Small Fiber Neuropathy: Book Recommendation

Posted by Rachel, Volunteer Mentor @rwinney, Aug 18, 2019

Sorry for not thinking of this sooner to share with all of you. My neurologist Dr. Charles Argoff from Albany Medical College, NY collaborated on a book with other Drs (some from Mayo Clinic) called
SMALL FIBERS, BIG PROBLEMS
A comprehensive patient guide to small fiber neuropathy. He mentioned it to me when I was first diagnosed with SFN this past February. It was written in 2017 due to the growing numbers of patients suffering from the disease.

After my fast and furious internet research had become confusing, I ordered the book from Amazon. It is such a simply stated tool in understanding SFN. I referred to it quite often in the early stages and it helped justify alot of what I was feeling. It helped me and I hope it can help you too!

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Neuropathy Support Group.

@jager5210

Did your doctor(s) give you any explanation as to possible causes of your neuropathy? Is genetics a factor since your daughter has it? I wonder what your daughter's age range is if the doctors did not give you an explanation for it. What about environmental risk factors? Dental work or other toxic exposure? I wonder what's going on. There doesn't seem to be much curiosity about neuropathy on this board except for the most obvious source for large fiber which is diabetes.

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Jager, thank you for your reply, The Dr. has not given me and cause for my SFN, My daughter is 53 years old. Genetics can and do play a roll in developing the disorder but is only about 5 % to blame, for the most part SFN is still a mystery. There is so much more to learn about this disease. While research is ongoing, for those of us who have it, the results can't come soon enough. I was borderline diabetic for years(5) with an A1C never over 6, I took Metformin for about 5 years till my A1C came back under 6 and I was having episodes of hypoglycemia so the Dr took me off the med all together and I've been fine, so I have to question diabetes as the sole cause of Lg Fiber Neuropathy.. When I ask what the cause was, I was told it could be this or that , in other words they don;t know what caused it. As for environmental risk factors, the only one I would know of is that I smoke and so does my daughter which doesn't help I am sure, but is not the cause.. All my lab work comes back fine as does my daughters. Guess we will just have to wait and see. thanks again for your reply, God Bless, Jeanie

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Well, God Bless you and your daughter to Jeanie. It is a terrible disease seeking a cause(s). I'm amazed at the different approached doctors have tried with people who post on this site. Nothing seems to work well. John Bishop, the site moderator, has reported success with his approach which, sadly, I have not explored yet due to pressing demands on my time at the moment but I will soon as I've exhausted all other approaches. Thanks for your reply.

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@rwinney

Diabetes does seem to be the leader along with idiopathic neuropathy. My cause is B12 deficiency.
More than just pain, burning, numbness and tingling I also experience palpitations, exhaustion, and shortness of breath. I dont hear much about the later symptons and wonder who else experiences them. B12 injections have helped me level out but still not normal. Dr says it too is part of SFN but, I don't recall seeing anyone speak of these symptoms. Also, my pain is throughout my body at an agressive rate with my legs now limiting me to walk and drive. I do appreciate the info shared through the forum about slowing progression down. Thank you.

Jeanie ~ the book I have recently referenced deals with large fiber as well and I hope it along with the links that are being referred to you can help ypu and your daughter.

I wonder if anyone in the forum has experienced small fiber turning into large fiber and what the progression of time was between. Obviously realizing that we all progress differently, I'm interested anyway. There is alot to think about going forward.

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Hi, @rwinney - @johnbishop may be aware of whether any others have mentioned experiencing small fiber turning into large fiber and what the progression of time was between.

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@lisalucier

Hi, @rwinney - @johnbishop may be aware of whether any others have mentioned experiencing small fiber turning into large fiber and what the progression of time was between.

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Thank you Lisa.
~Rachel

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@rwinney

Thank you Lisa.
~Rachel

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Hi Rachel @rwinney, That's really a good question but I'm not sure of the answer. I think it's possible to have both small and large fiber neuropathy together but the only reference I could find was related to diabetic neuropathy.

Small- and Large-Fiber Neuropathy After 40 Years of Type 1 Diabetes
-- https://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/36/11/3712

The Neuropathy Commons website has one of the better overviews of neuropathy that may be helpful.
-- https://neuropathycommons.org/neuropathy/neuropathy-overview

John

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@johnbishop

Hi Rachel @rwinney, That's really a good question but I'm not sure of the answer. I think it's possible to have both small and large fiber neuropathy together but the only reference I could find was related to diabetic neuropathy.

Small- and Large-Fiber Neuropathy After 40 Years of Type 1 Diabetes
-- https://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/36/11/3712

The Neuropathy Commons website has one of the better overviews of neuropathy that may be helpful.
-- https://neuropathycommons.org/neuropathy/neuropathy-overview

John

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Thanks John. I will check it out.

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@johnbishop

Hi Rachel @rwinney, That's really a good question but I'm not sure of the answer. I think it's possible to have both small and large fiber neuropathy together but the only reference I could find was related to diabetic neuropathy.

Small- and Large-Fiber Neuropathy After 40 Years of Type 1 Diabetes
-- https://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/36/11/3712

The Neuropathy Commons website has one of the better overviews of neuropathy that may be helpful.
-- https://neuropathycommons.org/neuropathy/neuropathy-overview

John

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Hi John
I am also wondering if there is a way I can learn of the protocol you speak of, to slow progression, considering I am not a Facebook user.

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@rwinney

Hi John
I am also wondering if there is a way I can learn of the protocol you speak of, to slow progression, considering I am not a Facebook user.

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Hi Rachel, Unfortunately Facebook is the Groups only method of communicating with other members and their videos and files sections that contain a lot of the research information. I'm not a big fan of Facebook but I try to avoid all of garbage on it and am a little selective on adding friends. If you don't have a Facebook account, you could create one specifically to join the group and then lock down the security privace settings.

How to Lock Down Your Facebook Privacy Settings
-- https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/facebook-privacy-settings

John

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@johnbishop

Hi Rachel, Unfortunately Facebook is the Groups only method of communicating with other members and their videos and files sections that contain a lot of the research information. I'm not a big fan of Facebook but I try to avoid all of garbage on it and am a little selective on adding friends. If you don't have a Facebook account, you could create one specifically to join the group and then lock down the security privace settings.

How to Lock Down Your Facebook Privacy Settings
-- https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/facebook-privacy-settings

John

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Ok. I'll give it some thought. Thanks a bunch!
Last question regarding the protocol...is it basically a criteria of supplements which each individual purchases independently or is this a "business" with a site to purchase supplements from?

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@rwinney

Ok. I'll give it some thought. Thanks a bunch!
Last question regarding the protocol...is it basically a criteria of supplements which each individual purchases independently or is this a "business" with a site to purchase supplements from?

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Hi Rachel, The protocol is a criteria of specific supplements of the highest available quality. The protocol was put together by trial and error by the groups leader who then started the closed Facebook group with the desire to help others in the same situation. The group is not a business but they are a 501c3 non profit organization and they do help some less fortunate members with a kick start supply of the supplements through the donations of other members. The website - http://solutions2pnpd.com/ has the links to purchase each of the supplements through Amazon and their are links for the US, Canada, and the UK. There are also members in other parts of the world that have found where they can buy equivalent supplements of the same strength or better and they maintain a list of where to buy in their Files secton of the Facebook group. For the US, the only supplement the group sells is the Hemp oil and that's because early on a lot of us got expired/spoiled hemp oil ordering from Amazon and their different distributors. So the Facebook groups leader became the middle man with the manufacturer of the hemp oil in Canada and gets drop shipments to his house in Florida where he has a commerical refrigerator and can store a small supply to ship directly to members. I think a small charge is added above the actual cost of the hemp oil and this money is put into the Help Another Member (HAM) fund.

I can understand folks who are skeptical as I am always skeptical until I figure it out for myself. I was looking for an alternative treatment and something more natural since I already knew there weren't any drugs that address numbness for neuropathy. I joined the group when it was less than 500 members and it's now close to 9K members. It doesn't cost anything to join, read the new member welcome which explains what the group is about and how to start. Then you have access to all their research by using the Files section of their Facebook group and you can read and determine if you think it will help or not. I don't have the pain and only suffer the numbness but I still worry about the progression of my small fiber PN. I'm 3 years taking the protocol and I feel that my PN has not gotten worse. Granted after the initial 2 months when it seemed to receed a little I haven't made any further progress as far as getting rid of the PN. I was hopeful but it only reinforced to me that there is no cure for PN. The best I can hope for is to slow or stop the progression. I think each member has to make the decision for themselves by learning as much as they can about the disease/condition and doing what they can to make it better.

Good luck whatever you decide. I know this is a awful and painful condition for a lot of members and their are a lot of scams out there taking advantage of us so it does pay to be careful and check things out first.

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