--diabetic neuropathy can be reversible if it's caught early, as his was; even later, it can be arrested with tight blood sugar control, exercise, good diet--and I recommend good vitamin/antioxidant supplements too, in order to try and get optimal healing conditions.

The mechanism in diabetic neuropathy is thougth to be primarily ischemic--that is, due to the circulatory breakdown caused by impaire glucose tolerance. The nerves are less supported by the breakdown in blood vessel integrity--they get less nourishment and oxygen, and wastes build up, harming nerves. This is why diabetic neuropathy is generally length dependent, happening in the toes/fingers first--longer distance to transport things through the blood stream--and why it generally is a disease of smaller fibers, as these are supported by smaller blood vessels that are easier to compromise. Of course, there are variations--some people get painful symptoms, many get numbness, others get electrical shoots, still others combinations or different things at different times; damaged nerves can produce all kinds of wacky signals.

I think, Mel, you're doing much of what you can to prevent your neuropathy from spreading. It is tougher to do as one ages--one simply has less cardiovascular resiliency--but it still can be done. Other things that you might consider, though I don't know how much insurance coverage you have to help you with these--or if the Cornell people would finance it as part of your program--are the Rebuilder or other TENS type system, or perhaps even Anodyne or other infrared therapy.

I also wonder if your doctors there would recommend things like Alpha-Lipoic/R-lipoic acid, a potent antioxidant with glucose regulating properties comnonly used for diabetic neuropathy in Europe--or even adding cinnamon to everything (cinnamon also has insulin/glucose regulating effects). Obviously, since you are on diabetic meds, this should only be done with physician input/monitoring.