@user_ch1d4426 @johnbishop
I, too, acquired PN in my feet, legs, and hands from chemo (Paclitaxel) for breast cancer a year ago. Numbness, stiffness, burning, electric shocks, and the subsequent insomnia were driving me crazy. I have been unable to tolerate gabapentin nor venlafaxine.

I then went to a doctor of Chinese medicine and discovered that I couldn't tolerate acupuncture either, but he recommended that I try herbal pills called Zhi Bai Di Huang Wan. I took 6-three times/day and they turned my feet and hands icy cold within minutes. I was able to sleep all night for the first time in about five months.

One day while researching treatments for neuropathic pain I came across a blog, abstracts, trials, etc. on an endogenous fatty acid called Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) which, for years, has been used successfully in Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Germany, etc. to treat neuropathic pain from numerous pathologies. I have been taking 400mg twice a day since the beginning of October and experienced greatly lessened pain within three-four weeks. Recently, it has allowed me to discontinue the Chinese herbs and still sleep. There are no reported adverse effects from it (except minor bloating for which I take an OTC gas pill). For me, among the best advantages of taking PEA (besides sleeping) is that I no longer experience a rebound of burning and electric shocks following exercise. (I exercise about 4-5 hrs./week to retrain my brain from the loss of balance and coordination when I acquired the PN, and the lingering cognitive issues of chemo.) The PEA has done nothing for the numbness, stiffness, and occasional swelling, however.

I still cannot tolerate closed shoes and look ridiculous, I'm sure, wearing socks/sandals on the treadmill at the gym, and throughout the cold weather, but that's the way it is. (It's a fashion improvement over wearing a hat, scarf, sweater, and sandals at the gym before my hair grew back!)

Will PEA's benefits continue? We'll see, I guess.

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