I thought I would share, progressively, how the Protocol is working for me.
I started ramping up on the R-ALA around the 16th of March and after a few days, I was and remain fully on the “all-capsule” version of the Protocol.
Other than the Ramp-Up R-ALA and the B vitamin complex, I am purchasing all my supplements via Subscribe and Save on Amazon.
My results are interesting but positive:
Day two - All symptoms flared equal to or worse they had ever been. In my case, that is electric shocks, burning, tingling and pain/numbness/tight feelings when trying to wear shoes. Of course, everything was worse at night...
Day three+ - After day/night two, symptoms feel "different", it's hard to describe some of the changes. One of the oddest changes is to my left leg below the knee. I have often felt that I had the sensation that my lower legs felt a "low blood sugar" weakness but weren’t really lacking strength, if that makes sense... After starting the Protocol, it is obvious that my legs have weakness, it isn't just a sensation. It isn't a physical limitation, but it is there. All of the increased symptom intensity has diminished to less than my average intensity, especially my ability to tolerate shoes! I have struggled to wear most shoes for the last couple of years with the last 6 months being particularly bad! I am able to tolerate the tight/numbness/pain feeling progressively better, every day. I still feel it, but it is much more tolerable. My feet have been roasting hot under my blankets at night for the last year, to the point that I have had to sleep with my feet out of the blankets, many times. For years, I used to always have an extra blanket folded at the foot of the bed for extra weight on my feet, that all changed with my PN. In the last few days, even though I still feel some heat in my feet, I have added the blanket over my feet! When I first lay down, I still get more tingling and discomfort, but it is more diffuse and less intense.
Overall – None of my symptoms are gone but everything feels different, and it is easier to live with my symptoms and this is only two weeks into the Protocol!
Something else I have learned, so many medications don't actually solve anything and have side effects that can impact PN.
Over the last year I have completely stopped:
Gabapentin
Cymbalta
Flexeril
Restoril
Celebrex
Benadryl