Albuquerque Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine is a local clinic specializing in treating complex chronic illnesses such as neuropathy and auto-immune disease. At the helm is Doctor Andrea Brogdon. She specializes in combining Chinese medicine techniques and Western medicines to help heal her patients. She says her goal is to give hope to cases that are usually deemed hopeless.

New Mexico Living’s Monica Wicke recently spoke with Dr. Brogdon at her clinic about peripheral neuropathy. 

“Peripheral neuropathy is the degeneration of the peripheral nervous system. So what that means is that it usually starts in the feet and then as the nerves begin to die, patients experience numbness, tingling, burning sensation… essentially the nerves are saying hey, look at us, something is going on, and then it eventually progresses to numbness in the feet,” says Dr. Brogdon.

Dr. Brogdon says in her time helping heal her patients, one of the biggest things she has seen with a peripheral neuropathy diagnosis is the patients’ loss of their independence.

“For patients with numbness in their feet that comes with a whole slew of other issues, worrying about falls, not being able to feel their feet or not being able to drive anymore, says Dr. Brogdon. “I still get patients coming in with the numbness and tingling, why, because they can’t drive. Their wife has to take them to every single appointment, their husband has to make sure they’re getting there and they have to worry about an accident because they can’t feel which one is the gas pedal and which one is the break.”

Statistics show a staggering number of people diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy each year, but Dr. Brogdon says the real case numbers may be under-represented.

“The actual statistic on peripheral neuropathy is 20,000,000 people in the United States have peripheral neuropathy and, in fact, that is an understatement because they say that 50% of cases often go undiagnosed because it’s really hard to diagnose peripheral neuropathy,” says Dr. Brogdon.

Wicke got a chance to speak with one of Dr. Brogdon’s patients. Blanche Fleming a patient from Albuquerque Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine who got her life back, just months after finding Dr. Brogdon.

“After a year that I was taking acupuncture someplace else, I wasn’t getting any better, in fact, I was having problems in my left leg and then it went to my right leg too. My legs were numb,” says Blanche.

Blanche says after going to Dr. Brogdon for a much shorter period of time, she was already starting to see results and was feeling better.

“I came to this place and I could not believe it. I am doing in three months what I did for years,” says Blanche, “I can sleep better, I can eat better because I am not taking any medication…they listen to you. Dr. Brogdon listens to you and if you suffer something else, she tries to help you.”

Blanche is encouraging anyone who thinks they may be suffering from peripheral neuropathy to give Dr. Brogdon a visit.

“It works, it works…your body comes back. Try it! It’s your life. Don’t waste time, ” Blanche said.

Dr. Brogdon wants everyone to know that if you or someone you love is suffering from peripheral neuropathy give Albuquerque Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine a call today and schedule a consultation.

They are located at 10400 Academy Rd. NE Suite 210, Albuquerque, NM 87111 and are open Monday – Thursday from 9:00 AM – 5:00PM and closed from Friday – Sunday.