Patient Story Video Transcription: (click to view)
By the time I got diagnosed with diabetes in 2005 the symptoms were already there. Prior to being diagnosed with diabetes I started noticing the numbness in my feet. Another thing that I noticed is the cramping in my hands. My feet starting aching. By the end of the day when I went to bed at night, I’d be laying in bed and sometimes it was just almost on fire if I’d done a lot of activity that day. I didn’t know how to tell somebody, well it’s kind of numb but they ache. How can you have no feeling and pain at the same time? It’s not possible.
If you’ve ever had your elbow, and you’ve laid on it, fallen asleep, and then you wake up, and all of a sudden you realize your whole arm is numb, and you know that pins and needles, and you’re like, oh my god. I’m in so much pain. I’m in so much pain. That pins and needles as it’s coming back to wake is what diabetic neuropathy is all day long. Neuropathy hits you very slowly over many years and until the damage is done, and then you’re like, oh, I can’t hardly walk because you compensate. We all do that. We don’t want people to think there’s anything wrong with us. We walk around in pain and we go home and we cry, or we take pills. We don’t let people know that we’re in pain. I was like that.
As my neuropathy progressed I lost feeling in my toes. Of course, my feet were pretty much numb. Walking upstairs became very difficult for me. Unless I was looking at my feet, I would trip. I walked with my head bent down because if I did not watch my feet, I was going to end up flat on the ground from that. It sometimes would just feel like I was walking on sponges, and I wasn’t quite sure, am I on the ground or not.
By about 2007 I would say, the pain got bad enough that I couldn’t sleep at night. They started giving me a couple of different drugs for this. The first time I took the pain masking agents, I started with very low doses, and throughout the first couple of years those doses increased up until I was taking –up to five a day. Some of the side effects that I had were, of course, weight gain. I had actually gained about 40 pounds. And some of the other side effects were my clarity of thought, and it was affecting my work.
Because of the medications I was too tired. Instead of getting up ready raring and going to the swim, going to the Y, working out, It was all I could do when I got up in the morning just to drink my coffee and say, wake up, wake up, wake up, you got to get to work. It was all I could do because I guess the medications was just to get up and go to work and to come back home, and to go to bed. Those were my four things that I did in a day, and not much variation.
I remember going to the same doctor. I said. I don’t care what it is, you have got to get me off some of those pills or you have got to give me something that will make me feel better. She had a small but sample bottle of Metanx. And I thought oh not another prescription. She looked at me and she said “Amy what I have got here is medical food.”
One of the biggest changes I see and that other people have seen with me is the way I walk. I don’t walk like an old lady anymore, very unsure of my walk, kind of with a strange gait because my feet hurt, number one. I wasn’t sure where I was stepping. And anybody with neuropathy would understand what I mean.
Ah, one of the first things I went off of was the pain masking agent.
My love my whole life is swimming, I started swimming at six. I had quit swimming because my hands and my feet had started cramping up in the water. I’ve been back to the pool about a month now. I have no cramping in my hands and no cramping in my feet, and that was the first thing I was looking for was, oh please, don’t cramp, and they didn’t, so that worked out.
I happen to have a husband that loves to dance. We go out with lots of friends. We go to all the little local dances here in the area, ah, and it had gotten to the point where my husband, who would dance every dance, became everybody else’s dance partner because my feet hurt and I was tired. So I would sit at the table all night while he would dance with everyone else.
Well I will tell you we went to the local sorority’s Valentine’s Day dance, and stayed out until one in the morning at the dance, and danced just about every dance. And the first thing the next morning my girlfriend called me and she said, how are your feet? And I said they don’t hurt.
I feel 10 years younger with the way my body feels, um, because I’m no longer in pain. Living in pain of neuropathy is worse – actually worse than the diabetes. You can deal with the diabetes. I can cut my carbs. I can deal with all that. Dealing with the neuropathy was something that you couldn’t explain to anybody. How do you explain to somebody, I don’t feel my feet but they’re in pain . . . And it’s taken a year, like I said very slowly, for things to come back, but I’m getting the feeling back, and I am not having pain.
Cecile’s Experience with Metanx®
Patient Story Video Transcription: (click to view)
(Cecile) I was diagnosed with diabetes in 1998.
(Dr. Maynard) I always uh tell the patients that they need to first and foremost control the diabetes. The diabetes is destroying the small vessels. We’re getting impaired circulation and if you can keep the sugars under control you’re going to avoid a lot of the long term complication of diabetes.
I do a complete head to toe neuro exam and I realize they have loss of sensation in the feet. I do see uh a lot of patients with the diabetic neuropathy who are not aware of the fact they have the neuropathy.
(Cecile) I really didn’t realize the severity of it. I knew that when they checked my toes that my toes tingled and that I didn’t really feel things in my toes. And- and that’s what really bothered me. And then um when he tapped my ankle, he kept saying, you know, “It’s still vibrating and you’re not feeling it.” And I’m like, “No, I’m not.” That’s a little frightening when you’re not feeling things that you think you should be in your feet and legs. I did not know it was diabetic peripheral neuropathy, but I did know that the- that my legs were like not comfortable.
My feet would feel kind of numb almost. Um and- and that’s frightening when you know that people lose limbs because of diabetes.
(Dr. Maynard) The diabetic neuropathy and the diabetic uh poor circulation is a very common cause of uh ulcerations, uh wounds that do not heal and eventually toe and foot amputations. And if we can reduce that risk, we’re going to reduce mortality, morbidity and cost by uh a significant amount.
The medications we’ve had for years for diabetic polyneuropathy treat the painful uh symptoms, the burning pains, the sharp shooting pains, uh they stabilize the nerve membranes and these are generally going to be either an antidepressant medication or a seizure medication. But those medications are not uh treating the cause of the nerve pain, which is the diabetic neuropathy due to the lack of circulation, the poor circulation to the neurons.
(Cecile) He explained that it was the diabetic neuropathy that he thought was causing the discomfort, you know, in- in my knees and- and in my legs. And that’s when he suggested then that- that I try the Metanx®.
(Cecile) The main thing I noticed was that I wasn’t having as much discomfort and I actually sleep better at night because I’m not moving around quite as much as I was before. I didn’t have any side effects.
(Dr. Maynard) I will always tell them that they may begin experiencing strange feelings in their feet and that actually is a good thing. They’re probably getting sensation back that he’d lost uh in the past and that’s the idea of nerves coming back, and that’s a good thing.
(Cecile) I’m feeling in my toes, ankle, clear up to my knee. I do notice a difference in going up and down stairs, sitting without, you know, constantly fidgeting and moving my legs as- as much as I used to. I notice that a lot.
(Dr. Maynard) By improving the sensation to the feet, I’m improving their balance and walking. If you are a uh diabetic, you would want to check for feet for any injuries, any cuts because you’re at high risk for infections and ulcerations.
(Cecile) My year checkup just a few weeks ago. And I mean he said my reflexes at that time were really pretty normal. So that’s pretty exciting because when you think about the possibility of losing a limb, be it a foot, a toe. The only place that I feel any tingling or any of that anymore is- is my big toe. So that’s pretty minor. So that- I mean that is a major relief to know that, you know, I don’t have to think about having my foot cut off anytime soon. Now I just can come and enjoy running the business and kind of get to be an observer. My husband and I travel more now And I love that. It’s good to- to have my health.
The statements provided represent the experiences from actual consumers/doctors and are not intended to be a recommendation, referral, or prescription for any product. The patients and doctors shown are not employees of Pamlab, LLC, however, they have been compensated for time in the making of this educational video. Metanx® should only be administered under the supervision of a healthcare professional who can evaluate personal requirements and benefits. The average time to see benefits from taking Metanx® is about 4 to 8 weeks. Individual results may vary.
Patient Stories
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Amy’s Experience with Metanx®
Patient Story Video Transcription: (click to view)
By the time I got diagnosed with diabetes in 2005 the symptoms were already there. Prior to being diagnosed with diabetes I started noticing the numbness in my feet. Another thing that I noticed is the cramping in my hands. My feet starting aching. By the end of the day when I went to bed at night, I’d be laying in bed and sometimes it was just almost on fire if I’d done a lot of activity that day. I didn’t know how to tell somebody, well it’s kind of numb but they ache. How can you have no feeling and pain at the same time? It’s not possible.
If you’ve ever had your elbow, and you’ve laid on it, fallen asleep, and then you wake up, and all of a sudden you realize your whole arm is numb, and you know that pins and needles, and you’re like, oh my god. I’m in so much pain. I’m in so much pain. That pins and needles as it’s coming back to wake is what diabetic neuropathy is all day long. Neuropathy hits you very slowly over many years and until the damage is done, and then you’re like, oh, I can’t hardly walk because you compensate. We all do that. We don’t want people to think there’s anything wrong with us. We walk around in pain and we go home and we cry, or we take pills. We don’t let people know that we’re in pain. I was like that.
As my neuropathy progressed I lost feeling in my toes. Of course, my feet were pretty much numb. Walking upstairs became very difficult for me. Unless I was looking at my feet, I would trip. I walked with my head bent down because if I did not watch my feet, I was going to end up flat on the ground from that. It sometimes would just feel like I was walking on sponges, and I wasn’t quite sure, am I on the ground or not.
By about 2007 I would say, the pain got bad enough that I couldn’t sleep at night. They started giving me a couple of different drugs for this. The first time I took the pain masking agents, I started with very low doses, and throughout the first couple of years those doses increased up until I was taking –up to five a day. Some of the side effects that I had were, of course, weight gain. I had actually gained about 40 pounds. And some of the other side effects were my clarity of thought, and it was affecting my work.
Because of the medications I was too tired. Instead of getting up ready raring and going to the swim, going to the Y, working out, It was all I could do when I got up in the morning just to drink my coffee and say, wake up, wake up, wake up, you got to get to work. It was all I could do because I guess the medications was just to get up and go to work and to come back home, and to go to bed. Those were my four things that I did in a day, and not much variation.
I remember going to the same doctor. I said. I don’t care what it is, you have got to get me off some of those pills or you have got to give me something that will make me feel better. She had a small but sample bottle of Metanx. And I thought oh not another prescription. She looked at me and she said “Amy what I have got here is medical food.”
One of the biggest changes I see and that other people have seen with me is the way I walk. I don’t walk like an old lady anymore, very unsure of my walk, kind of with a strange gait because my feet hurt, number one. I wasn’t sure where I was stepping. And anybody with neuropathy would understand what I mean.
Ah, one of the first things I went off of was the pain masking agent.
My love my whole life is swimming, I started swimming at six. I had quit swimming because my hands and my feet had started cramping up in the water. I’ve been back to the pool about a month now. I have no cramping in my hands and no cramping in my feet, and that was the first thing I was looking for was, oh please, don’t cramp, and they didn’t, so that worked out.
I happen to have a husband that loves to dance. We go out with lots of friends. We go to all the little local dances here in the area, ah, and it had gotten to the point where my husband, who would dance every dance, became everybody else’s dance partner because my feet hurt and I was tired. So I would sit at the table all night while he would dance with everyone else.
Well I will tell you we went to the local sorority’s Valentine’s Day dance, and stayed out until one in the morning at the dance, and danced just about every dance. And the first thing the next morning my girlfriend called me and she said, how are your feet? And I said they don’t hurt.
I feel 10 years younger with the way my body feels, um, because I’m no longer in pain. Living in pain of neuropathy is worse – actually worse than the diabetes. You can deal with the diabetes. I can cut my carbs. I can deal with all that. Dealing with the neuropathy was something that you couldn’t explain to anybody. How do you explain to somebody, I don’t feel my feet but they’re in pain . . . And it’s taken a year, like I said very slowly, for things to come back, but I’m getting the feeling back, and I am not having pain.
Cecile’s Experience with Metanx®
Patient Story Video Transcription: (click to view)
(Cecile) I was diagnosed with diabetes in 1998.
(Dr. Maynard) I always uh tell the patients that they need to first and foremost control the diabetes. The diabetes is destroying the small vessels. We’re getting impaired circulation and if you can keep the sugars under control you’re going to avoid a lot of the long term complication of diabetes.
I do a complete head to toe neuro exam and I realize they have loss of sensation in the feet. I do see uh a lot of patients with the diabetic neuropathy who are not aware of the fact they have the neuropathy.
(Cecile) I really didn’t realize the severity of it. I knew that when they checked my toes that my toes tingled and that I didn’t really feel things in my toes. And- and that’s what really bothered me. And then um when he tapped my ankle, he kept saying, you know, “It’s still vibrating and you’re not feeling it.” And I’m like, “No, I’m not.” That’s a little frightening when you’re not feeling things that you think you should be in your feet and legs. I did not know it was diabetic peripheral neuropathy, but I did know that the- that my legs were like not comfortable.
My feet would feel kind of numb almost. Um and- and that’s frightening when you know that people lose limbs because of diabetes.
(Dr. Maynard) The diabetic neuropathy and the diabetic uh poor circulation is a very common cause of uh ulcerations, uh wounds that do not heal and eventually toe and foot amputations. And if we can reduce that risk, we’re going to reduce mortality, morbidity and cost by uh a significant amount.
The medications we’ve had for years for diabetic polyneuropathy treat the painful uh symptoms, the burning pains, the sharp shooting pains, uh they stabilize the nerve membranes and these are generally going to be either an antidepressant medication or a seizure medication. But those medications are not uh treating the cause of the nerve pain, which is the diabetic neuropathy due to the lack of circulation, the poor circulation to the neurons.
(Cecile) He explained that it was the diabetic neuropathy that he thought was causing the discomfort, you know, in- in my knees and- and in my legs. And that’s when he suggested then that- that I try the Metanx®.
(Cecile) The main thing I noticed was that I wasn’t having as much discomfort and I actually sleep better at night because I’m not moving around quite as much as I was before. I didn’t have any side effects.
(Dr. Maynard) I will always tell them that they may begin experiencing strange feelings in their feet and that actually is a good thing. They’re probably getting sensation back that he’d lost uh in the past and that’s the idea of nerves coming back, and that’s a good thing.
(Cecile) I’m feeling in my toes, ankle, clear up to my knee. I do notice a difference in going up and down stairs, sitting without, you know, constantly fidgeting and moving my legs as- as much as I used to. I notice that a lot.
(Dr. Maynard) By improving the sensation to the feet, I’m improving their balance and walking. If you are a uh diabetic, you would want to check for feet for any injuries, any cuts because you’re at high risk for infections and ulcerations.
(Cecile) My year checkup just a few weeks ago. And I mean he said my reflexes at that time were really pretty normal. So that’s pretty exciting because when you think about the possibility of losing a limb, be it a foot, a toe. The only place that I feel any tingling or any of that anymore is- is my big toe. So that’s pretty minor. So that- I mean that is a major relief to know that, you know, I don’t have to think about having my foot cut off anytime soon. Now I just can come and enjoy running the business and kind of get to be an observer. My husband and I travel more now And I love that. It’s good to- to have my health.
Disclaimer
The statements provided represent the experiences from actual consumers/doctors and are not intended to be a recommendation, referral, or prescription for any product. The patients and doctors shown are not employees of Pamlab, LLC, however, they have been compensated for time in the making of this educational video. Metanx® should only be administered under the supervision of a healthcare professional who can evaluate personal requirements and benefits. The average time to see benefits from taking Metanx® is about 4 to 8 weeks. Individual results may vary.