Chinese Medicine
Peripheral neuropathy
Numbness, tingling, burning, or pins and needles in the feet or hands. Dr. Pan looks for the cause first, then makes a plan.
Please bring any nerve test (EMG) or blood test results, and a list of the medicines, supplements and herbs you take now. If you have diabetes, bring your latest A1c.
First, find the cause
Nerve damage in the feet and hands has many causes. Many of them can be treated, and treating the cause helps keep it from getting worse.
Dr. Pan checks for the common causes, usually with blood tests:
- Diabetes, the most common cause
- Low vitamin B12, which some medicines (such as metformin) can cause
- Thyroid problems
- Alcohol
- Some medicines, including some cancer drugs
How it is treated
- Treating the cause: blood sugar, vitamin B12, or a medicine that may be to blame.
- Acupuncture: very thin needles, to ease numbness and pain and help the nerves recover. It is a long-established treatment for numbness and nerve pain in Chinese medicine.
- Chinese herbs, prescribed for your pattern, to strengthen qi and blood and improve circulation to the hands and feet. They are checked against the medicines you already take.
- Medicine for nerve pain, if the pain is strong.
How many visits
Usually once a week at first. Six to eight visits make a course; then you and Dr. Pan look at how much better you are: less numbness and pain, better sleep, easier walking.
Common questions
Can neuropathy get better?
Yes. Finding and treating the cause early is the key, and acupuncture and herbs ease the numbness and pain and help the nerves recover.
Should I keep taking my medicines?
Do not stop or change any medicine on your own. Bring them all, and Dr. Pan will go over them with you.
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Seen in King of Prussia
Patients travel from King of Prussia, Wayne, Bryn Mawr, Villanova, Radnor, Conshohocken, Malvern, Phoenixville, Devon and Berwyn.