBOTT PARK, Ill., Jan. 26, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Abbott (NYSE: ABT) announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its Proclaim™ XR spinal cord stimulation (SCS) system to treat painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN), a debilitating complication of diabetes.
Wear soft and comfortable socks. The right kinds of socks have shown to help eliminate burning sensations and control the overall foot discomfort that those with peripheral neuropathy experience. Some people even wear these types of socks to bed to keep their feet warm and to prevent irritating contact with bed sheets.
Mean survival time for those with PN was 10.8 years, compared with 13.9 years for subjects without PN. PN was also indirectly associated through impaired balance.
Vicks Vapor Rub® – Massaging one's feet with Vicks, particularly at night, soothes neuropathic pain and distress in one's feet and legs. It is also excellent for softening your toe nails and diminishing common toe nail problems. Warm/Cool Baths and Showers - Excellent de-stressors and can help with reducing pain.
Essential oil massage: Essential oils may be used to quell the pain of neuropathy in your feet. Common oils include chamomile, peppermint, Saint-John's-wort, and ginger. Research regarding essential oils for nerve pain shows varying results, but it's worth trying if you aren't sensitive to essential oils.
Common methods of treating neuropathic pain include: Over-the-counter medication, such as NSAIDs. Antidepressants, such as serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) Anticonvulsants.
Mean survival time for those with PN was 10.8 years, compared with 13.9 years for subjects without PN.
The symptoms of peripheral neuropathy may lessen or go away over time, but in some cases they never go away. These are some ways to learn to live with it: Use pain medicines as your doctor prescribes them. Most pain medicines work best if they are taken before the pain gets bad.
This can lead to gangrene (tissue death) if untreated, and in severe cases may mean the affected foot has to be amputated. Peripheral neuropathy may affect the nerves controlling the automatic functions of the heart and circulation system (cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy).
Massage for hand and foot neuropathy
“The best way to get the blood moving is massage,” she says. “The whole point is to try to increase circulation in the areas that might experience neuropathy.” She notes that other activities — such as knitting and exercise — can stimulate blood flow in the body.
Here's an example: It's not uncommon for people with peripheral neuropathy to have short-circuiting, backfiring neurons and axons that are ill and causing pain. Over time, those fibers may undergo degeneration and die, which means the neuropathy is worse because of the loss of more nerve fibers.
The most effective treatment was nortriptyline. Of the study subjects taking this medication, 25% reported their discomfort improved by at least 50%. The least effective treatment was pregabalin: only 15% of study subjects reported that much improvement. Side effects were common with all of the treatments.
Drink lots of water
Water should be a staple in any diet, and even more so for those looking to reduce nerve pain. It's critical to stay hydrated throughout the day to reduce inflammation and avoid triggering pain receptors. Aim to drink eight 8-oz. of water each day.
Medicines available without a prescription, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, can improve mild symptoms. Anti-seizure medicines. Medicines such as gabapentin (Gralise, Neurontin, Horizant) and pregabalin (Lyrica), developed to treat epilepsy, often improve nerve pain.
Processed meats are high in sodium, which can lead to nerve damage and worsen the symptoms of peripheral neuropathy. These include meats such as hot dogs, sausages, and bacon. It is best to avoid these foods and opt for healthier options such as lean meats and fish.