I have been diagnosed with neuropathy on my legs, feet, and hands. I’m on medication but still in pain. I have tried many treatments but they have not helped so I’m looking for other options.
Thank you for your post Leonard. I incurred the neuropathy after three bouts of Covid and broken ankle. My right ankle, my hands, and lower back are constantly on fire to the point of having very little feeling and constant pain.
I currently take morphine every day, and it helps somewhat, but I hate the addiction. Fortunately, I'm 76 and will probably die fairly soon, and I'll be shut of the whole mess.
Jake, All the power to you with morphine. If it helps, awesome at 76. Not going to ask how you get morphine for this...
I take Gabapentin and marijuana in the daytime. At night, it is marijuana and whiskey. I'm 61 and PN found me probably in 2020. No reason that I can find to explain it. My pulmonologist asked me a few questions and suggested Gabapentin.
I like the effects it has on me. I am mobile and going places and plan on bow hunting since I've practiced with my bow and bought new hunting garb worth $700.00 so I better HUNT.
Cheers, Jill
I've tried ALA as well, but feel nauseous every time I take the pill, then followed by that heartburn feeling you mention.
I wonder if there's a supplement that has no taste, and is somehow buffered?
I think the brand i was using is NOW.
@earthmama007 I’ve been taking ALA for several years and have not had any problems. The one I take I get from Amazon. “Doctor’s Best” Alpha-Lipoic Acid 600 mg. vegan capsules. The instructions say to take before a meal .
My neurologist told me to take 1 before breakfast, and 1 before dinner.
by the way I personally don’t like any of the stuff from NOW.
I've tried ALA as well, but feel nauseous every time I take the pill, then followed by that heartburn feeling you mention.
I wonder if there's a supplement that has no taste, and is somehow buffered?
I think the brand i was using is NOW.
@earthmama007 I just looked at the ingredients in the NOW ALA. Their capsules also contain, Grape Seed Extract, and Black Pepper fruit Extract…
Those are less expensive “fillers” and could be the cause of your problems with that brand.
I've told my PN story here before, so I'll keep it simple. It became a permanent fixture in my life a couple of years ago. The pain was most pronounced in my feet, much lesser in my lower legs, and even less so in my upper legs. Chronic pain became a feature of my life, as it has for many on this site. I work full time in the school system, and nary a day would go by where I wasn't in pain, pain that often spiked due to doing things on my feet.
Preamble over. I tried everything for pain mitigation:
--Yoga and stretching exercises
--Various supplements targeted for nerve damage/repair
--Working out my legs and feet on machines at the gym in an effort to increase circulation, usually at the cost of increased pain
--Chiro
--Massages
--Various OTC pain meds such as IBU
--Eventually Lyrica
I did these things regularly with great discipline.
But then I read of the possible side-effects of statins, one being causing or exasperating PN. I was on a statin for higher cholesterol. I decided to go off it after reading this in a thread on this forum.
Verdict: I can't say for certain what caused it, but after some weeks of not taking the statin and continuing my other routines/disciplines, I experienced a dramatic improvement in the pain my PN was chronically delivering me on a daily basis. The coincidence of my stopping to take the statin I was on and my improvement just can't be ignored. I'd put my current improvement level at something like 40%. I still have it/deal with it, but for heaven's sake I'm digging this respite from the pain levels I was previously experiencing.
I'm a little more than angry at myself for not researching the potential side effects of statin use before I began a regular regime of it. I do that as a matter of course with anything I take now, and urge everyone to take more control of their lives in this way. I'm rather astounded that Dr's who prescribe meds so often don't go over the potential side effects, and tell their patients to get back to them if such ill effects make themselves apparent in their bodies.
Anyway...this has been long-winded but the moral of my story is; BE CAREFUL OF STATINS--THEY MAY WELL CAUSE OR EXAPERATE PN! Yes, all caps on that.
Three doctors wanted me to take statins. My cholesterol is a little high. I didn't take them. I may have dodged a bullet that could have made my pn worse. Thanks and the best of luck.
@earthmama007 I just looked at the ingredients in the NOW ALA. Their capsules also contain, Grape Seed Extract, and Black Pepper fruit Extract…
Those are less expensive “fillers” and could be the cause of your problems with that brand.
Maybe the grape seed extract and black pepper are things that activate the ALA or make it more bioavailable, which is often the case with other supplements? I think tumeric is like that from memory... but thanks, i will try a different ALA - one in a capsule, not a tablet form.
Maybe the grape seed extract and black pepper are things that activate the ALA or make it more bioavailable, which is often the case with other supplements? I think tumeric is like that from memory... but thanks, i will try a different ALA - one in a capsule, not a tablet form.
@earthmama007
Yes, try the capsules.
The other ingredients are not in the capsules I take.
Sometimes, when a vitamin manufacturer presses a tablet from the granulated ingredients they must add something that will help keep the tablet strong.
(I worked for a vitamin manufacturer many years ago)
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@earthmama007
I wouldn't take anything unless I asked my doctor or pharmacist.
Take care,
Jake
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3 ReactionsWould you please tell us what treatments that you have had that did not work? Thanks
Jake, All the power to you with morphine. If it helps, awesome at 76. Not going to ask how you get morphine for this...
I take Gabapentin and marijuana in the daytime. At night, it is marijuana and whiskey. I'm 61 and PN found me probably in 2020. No reason that I can find to explain it. My pulmonologist asked me a few questions and suggested Gabapentin.
I like the effects it has on me. I am mobile and going places and plan on bow hunting since I've practiced with my bow and bought new hunting garb worth $700.00 so I better HUNT.
Cheers, Jill
@earthmama007 I’ve been taking ALA for several years and have not had any problems. The one I take I get from Amazon. “Doctor’s Best” Alpha-Lipoic Acid 600 mg. vegan capsules. The instructions say to take before a meal .
My neurologist told me to take 1 before breakfast, and 1 before dinner.
by the way I personally don’t like any of the stuff from NOW.
@earthmama007 I just looked at the ingredients in the NOW ALA. Their capsules also contain, Grape Seed Extract, and Black Pepper fruit Extract…
Those are less expensive “fillers” and could be the cause of your problems with that brand.
The brand I take is pure Alpha-Lipoc Acid.
Three doctors wanted me to take statins. My cholesterol is a little high. I didn't take them. I may have dodged a bullet that could have made my pn worse. Thanks and the best of luck.
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4 ReactionsCould some one call me?
@anitaxblack339, Mayo Clinic Connect is an online discussion forum. There isn't a telephone option. How can I help?
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1 ReactionMaybe the grape seed extract and black pepper are things that activate the ALA or make it more bioavailable, which is often the case with other supplements? I think tumeric is like that from memory... but thanks, i will try a different ALA - one in a capsule, not a tablet form.
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
2 Reactions@earthmama007
Yes, try the capsules.
The other ingredients are not in the capsules I take.
Sometimes, when a vitamin manufacturer presses a tablet from the granulated ingredients they must add something that will help keep the tablet strong.
(I worked for a vitamin manufacturer many years ago)