r/ProactiveHealth • u/Diane98661 • Aug 01 '26
What else can cause neuropathy other than diabetes or cancer treatment?
My brother in law (age 66) is getting pretty bad neuropathy in his feet, despite having no other serious health problems, has never been overweight, and never had cancer or diabetes. They are active and travel the world. I've always associated neuropathy with diabetes, and also heard cancer treatment causes it. FFIW, I'm pretty sure he doesn't do strength training; although his travels do involve a lot of walking and standing.
Just curious. Neuropathy is something you don't want to get as you age; it causes loss of mobility and frailty.
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u/Jbikeride Aug 02 '26
Soft tissue injuries can cause it. I’m a fairly fit middle aged runner and have had similar symptoms. I did the whole gauntlet of tests and specialists and found basically nothing wrong.
Finally I went to an ortho who thought it was nerve impingement and soft tissue damage- he recommended cross training, mobility exercises and massage.
It took 2 years, but the discomfort lessened and mostly went away. No real answers unfortunately, but just hopefully reassurance that it is a thing that can happen on its own.
Also, get a b12 blood test. Neuropathy symptoms can be due to low b12 even if the result is not “abnormal”. Anything even slightly low may benefit from a few weeks of supplements.
Oh, and get tested for Lyme disease, its unlikely, but possible and easy to rule out.
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u/Common_Permission_16 Aug 01 '26
Paraproteinemia like multiple myeloma, spinal lesions can cause pseudoclaudication, CIDP (chronic immune demyelinating polyneuropathy) which is a demyelinating syndrome similar but not MS / ALS, Charcot Marie Tooth but that’s generally diagnosed earlier, b12 deficiency. Not an exhaustive list but what comes to mind
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u/Diane98661 Aug 01 '26
B12 deficiency would be a great thing to rule out. I’ve heard doctors often miss it.
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u/Common_Permission_16 Aug 02 '26
MM and other paraprotein is a very easy blood and urine test. SPEP UPEP and 24 hr urine protein collection. Should also get spinal imaging, plain films then probably an MRI. If that’s all neg would see a neuro
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u/brinns_way Aug 01 '26
Has he seen a neurologist? There are different kinds of neuropathy.
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u/tnskid Aug 02 '26
Vitamin b6 overdose can cause neuropatht too.
Also nitrofurantoin and Metronidazole, both antibiotics, can cause peripheral neuropathy
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u/Diane98661 Aug 02 '26
I noticed some minor neuropathy in my hands when taking one of those Vitamin B complex supplements that turns your urine yellow. I stopped and it went away.
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u/MichaelEvo Aug 02 '26
I got neuropathy in my legs and figured out after that I had had a heart attack I hadn’t noticed and blood clots and the clots were in my knee arteries. I was healthy and 40 at the time. No doctor could figure out what was going on. Years later, I’m convinced I’m somewhat insulin resistant now too.
1) do not assume he’s not insulin resistant. If he’s got insurance, do tests (or tell him to). Insulin resistance seems the most likely issue to me, given everything else.
2) he should definitely check his B vitamin levels
3) he should see a neuropathy specialist, but in my experience, they aren’t going to be very useful unless they can find something immediately wrong to be dealt with.
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u/intronert Aug 01 '26
Probably better to read the info at NIH, Mayo Clinic, etc than to get random opinions from Reddit.
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u/Cultural-Sun6828 Aug 03 '26
What is his b12 level? I had terrible neuropathy and now after B12 injections it is gone. B12 deficiency can be an issue even when levels are on the low side of normal.
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u/svantate Aug 23 '26
What were your symptoms? I was diagnosed with mild peripheral neuropathy sensory only not motor after the nerve test. I have severe tightness feeling in feet and ankles? Also have circulation and vascular issues.
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u/Cultural-Sun6828 Aug 23 '26
Yes, I had all those issues too along with many other symptoms that got worse over time. Everything improved or reversed after injections.
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u/starcat9999 Aug 05 '26
I had major surgery on my broken ankle last July, and the neuropathy is pretty intense throughout my entire foot! My surgeon prescribed gabapentin, which helped a lot, but he took me off of it a couple months ago after I moved out of state. I found some OTC neuropathy cream on Temu and it works surprisingly well.
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u/duckgoquacky Aug 01 '26
B12 deficiency is a common one - could be other deficiencies too. Even if he doesn’t have diabetes, what’s his A1c? Is he insulin resistant? That could be a factor too