--have tried steroids or IVIg had been offered to me at the time, but without any abnormal results beyond the skin biopsy--no abnormal levels of autoantibodies or high inflammatory markers--there was no direct evidence of a process these would address (though it is possible I was experiencing autoantibody activity unique to me).

I've done a lot of supplements over the years, trying various things one at a time and adding/subtracting. Currently I take a 25mg B-complex, 50mg R-lipoic acid, 225mg magnesium citrate, 1200mg fish oil, and 1000 units of D3 each day. I toss in a 1000mcg methylcobalamin B12 lozenge twice a week. I had tried acetyl-l-carnitine and Cq10 in the past but couldn't discern any additional effect from them.

You are right in suspecting it is not always easy to distinguish worsening or healing through upticks in sensory symptomology except in long-term retrospect; with healing the symptoms gradually reduce but this may not be noticed for weeks/months. I keep a very detailed diary so I can go back over time and compare.

I am quite prone to compressive effects given the probable healing of nerves in pathways alternate to my original ones. In fact, for the last week I am having a flare that I think is self-induced; I am an avid weighlifter and did something to my upper back on March 15 that seems to have resulted in tightening/tingling in the high upper back between and under the shoulder blades, along with tingly stinging along the upper arm and lower arm dorsum down into my hands, especially between first and second knuckles. This seems to wax and wane with position--hunching forward or sitting at the computer (!) is not good, standing very straight is better. I have had additional issues with my C5/6/7 cervical spine in the past and this may well involve them, and also possible involve the thoracic outlet/brachial plexus area: the underarm vertical nerve interconnections among branches of the C5 through T1 roots, given the apparent involvement of the radial and medial nerves in my upper extremities. (I do know from our boards how common brachial plexus/throacic outlet issues are for weightlifters; building muscle on either side--pectorals, lats, traps--can constrict the area. I'm in sort of hiatus from muscle building right now and trying to keep the area very gently stretched--symptoms do decrease when I am stretched and warm. Of course, I had increased weightlifting with the goal of reducing/controlling insulin resistance to fight pre-diabetes. No good deed goes unpunished.)