Retirement is GREAT: Unless Your FEET Hurt!

Middle age. It’s that bridge between your younger years and your older years—when you have learned a few life lessons, your career is a little more established, perhaps you have a little more money to play with, and maybe a little more time because your kids are grown. 

If you have reached this stage of your life, you probably have a BIG bucket list of adventures you want to experience:

• Trips you want to take
• Grandchildren you want to play with
• A yard you want to fiddle around in
• A golf course you want to explore
• Things you want to do!

Walking across that bridge to your very own ‘Golden Years’ can be a lovely experience…

Unless your FEET DON’T WORK!

Then it SUCKS! It hurts. It’s disappointing. It’s sad. It’s frustrating. 

More than three million Americans suffer with the debilitating symptoms of Peripheral Neuropathy. The first stage of Peripheral Neuropathy is pain. You feel burning, tingling, sharp pains, or you feel like you're walking on tacks or marbles. This pain eventually subsides and the numbness sets in. Unfortunately, the numbness brings with it a whole other host of problems.

This was the case with Larry.

Retirement in Idaho

Larry and his wife, Donna, moved to Idaho to retire. They’d raised their family, worked in the corporate world, and were now in a stage of their life where they could ‘walk across that bridge into the Golden Years’ and enjoy retirement in the beautiful state of Idaho.

Imagine their excitement…

They bought a piece of land near the river so Larry could go fishing more often. They bought bicycles to ride on the Greenbelt, a membership at the local golf course, a camping trailer, and a pick-up truck. They had plans to travel, volunteer in the community, and play with their grandkids.

Peripheral Neuropathy Diagnosis

Unfortunately, Larry was diagnosed with Peripheral Neuropathy three years ago. It stopped them in their tracks…

The pain, tingling, prickling, burning, and weakness he experienced in his feet, both day and night, were taking a toll on their plans. Once the numbness became an issue, he didn’t feel comfortable driving.

IF he felt like going out, his wife had to do the driving. Even simple pleasures like going out to dinner, fishing along the river, or going grocery shopping together were no longer enjoyable. The camping trailer sat unused for two seasons. Both Larry and Donna were disappointed and frustrated.

They sought help. He saw specialists. He had MRI’s and did nerve conduction studies. He did everything his doctor recommended. He followed instructions. He took the meds: the Gabapentin and the Neurontin. He hoped they would help. But they didn’t. 

Over time his symptoms just got worse. The doctors kept giving him stronger and stronger doses of medication to ‘manage’ the pain, which only led to stronger side effects—dizziness, tiredness and high blood pressure. It was a crap shoot. What did he wind up with? Life with the pain, and a bunch of debilitating side effects.

Larry and his wife were both disappointed. Their well-planned move to Idaho to enjoy the ‘Golden Years’ wasn’t turning out as they had hoped.

Donna Has Lunch With a Friend: There are NO Coincidences

Here’s where the story turns the corner. Larry’s wife was having coffee with a new friend who had also moved to Idaho to retire. She shared her sadness and disappointment about her husband's painful feet and the trailer that had sat in storage for two years. 

That new friend just so happened to be a patient at Meridian Family Acupuncture! She had gotten amazing results with her chronic low back pain. She shared that Dr. Thompson specializes in chronic pain and neurological conditions and that MANY of her patients were getting special treatments for neuropathy. Donna’s friend said: “I think you really need to call Dr. Thompson and see if she can help. It’s worth a try!”

That’s Where We Come In…

About 50 percent of our current patients come to us suffering from the same condition as Larry. They are in constant pain with neuropathy and it prevents them from not only living their lives, but more importantly, it prevents them from enjoying it. 

Depending on the severity of their nerve damage, we typically see tremendous progress in three to four months of treatment. We like to say we're in the business of making your Golden Years Golden! 

Larry and his wife can now attest! 

“I can’t lie,” Larry confides. “I was skeptical at first. I’d done everything my doctors had told me and nothing was working. When my wife suggested we see Dr. Thompson, I was hesitant. Really, I think I was just depressed and desperate to try anything. I had no hope. Luckily, my wife insisted that we try.” 

Larry then goes on to say… “It turns out my wife was right. The folks at Meridian Family Acupuncture really did help me. I can drive again. My wife and I are back to riding our bikes. I started fishing again. AND, we are now enjoying our camping trailer.” 

While we specialize in acupuncture, and it's definitely part of our protocols in treating neuropathy, the real secret to our treatment is in a more modern medical solution called Frequency Specific Microcurrent. This technology was originally developed by NASA to expedite healing and recovery. It's like watering a plant. Frequency Specific Microcurrent stimulates the blood vessels to grow back around the peripheral nerve and provides them the proper nutrients to heal and repair.

Dr. Thompson specializes in chronic hard-to-treat neurological conditions. She is a world renowned teacher in the field of acupuncture and chronic pain. Her clinic is often used for teaching and mentoring other acupuncture doctors who come from around the world to learn her techniques. 

If your neuropathy (or chronic pain) is gradually getting worse and causing you to miss out on enjoying your retirement years, set up a consultation with Dr. Thompson. Don’t wait. She really is the BEST! 208-965-3777

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NOTE: Dr. Thompson specializes in chronic hard-to-treat neurological conditions. She is a world renowned teacher in the field of acupuncture and chronic pain. Her clinic is often used for teaching and mentoring other acupuncture doctors who come from around the world to learn her techniques.