Neuropathy: What works and what are scams?

John, thanks for your response. As I said earlier, I have not given up hope in finding the root cause. However, that doesn't mean I haven't tried to be a healthier person. I research this condition on a regular basis. It seems the cause is either orthopedic or metabolic. My condition, I believe, falls into both categories. It is possible that my car accident resulted in a vulnerability not present before the accident. The orthopedist I saw said the MRI showed an impingement in my sciatica. I do have problems with my lower back when I'm lifting, etc. I have also had blood work that shows marginal for some tests. Your input would be helpful to me. Is it worthwhile to continue to seek out the root cause, or should one resign himself to the condition and simply do the best to live with it?

Hi - & @johnbishop - I saw my primary Friday and was talking about the increased numbness & tingling I am experiencing in one side - she raised the possibility of neuropathy - will be seeing my chiro, ortho and pain docs later this month & see if they concur...in spite of years on Connect it never occurred to me - DUH.
Stay tuned for updates.
Sue

John, thanks for your response. As I said earlier, I have not given up hope in finding the root cause. However, that doesn't mean I haven't tried to be a healthier person. I research this condition on a regular basis. It seems the cause is either orthopedic or metabolic. My condition, I believe, falls into both categories. It is possible that my car accident resulted in a vulnerability not present before the accident. The orthopedist I saw said the MRI showed an impingement in my sciatica. I do have problems with my lower back when I'm lifting, etc. I have also had blood work that shows marginal for some tests. Your input would be helpful to me. Is it worthwhile to continue to seek out the root cause, or should one resign himself to the condition and simply do the best to live with it?

I've been using St. John's wort oil on my feet and the itching and burning go away. I apply it at night and the itching stops in a matter of minutes.

I think the biggest problem is neuropathy is a symptom of something else and not a disease in and of itself. What works for one person won’t necessarily work for another. My symptoms are caused by inflammation and I seme-successfully controlled the pain with supplements that targeted inflammation, then when that was no longer enough added LDN to the supplements and got another 10 months. Now that combination is not enough (either my body has grown a tolerance to what I am taking or it is progressing) and I am back at the search for relief.

So if you want to try something, ask your doctor about LDN - it worked wonders for me for about a year, and did nothing for my father with type-2 diabetic neuropathy, so your mileage may vary.

Howdy. I want to thank you for bringing Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) to my attention. I have chronic pain, non-diabetic, caused by treatment for cancer ten years ago. It looks like the LDN dosage is low, 1 mg - 1.5 mg. I am going to talk to my primary care about this.

Did LDN help you sleep better? Did you combine it with physical therapy?

Thanks again for bringing up this topic. Best, CB

My LDN dosage wound up being 4.5mg and I had to take it at lunchtime (or earlier) to not affect my sleep (vivid dreams). From a pain reduction standpoint, yes it helped with sleep.

No PT involved as mine is purely sensory related. I do combine it with a metric ton of supplements as LDN was 70-75% effective and was able to get to 95-99% with supplements that target inflammation.

Of course now it is probably 35-40% effective and supplements providing another 10-15% which either means I have grown used to the dose or my condition has worsened. My guess is the latter.

Humph. Inflammation seems to be the nasty culprit. My doctor suggested I go non-dairy and plant-based in my diet, and I have. It's only been a couple of months so I don't know if the inflammation in my body is going away. I kind of doubt it. Today I had a really good visit with my PT. She put me through a lot of different stretches which helped me walk through the grocery store with little or no pain. To me, it's almost celebratory because I usually have horrible pain walking in stores: or just plain walking period.

But I am going to bring up LDN to my doctor. How long did it take for you to notice relief from taking LDN?

I've been using St. John's wort oil on my feet and the itching and burning go away. I apply it at night and the itching stops in a matter of minutes.