Neuropathy treatments: How to avoid scams?

Boy I sure have noticed I am being slammec with ads for the EMSense stimulator? I'm afraid to order it because I
m worried its just another scam!

@gailannr Do some online research. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Trust your gut.

@antoniodoria let me know

Here's a summary on the lengthy infommercial on this product which I just watched.

Barbara O'Niel is represented to be a world-reknowned expert on neuropathic pain who developed the formula to help her husband who was suffering from acute neuropathic pain. Tom Hanks and Morgan Freeman appear to be her patients who have taken this product and swear by it, but these days you can't really tell if it's deep fake or not. Eric Clapton is also shown in the video.
Everything she says about the product sounds reasonable and "scientific." First is the claim that there is no neuropathic disease in Okinawa from which the main ingredient Okinawan circumin is derived. Circumin is found in Turmeric. Okinawa is the island well-known for its centenarian population, and she claims that Okinawan turmeric has 10X as much circumin as that found in turmeric available in the US.
The formula also includes Alpha Lipoic Acid exract as an accelerant, plus Actyl L Carnatine for myelin regeneration. A Stanford study on pain is mentioned as evidence backing the claims of this product. The famous Dr. Gundry shows up with his endorsement for the basic ingredients, as well as the involvement of a Dr. Punakship who apparently did a pain study on twins.
My suspicions were aroused when vaccine-deniers Robert Kennedy Jr. as well as Dr. Oz were mentioned as proponents of the basic concept of these "natural" ingredients.
Still, I have often that turmeric is a powerful inflammation fighter, although I've never heard that Okinawan turmeric is like Super Turmeric. (By the way, if you do take turmeric, make sure to add black pepper to improve absorbtion of the turmeric. I have recently started taking it powdered, with ginger and black pepper stirred into a small glass of orange juice.) Who knows if it does any good, but my Dr. at Johns Hopkins didn't tell me to not do that...

I am so tempted to try this Presgera stuff because I have the same symptoms O'Niel claims her husband had, and she "cured" him and many others with this formula.
Also, it makes sense to me that we haven't heard about it becaue Big Pharma would not want the general public to know that some very ubiquitous inexpensive ingredients could cut into the huge profits they make from drugs like Gabapentin, Pregabalin, etc.. There is no question that those drugs are extremely powerful, but they can cause serious side -effects (at least in my case) that make you dizzy and foggy at best, and suicidal at worst.) But Barbara O'Niel seems like a really nice, honest, smart Australian (I guess). So I'm tempted to believe her claim.

I'd love to know if anyone actually takes this product and what you think.
Beyhan
March 2026

Sorry, forgot to say in the beginning that the product is Presgara.

@beyhan, welcome. You are wise to have your suspicions raised. With all the celebrities you mention in the summary, I would be highly suspicious of deep fakes and unauthorized endorsements. Here's some guidance from Mayo Clinic to help detect fake health information:
- Can you spot a fake health article? https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/consumer-health/in-depth/spot-fake-health-articles-misinformation/art-20587692

Unfortunately, neuropathy is one of those conditions that is often targeted with promises, hype and fake cures. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't true. That's why professional marketers use tactics like making you "feel" like the messangers are honest and understanding.

If you used AI to help summarize the infommercial be aware that AI is designed to sound confident even when information is wrong or incomplete. Learn more here:
- What is Generative AI? What does this mean on Mayo Clinic Connect? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/blog/about-connect/newsfeed-post/what-is-generative-ai-artificial-intelligence-what-does-this-mean-on-mayo-clinic-connect/

You're quite right that "the active substance in turmeric is curcumin. Curcumin is a powerful antioxidant. Antioxidants protect your cells from damage. Curcumin can also reduce swelling and pain." Read more from MSK https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/integrative-medicine/herbs/turmeric

Keep in mind that natural doesn't necessarily equal safe.
- Natural vs. safe: Why the two aren't the same https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/complementary-alternative-medicine/in-depth/natural-vs-safe-health-remedies/art-20587690

Hello @beyhan, Another red flag for me is to see how many different “official websites “ are shown when I do a search using the product name. When I did a search for Presgera, it listed three different website addresses as the official website. That is a big red flag for me since they are all selling the same product. It may have some ingredients that have shown to help with neuropathy symptoms but there really is no cure.

You might find it helpful to scan through the many different discussions in the Neuropathy Support Group for discussions on "neuropathy what helps". Here is a search link that lists the different comments and discussions by members - https://connect.mayoclinic.org/search/.

@beyhan I'll add my own cautions here -
- Barbara O'Neil has published books purporting to cure neuropathy. As much as we all would love to believe a cure is possible, none has been discovered to date.
- No unbiased, science based research has been conducted on this product, which is a huge red flag.
- Looking at one of the YouTube videos, the celebrities sure look like AI fakes to me.

I noticed my wife watching an infomercial on her phone one morning and after awhile she showed me Dr. Sanjay Gupta claiming to offer a new product for NP. It was long and I noticed she finally hit the purchase button and said wait, lets research it first, It was too late and the sale when through. I checked online and sure enough the Gupta add is a deep fake. I immediately cancelled the credit card she used. Maybe 3 minutes elapsed time.
Well they got the money and some button was hit and the order was doubled. Thought we were had. However I went to my bank the nest morning and since I cancelled the card and claimed fraud immeditely they saw fit to return my funds to the account. Got lucky. saved $500 bucks.
Read- Research- Before purchasing. All those adds are fakes for common products available at the health store.

I tried Presgara. It worked for 7 days then the pain and burning at night came back. I stayed on it for about a month hoping relief would come. It didn’t. I got my money back for all 6 bottles! Now I’m trying Nerve Flow. It’s not working but I’ve only taken it for 17 days. Still have pain in toes! I’ll probably send this back for a refund. The best one I’ve found so far is Nerve Control 911. Quiets burning & pain. Next I’m going to try NervoLyn. It is also promoted by Barbara O’Neil. As long as the capsules come with a money-back guarantee, I’m willing to try! Always with the hope of finding relief from pain & burning.