Originally Posted by svguy

Thanks for your speedy and thoughtful reply. It’s great to connect with folks who understand. I’ve been chasing this problem from many directions, so have touched many of these areas already. But you might have new insights…

1) Thinking back to July, I’d say I was among the healthiest people I know – regular exercise, modest diet, no major stressors. I was supplementing with a multi, Vit C, and fish oil. No prescription meds, but I was still on Prilosec daily dating to 2003. I did experience a very bad case of food poisoning at a fast food restaurant in late May. My doctors dismissed that due to the 6-7 week interval. Campylobacter food poisoning, is capable of causing PN. Also other viruses may attack the ganglions along the spinal cord. There is a post in the SubForum recently by en bloc about testing for this with a new MRI procedure. Have you had chicken pox in the past? Herpes zoster can live in the ganglia too.

2) Can’t think of any exposures. My house is recent construction (out gassing formaldehyde? The benfotiamine may help this) and my work is in a benign office building. (do bug spraying people come there?) It’s an older building, so I suppose some toxins are possible. I share that space with a business partner who has no symptoms. I had a hair analysis done late last year – no major problems identified.

3) I’m not aware of any MTHFR problems (though I see online that mutations are very common). I’ve been supplementing with methylfolate 800 mg daily since November.

4) I considered diet. Last year I’d say my diet was ok. I watched calories and fats, but not nearly enough whole foods. As well, I enjoyed too much coffee and diet soda. I dropped all artificial sweeteners in December, and have been off coffee since January.

5) I do consume a fair amount of restaurant food. Mostly at lunch during the workweek, and out for dinner once or twice during the week. I’m pretty careful with choices, though – places like Chipotle, Boston Market vs McDonalds and KFC for example.(there will be substantial MSG in those foods) Also, in January, I decided to try a detox/cleanse. I followed “Clean” (Alejandro Junger) – you might be familiar with this program - 21 day elimination diet and detox. Among other, I removed all wheat, dairy, sugar, and nightshades. I stayed with that for 5 weeks, after which I incrementally reintroduced those foods watching for reactions, but found none. I was not overweight, but lost about 16 lbs while on that program. (that is pretty thorough)

6) My vitamin D was low last summer – 27 on my August lab. I started supplementing 1000-2000/daily at the time, and upped that to 4000-5000/daily this year. My March lab registered 66.

7) A few additional data points… My lipids improved significantly with changes in diet since last summer, but my March lab showed a very high C Reactive Protein – 8.4.(wowsers--that is high and significant--showing major inflammation) Also, in March, I began to experience regular night sweats, some quite heavy – never had that before. Also, the other blog I’ve followed strongly advocates sublingual use of B12, not oral, so that has been my main use since starting the following regimen since November:
(no difference between subling and oral...you swallow that saliva where most of the B12 is...very little is absorbed in the small space under the tongue.--make sure you do this on an empty stomach.)

Daily Supplements:

MB12 (Jarrow) 5mg (3x) subingual
adB12 (Jarrow) 3 mg s
B Complex (Jarrow B-Right) (2x)
Metafolin 800 mg
Vit A 8000 iu (I would drop this if it is retinol form, which competes with Vit D absorption--- beta carotene form is ok)
Vit C 1000 mg (was 4000 mg)
Vit D 4000-6000 iu
Vit E 400 iu
Calcium 500 mg (2x)
Magnesium 250 mg (2x) (is this magnesium oxide? if so it is useless)
Potassium 99 mx (4x) ( save your money-- this is very low amount--otc potassium is not strong enough One V8 has 800mg in it)
Zinc 50 mg
Fish Oil 1400 mg (2x) (with that high C-reactive protein you need higher Fish oil, or Krill oil)
SAM-e 200 mg
L-Carnitine/ALA 500/150 mg (4x) (soon will change to R-Lipoic)
Co-Q-10 100 mg
Benfotiamin 150 mg (4x) (just started)

Whew...

Again, I'll appreciate any thoughts/suggestions.