What Happens To Untreated Charcot Marie Tooth & When To Go To Doctor?

CMT i.e. Charcot Marie Tooth disease belongs to the group of various inherited disorders, which causes nerve damages. The damage mainly takes place in the legs and arms, also known as peripheral nerves. Even a few people call the Charcot Marie Tooth problem as a hereditary type of motor and sensory neuropathy. CMT often leads to small and weak muscles, while in some cases, patients experience muscular contractions and loss of sensation, along with difficulty in walking or doing physical activities.

Besides this, hammertoes or any other similar types of foot deformities are common in these patients. Symptoms related to Charcot Marie Tooth often start in your legs and feet, but eventually, they affect your arms and hands, while in most of the cases, they appear in early adulthood or adolescence. However, depending on individual conditions, symptoms may develop in patients during their midlife.⁽¹⁾

According to neurologists and other healthcare professionals, Charcot Marie Tooth is not a fatal disease. However, if you leave it untreated, you may likely develop various complications associated with your nerve disorder and in turn, suffer various negative effects on your lifestyle.

Weak Muscles: Muscles become weak and you suffer injury in different areas of the body, which experiences a reduction in sensation.

Breathing Difficulties: In some of the cases, Charcot Marie Tooth affects your nerves responsible to control the diaphragm i.e. the muscle responsible to control your breathing functions i.e. in inhaling and exhale. This results in breathing difficulties, including the feeling of out of breath most of the time in a day.

Depression: When you living with a long-term or chronic condition of Charcot Marie Tooth, your condition becomes worse, which leads to huge stress or depression. Especially, if you feel yourself down during the last few months and fail to avail any pleasure from different things, you often enjoy, you likely suffer from depression.⁽²⁾

Whether you should schedule your appointment with your doctor followed by a qualified neurologist depends on the underlying symptoms you have. Even though symptoms in the case of Charcot Marie Tooth vary largely among people, you should make sure consulting your doctor immediately, if you experience any of the Charcot Marie Tooth symptoms (not necessarily all of them at the same time).

• Weakness in your foot or muscles of your lower leg area
• Certain deformities in your foot, which include bent toes/hammertoes and a high arch
• Difficulty in moving or lifting your feet while you walk, run or do any other physical activity, also known as foot drop
• Loss of muscles across your feet and hands
• Burning, tingling, numbness or temperature sensation loss in both your feet and hands
• Pain or discomfort in both feet and hands

Other than this, it is essential for you to consult with your doctor and later on, with a neurologist, in case you are moving ahead for family planning in the near future. Accordingly, doctors will recommend you for genetic counseling and simultaneously, give you valuable tips to manage your CMT disease.

• Go for regular and low-intensity cardio and aerobic exercises
• Strictly avoid the intake of alcohol
• Follow a healthy and balanced diet
• Always make sure to maintain your healthy body weight
• Never forget to track your Body Mass Index regularly
• Check your feet, legs, arms, and hands regularly to avoid any type of infection or injury

Make sure to discuss with your doctor before intake of any new medicine, as specific medicines may trigger CMT problems or make the symptoms related to the problem worse.⁽³⁾

Based on the aforementioned aspects related to Charcot Marie Tooth disease, we should say that a patient should never leave his/her CMT problem and its underlying symptoms untreated, as on doing this, he/she will experience various complications followed by death. Hence, whenever you notice symptoms and any of your family members have Charcot Marie Tooth, you should consult with your doctor for proper diagnosis and recommendations immediately.

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Also Read:

• What Are The Ways To Prevent Charcot Marie Tooth Disease & Does It Reoccur?
• What Is Charcot Marie Tooth Disease Type 2?
• How Common Is Charcot Marie Tooth Or Is It A Rare Disease?
• How Dangerous Is Charcot Marie Tooth & Is It Contagious?
• Is There A Surgery For Charcot Marie Tooth Disease?
• Coping Methods For Charcot Marie Tooth Disease
• Best Exercises & Activities For Charcot Marie Tooth