CAREGIVER • SUNDAY, MAY 9, 2021 • 3
Several online sites can help seniors sharpen tech skills
Peripheral Neuropathy WARNING!
Butler, PA – The most common
method your doctor
will recommend to treat
your neuropathy is prescription
drugs that may
temporarily reduce your
symptoms. These drugs
have names such as Gabapentin,
Lyrica, Cymbalta,
and Neurontin, and they’re
primarily antidepressant or
anti-seizure drugs. These
drugs may cause you to
feel uncomfortable and
have a variety of harmful
side effects.
Peripheralneuropathyisaresultofdamagetothenerves.
It
most often causes weakness,
pain, numbness,tingling, and
the most debilitating balance
problems. This damage is
commonly caused by a lack
of blood flow to the nerves
in the hands and feet which
causes the nerves to begin to
degenerate due to lack of nutrient
flow.
As you can see in Figure
2, as the blood vessels that
surround the nerves become
diseased they shrivel
up, which caused the
nerves to not get the nutrients
to continue to survive.
When these nerves
begin to “die”, they cause
balance problems, pain,
numbness, tingling, burning,
and many additional
symptoms.
The main problem is that
your doctor has told you to
just live with the problem
or try the drugs which you
don’t like taking because
they make you feel uncomfortable.
There is now a facility right
here in Butler that offers
you hope without your
taking those endless drugswith
serious side effects.
(See the special neuropathy
severity examination at the
end of this article.)
In order to effectively treat
your neuropathy three factors
must be determined:
1) What is the underlying
cause?
2) How much nerve damage
has been sustained?
NOTE: Once you have
sustained 85% nerve loss,
there is likely nothing that
we can do for you.
3) How much treatment
will your condition require?
The treatment that is provided
at Discover Wellness
Center has three main
goals:
1) Increase blood flow
2) Stimulate small fiber nerves
3) Decrease brain-based pain
The treatment to increase
blood flow utilizes a specialized
low-level light
therapy (not to be confused
with laser therapy) using
light emitting diode technology.
This
technology was originally
developed by NASA to
assist in increasing blood
flow.
The low-level light therapy
is like watering a plant. The
light therapy will allow
the blood vessels to grow
back around the peripheral
nerves and provide them
with the proper nutrients
to heal and repair. It’s like
adding water to a plant
and seeing the roots grow
deeper anddeeper.
The amount of treatment
needed to allow the nerves
to fully recover varies from
person to person and can
only be determined after a
detailed neurological and
vascular evaluation. As
long as you have not sustained
at least 85% nerve
damage there is hope!
Dr. Ram Parikh, D.C. at
Discover Wellness Center
will do a neuropathy severity
examination to determine
the extent of the
nerve damage for only $45.
(The normal cost of such an
exam is $257.) This neuropathy
severity examination
will consist of a detailed
sensory evaluation, extensive
peripheral vascular
testing, and a detailed analysis
of the findings of your
neuropathy.
Dr. Ram is offering this
neuropathy severity examination
now through
Wednesday, May 19, 2021.
Call 724-602-4121 to make
an appointment with Dr.
Ram to determine if your
peripheral neuropathy can
be treated.
Discover Wellness
Center is at
227 South Chestnut
Street in Butler
(across from
Koeppen’s Car
Alignment).
Call 724-602-4121
today.
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times throughout the year where you can
ask questions as well as share your struggles
and experiences.
And, if you ever have a technology question
that pops up during the week, you can
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tech help at 920-666-1959 anytime Monday
through Friday during working hours.
OasisEverywhere.org: This nonprofit
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in nine states) throughout the country.
CandooTech.com: This company provides
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Their specially trained tech concierges
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well as learn how set up and use email, video
chat, social media, online shopping and entertainment,
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They offer one-hour, one-on-one or small
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TechBoomers.com: This is a free educational
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Send your senior questions to Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443,Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is
a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The
Savvy Senior” book.
SAVVY SENIOR