Supplements - What helps nerve pain and/or neuropathy?

Good afternoon @dianeee, thank you for responding to my post. Do you think your evidence of neuropathy is a result of your chemo treatments? Many of the folks with neuropathy have undergone treatment for cancer.

Actually, I want to let you know about my experience with Gabapentin which began in 2013….with my diagnosis of SFN (small fiber neuropathy). The first Rx was for mornings and I did not do well with that time of day. A bit fuzzy and unsure of my solidarity. So….my neurologist changed it to bedtime, telling me that Gabapentin can stay with you until about noon the next day. That worked well.

Several years later I began to start my day with Duloxetine which has been my constant anti-anxiety companion for years. I chose to taper off half of my Gabapentin dosage and that also worked well. I did notice that if I forgot my nighttime Gabapentin, I paid the price the next day with a heaviness and pain especially in my legs.

Just last Monday…..I wanted to try to be free of Gabapentin again because I didn’t think I needed it any more. I decided to do a slow taper off of that medication. Boy was I wrong. Even my MFR therapist said that my extensively greater level of pain was because I had deleted one of my 300 mg Gabapentin pills. According to her, she learned that 75% of improvement with neuropathy comes from the medications we choose to take and 25% from therapies e.g. acupuncture and other treatment options.

So…..last night I started Gabapentin again and guess what????? As soon as I sign off and say goodbye to you for today……I will head to the river to walk and do my stretch yoga exercises. Today I actually feel like doing that again.

Not everyone will have the same story because we all react so differently to medications. Just make sure you are no passing up an opportunity to allelviate some of the symptoms you are currently experiencing.

Let me know if you have other questions. I am anxious to know of your decision and how you choose to tackle those tingling, burning, and numbness symptoms with which you are currently dealing.

May you be free of suffering and the causes of suffering.

Chris

Hi,
I had breast cancer, I did chemo, surg. and radiation etc.
I developed neuropathy in my hands and feet, I have been doing acupuncture for a while. The hands are better, but the feet not so much, tingling, burning and numbness and sudden sharp stabbing pains still persist after 2 years.
I take Vit B.
My regular Dr. said I could try Gabapentin but on reading there seems to be a lot of side effects. Any other suggestions out there would be appreciated. I am scrolling through all the other remarks. Thank you.

I have been taking Gabapentin (300mg nightly) for 6-9 (?) months and it does help, but not nearly enough. I do still have significant pain with Gabapentin.

Because of this, I also take CBD/THC gummies to help. When I do (daily), the pain is suppressed significantly (not entirely, but enough that I am no longer in tears). I can function. Mind you, I cannot drive due to the neuropathy, but I am not in "I'm on fire" mode.

I'm taking the brand "five" and it contains 25mg CBD and 2mg THC, and I take it before bedtime and as needed during the day. It helps A LOT.

You can purchase higher doses, but I wanted to start with the lowest dose to see if that could help me and it has. Here is the link. I hope this helps!

Good afternoon @dianeee, thank you for responding to my post. Do you think your evidence of neuropathy is a result of your chemo treatments? Many of the folks with neuropathy have undergone treatment for cancer.

Actually, I want to let you know about my experience with Gabapentin which began in 2013….with my diagnosis of SFN (small fiber neuropathy). The first Rx was for mornings and I did not do well with that time of day. A bit fuzzy and unsure of my solidarity. So….my neurologist changed it to bedtime, telling me that Gabapentin can stay with you until about noon the next day. That worked well.

Several years later I began to start my day with Duloxetine which has been my constant anti-anxiety companion for years. I chose to taper off half of my Gabapentin dosage and that also worked well. I did notice that if I forgot my nighttime Gabapentin, I paid the price the next day with a heaviness and pain especially in my legs.

Just last Monday…..I wanted to try to be free of Gabapentin again because I didn’t think I needed it any more. I decided to do a slow taper off of that medication. Boy was I wrong. Even my MFR therapist said that my extensively greater level of pain was because I had deleted one of my 300 mg Gabapentin pills. According to her, she learned that 75% of improvement with neuropathy comes from the medications we choose to take and 25% from therapies e.g. acupuncture and other treatment options.

So…..last night I started Gabapentin again and guess what????? As soon as I sign off and say goodbye to you for today……I will head to the river to walk and do my stretch yoga exercises. Today I actually feel like doing that again.

Not everyone will have the same story because we all react so differently to medications. Just make sure you are no passing up an opportunity to allelviate some of the symptoms you are currently experiencing.

Let me know if you have other questions. I am anxious to know of your decision and how you choose to tackle those tingling, burning, and numbness symptoms with which you are currently dealing.

May you be free of suffering and the causes of suffering.

Chris

I started getting alpha lipoic acid IV therapy. I am getting it one time weekly . I will let you know how it is going.

@johnbishop Thanks so much for the input about the kind of ALA you use, how much you are taking, and the link for purchasing it. I used ALA for a month but wasn't well educated enough to know the difference between the S-ALA and R-ALA. What I took did not help at all, and looking online just now at my previous purchase it was obviously the S-ALA. I told my neurologist I had tried ALA and that it had not helped. She said ALA was one of the things she always recommended but she never asked which kind I had used or offered up any information about the differences between the two. I may have already mentioned to you that I am looking for a new neurologist for many other reasons. This is just one more reason I need to keep looking.
You are a constant source of good and useful information. Many thanks!

Hi, John. I was taking R-ALA, 600mg. first thing in the morning on an empty stomach and waiting 2 hrs. Before eating as information said. I was in it a month and started itching all over, almost non-stop. Looked for info on side effects and said itching was one of the less frequent side effects. I stopped taking it and the itching has stopped. Has anyone else ever experienced this? Does anyone take with food?

i have small fiber neuropathy caused by Igm mgus and tshds antibody which is an immune problem with the blood cells may or may not progress to lymphoma the pain is horrible every day and i take alpha lipoic acid and turmeric but what helps for a little while is cayenne pepper is stops nerve pain just wondering if yours is caused by a blood problem like me