Wanted to let others know the good results I'm having. I should wait until I've done this awhile but after only 3 days, I can tell a MAJOR improvement in pain reduction.
I have tried benfotiamine at 150 mg per day for a couple of years. Didn't really notice a lot of difference but I take a jillion supplements so I thought one more shouldn't hurt especially since I had heard good things. My neuropathy doesn't seem to have progressed in the past three years since I've been taking my methyl B12 and B complex. But the pain still has been wearing me down. It has been a major energy drain and I think we can only tolerate so much even if there is no INCREASE in pain. It wears us down like water wearing down a rock.
I've been determined to avoid the pain meds so I mainly take a little aspirin and a lot of vitamin B12, B complex, C, E, MSM, glucosamine, Omega 3's, vanadyl sulfate, enzymes, ALC, ALA, biotin, etc., etc. (you know the drill if you're like me hoping that the next thing you try will be THE CURE...)
To continue, my sister told me what good luck her neighbor had with benfotiamine. He is diabetic and was taking more than I was taking, 150 mg, twice per day so I upped my dosage. Results still not very impressive. The tests on the web also don't indicate dosages higher than 300-400 mg to get good results.
Then I just checked the web recently and read about some wonderful results experienced by people reporting on a forum that they were taking 600 mg and 900 mg per day. BOY HOWDY, that's a lot but I'm pretty desperate so I upped my dosage two days ago to two 150 mg tablets, three times per day (with meals since it is fat soluble). Total 900 mg.
MAJOR MAJOR relief. I am so hopeful. There is still a fair amount of relief to go but I'm feeling DEFINITE relief. The studies I've read on the web indicate results start showing up within three weeks so I'm thinkin' that if I'm getting relief in just two to three days, WOW what am I gonna be getting in three weeks!
I am not a health professional of any kind, and I'm not selling vitamins. I buy mine mostly at IHERB and some at BEYOND A CENTURY. I DID read on the web some info about impurities with befotiamine. Not sure how easy it is to get pharmaceutical grade benfotiamine or how easy it is to get a doctor to PRESCRIBE pharmaceutical grade benfotiamine. That is something I will pursue if this pain relief continues.
Here's an article on PUB MED about large dosages - doesn't really say clearly how much (320 mg vs 150 mg I think) but I liked reading that they didn't seem to find any side-effects of the large dosages. Benfotiamine, by the way, has been used in Europe for many years. Just another place the U.S. is behind in health IMO.
I'll keep everyone posted, I'll update in about 3 weeks.
http://tinyurl.com/22cdan
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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=
AbstractPlus&list_uids=10219465]
Also, more info at
http://www.benfotiamine.org - this last web site is selling some stuff but the background history is good, IMO. (They also sell a benfo-creme - anyone tried that? couldn't find much on this.)
Background on me: I've had idiopathic neuropathy for 15 years. Last year I moved into diabetes type 2 but my endochinologist explained to me that if you get neuropathy before you are diagnosed diabetic, then the diabetes didn't cause the neuropathy. AND he also says that he doesn't think I'm type 2 diabetic because some test results for diabetes type 2 show positive if the patient eats a low carb diet (which I do pretty much) They aren't used to carbs and have an over-reaction. Doesn't matter. My blood sugar is pretty well controlled and has been for as many years as I've been tested.