Can you have neuropathy without having diabetes? Can you describe it?

Question

I have had a swollen ankle for quite some time. Now, I'm having excruiating pain in it, and the only thing that kills the pain is ice. My Dr's assistant said that it might be neuropathy, but I'm not diabetic.

I see an internist, not a MD, and he is going to send me for a test (not an MRI) and since he doesn't have good English, I didn't quite catch the name of it. I had an MRI a long time ago, but then it was just the inflammation, without the pain. I know it's not arthritis because I have that (from an injury, elsewhere). Even with the prescription painkillers (for something I'm about to have surgery on), ice works, and the med. doesn't do nothing for it. I'm thinking the Dr. said an EMG, and I'm sure that test will definitely determine any nerve damage. Thank you all for your answers so far.

Answer 1

Neuropathy is just a word that means a disease of the nerves. Diabetic neuropathy is a specific kind. Neuropathy can be caused by inflammation, as well as other things like herpes(like shingles), and other diseases. Ice is a good treatment if it works. If it stops working or you just can't manage any more, you might ask your doctor about a trial of Neurontin for it.

Answer 2

You don't need to be diabetic to have neuropathy. Yes, the problems are sometimes closely linked, but not always.
I'm not a doctor, but my mom had neuropathy for a long time before she passed away. Years later, she got diabetes too, but it was unlikely to have been connected. Her doctor said her diabetes was caused by her pancreas basically just wearing out from age.

They have proven that neuropathy is tied to smoking and that lots of people that have smoked for a long time have it (like my mother). Do you smoke? If so, maybe this is related.

If you don't smoke, and you don't have diabetes, the question might be - do you really have neuropathy. Neuropathy tends to be cause tingling and numbness in the extremeties - like toes and fingertips. I've never heard of it causing extreme pain. There's alot that goes on that doctors have no idea about. There are around 100 types of arthritis besides osteo. I have one, and it's very painful at times, but no doctor has been able to do anything but prescribe anti-inflammatories that bother my stomach.

This was the doctor's assistant, and qualified the statement with 'might be', so my guess is that he/she is wrong and it's something else to try and figure out. If I were you, I'd consider all the possibilities and maybe see another doctor or two, and perhaps a rheumatologist (arthritis doc).

I wish the best for you.
Kevin

Answer 3

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Answer 4

I just made it through the second bout with neuropathy. I think there is a strong connection with the condition plantar fasciitis in your feet and neuropathy. The arches of my feet became unbearable to walk on and I bought countless numbers of inserts and expensive tennis shoes to no avail. Eventually my feet and lower legs felt like they were sweating, burning and electrical shock feelings up and down my lower legs. I don't have diabetes, but when this started my blood sugar test came back on the high side of the chart, so I'm still wondering how much heavy sugar intake might play in triggering these events. I started to take vitamin B12 and Lipoic Acid. When this hit me 5 years ago I took Nerve Support Formula, but for some strange reason this time it didn't work and that leads me to believe the plantar fasciitis was the root of the problem. You can definitely have neuropathy without being diabetic, but thank God if you catch the symptoms early you can turn it around.

Answer 5

you can have neuropathy without being diabetic...the best way to explain having neuropathy was with a commercial i saw a long time ago, it showed bugs crawling all over the legs and that ticklish annoying feeling that comes along with it is how neuropathy is described in textbooks as having.

however, if you are having pain, keep in mind i am not a dr. but maybe you need to get a doppler done. see if you have neuropathy and how advanced it is. i'm just wondering if the swollen ankle could be a blood clot. i'm not trying to scare you and i am no doctor but a blood clot can free itself and go to the heart or the brain and cause instant death. please get that looked into. another sure sign of a blood clot other than pain is if it is hot to the touch. how long is quite sometime now. maybe you need to be on lasix or something similar.
DO NOT GO BY WHAT ANY OF US ON HERE SAY, CALL A DR. AND SAY YOU WANT TO BE CHECKED FOR THESE THINGS THAT WE MENTION. you are far too young to have just one swollen ankle and it being neuropathy, something is up somewhere. get it looked into ASAP. plus your legs, why would you have neuropathy on only one side. don't make sense to me...but that's why God made doctors. if it is neuropathy, a neurologist would be the one to go to, not just an MD or his assistant.

Answer 6

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Answer 7

The list of things that can cause neuropathy is as long as your arm. Diabetes is, of course, one of the most common causes. You can get neuropathy from alcoholism, Vitamin B12 deficiency, thyroid disorders, kidney disease, heavy metal poisoning, autoimmune diseases, protein disorders, rheumatoid arthritis..and the list keeps going. Neuropathy can cause numbness, tingling, and severe pain. The pain usually is a burning type of pain but it can be sharp and stabbing.

The fact that yours is focused around a swollen ankle make neuropathy unlikely, unless it's secondary to trauma and you have Refelx Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome which is now called Complex Regional Pain syndrome, both of which are nervous system disorers. There are many neurodiagnostic tests available. What you need to get right now is an MRI of your ankle. That will rule out any musculoskeletal problems associated with trauma as well as evaluating the ankle joint for any fluid. The fluid can be tapped for analysis as well if it is present. This can help rule out septic arthritis or even gout.

Get an MRI...and get some treatment.

Answer 8

Diabetic neuropathy would be from years perhaps decades of untreated diabetes, hardly the first symptoms to expect. It is possible to determine if you're diabetic with a glucose meter or even with urine test strips but it really doesn't make sense to do so. If you aren't diabetic then you should see a Doctor to find out why you have the symptoms that you do. If you are diabetic then you'll need to see a Doctor for treatment. Wikipedia describes the glucose tolerance test in detail, it's just two glucose tests, one after 8 hours of fasting, and one two hours after a meal ( 75 grams of glucose in the test ). If the fasting is 126 mg/dl ( 7.0 mmol/L ) or higher, it's diabetic. If the after meal result is 200 mg/dl ( 11.1 mmol/L ) or higher that's diabetic too.

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Answer 9

Get another opinion. Neuropathy usually is a skin pain. Burning or stabbing. Make sure it's not osteomylytis.

In general, neuropathy by itself seems unlikely.

I have it and am not diabetic, but it's from undergoing chemotherapy for cancer.

Answer 10

I have spinal spondilosis and lumbar stenosis. When the one doctor FINALLY referred me to a specialist, he told me if I waited until my birthday so Medicare would help with the bills to have surgery, I would most likely lose control of my bladder and bowels and possibly use of my legs. My nerves were pinched almost completely shut. So I had the surgery. I expected immediate relief from the pain, but that didn't happen. Then about six months later my one big toe was just throbbing. I had my daughter drive me to the hospital in the next town, and found myself on an ambulance to a larger city with a surgeon waiting for me because I had no pulse in one foot and only a very weak one in the other. I had a femeral artery bypass. I still had pain and was referred to another neurosurgeon for evaluation. At first he said it was absurd that another doctor told me if I didn't have surgery that I could lose the use of things. After extensive tests he put me through, and after closely looking at all my previous MRI's before and after surgeries, he changed his mind and stated that they were necessary but were performed a bit too late, so now I have neuropathy. He said there's really not a lot that can be done about it. My nerves were damaged because I had the surgery done too late for them to "go back", like pinching a paper straw for too long. Every time I'm referred to a different doctor, they always suspect that I have diabetes, so they have me tested, and I don't have it! My back is somewhat improved, buy my left thigh just throbs, and sometimes the entire leg. Other times the right leg gets in on it too, particularly when it feels like someone is shoving a hot poker down through the center of my leg! Oh, and I quit smoking a year and a half ago. I can't stand for long nor walk far and I limp. I'm also getting severe muscle spasms from Lipitor I'm taking for high cholesterol and triglycerides. AGHHHHHH!!!!! Even my fingers cramp up!