Getting Help for Yourself Right Now

By: Mary Ann Dona van & Norman Latov, M.D.,Ph.D

People who notice signs and symptoms that we have talked about here should not wait to see what develops. Much as you may wish it, chances are that if your neuropathy is chronic, it is not going to go away by itself. Instead, the longer you wait, the worse it is apt to get and the harder it will be to treat successfully.

  Some neuropathies develop quickly, but most develop slowly over the years. So get busy now

- even if you don’t feel too badly. Nerve damage can be mild initially, but then if untreated, can spread and become much more serious, even irreversible. Find a good doctor. And don’t be a passive patient. You don’t have to accept a diagnosis that says nothing can be done about it. Instead, get other opinions. Read. Inform yourself. Find a support group and talk to others. Help raise money for research to find a cure. Over two million people in this country have neuropathy in one form or another. Yet it has been called the silent disease because too few people, both patients and doctors, are aware of it.

We have support group meetings, a network of affiliated neuropathy clinics, medical and scientific advisory boards and a newsletter to keep you informed of the latest developments. We want to get the word out, so a cure can be found.

Please help us and thus help yourself.

If you’re not a member of

THE NEUROPATHY ASSOCIATION,

call 1 -800-247-6968 and join. Together, we can beat this disease.

Above excerpts used with permission from

The Neuropathy Association, Inc.

60 East 42 Street, Suite 942 New York,

NY 10165

Tel: 212-692-0662  1-800-247-6968

Fax: 212-692-0668

 www.neuropathy.com