Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr. Smith
Thought I'd add my 2¢ to this thread, FWIW. I'm getting better, little by little. It's a journey, with hills & valleys, hazards, roadblocks, detours, etc. Hope & Heartbreak.
At my worst, about a year & a half ago, I had all the classic symptoms: numbness, pins & needles, cramps, electric shocks, needle jabs, burning pain, hypersensitivity. Numbness extended halfway up to my knees. Moderate peripheral edema extending halfway to knees.
About that time I began my regimen of methyl B12, & RLA. Tried some others that didn't seem to have any effect, so stopped those, and tried others. Still trying/rotating supplements. Also on High Protein/Low Carb diet - little/no sugar - sugar exacerbates symptoms.
IMO, from what I can tell, RLA, B12, & B5 have been most beneficial to me. Burning pain has been pretty much gone since beginning RLA w/ some tolerable flares. Have a prescription for gabapentin, but have not taken/needed any since beginning RLA. Numbness, pins & needles, cramps, electric shocks, needle jabs all greatly improved. Remaining symptoms now confined to front half of feet. Still have some hypersensitivity in feet, some cramps, occasional "rudeness" of the feet. Still have moderate peripheral edema extending halfway to knees. Massaging helps both edema and PN.
I feel I have pretty much attained my initial goal of arresting/stopping progression, and am now looking into pursuing healing/neurogenesis.
Doc
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I'm always interested in hearing about others who have made progress in arresting the progression of PN. You mentioned the hills and valleys, hazards, road blocks etc. along your way.
To me that is the hard part in determining if you're getting better. The improvements are sometimes so slow that you measure it in months or even years rather than weeks.
As you started healing did you experience periods where it seemed that it was maybe getting worse instead of better? Did the flares slow down for a considerable period of time where you thought you making notable improvements only to have them come back and stay on for a near equal amount of time? I have experienced these effects (but not so much lately) which put some doubt into my mind that I was improving to any significant degree.
I know things have improved for me especially lately, but that kernal of doubt seems to rise up with a series of flares that come out of no where. I know the diary is the best way to gauge progress, but I would be interested to hear your thoughts.