[Joano]

It's good to find you again. I used to read Brain Talk every night, and when it went down, I checked for a while but eventually gave it up because of other things going on in my life. A couple of weeks ago I ran across something I had printed from Brain Talk and wondered if it was back up now. I recognized some of the names that were still there, but when I checked out NeuroTalk, I knew I had found the new site, and spent the whole night just catching up.

I am still trying to find relief from pn (idiopathic). I was first diagnosed in 1999 shortly after having a transit global amnesia episode (which I think was caused by Lipitor). I also had surgery for Zenker's diverticulosis (which I'm thinking might be related to the Fosamax I used to take for osteoporosis because I know it can affect the esophagus). Anyway, I found strontium, boron, Vit K & D for my bones and in a year improved my bone density 9+ percent. I still take the supplements suggested by Wings and B-12 by Rose. I have become very leary of the side effects caused by most drugs. I take benfotiamine 4times/da which helps the burning significantly. I do not take any drugs for pn.

For almost 3 months I have been going 3 times/week for VST Myodynamic Therapy developed by NASA which I read about in a senior publication which came to my house. Medicare covers this therapy which takes between 40 and 60 sessions. I am now feeling some sharp stabbing pains in my feet which they feel may be my nerves reconnecting. The people who seem to benefit the most are those whose neuropathy started with chemo. People with back problems causing their pn do not achieve as much relief; however, their literature says average pain reduction is 83% and overall improvement 86%. I do not get as tired as I used to before starting the treatment. A podiatrist owns several Scientific Therapy offices in Texas.

I was interested in the citrulline/arginine protocol Mrs. D. is trying and wondered what dosage she recommends. My feet become ice cold in a very short time when I go to bed. Then it's hard to go to sleep. I checked Dr. Ignarro's web site, but the dosage seems high-- I certainly could be wrong.

I hope I will be able to manage this new website. It seems quite complicated for this old senior citizen! I'm not sure what a "tag" is . . . so much to learn!

[ewizabeth]

Welcome to NT Joan. I'm glad you found us! This is a great site for making new friends and sharing and learning about new info as well. Pull up a chair and relax awhile.

Now, where is my loudspeaker... ? (Paging Mrs D!!!)

[mrsD]

Welcome to our boards.

I'll get back to you later...I am sleeping alot today trying to recover from a root canal yesterday afternoon.

Lots of pain today, with some hangovers, so I can't think straight etc.

[tamiloo]

Just wanted to drop by and give you a welcome to NT...glad you found us!!!

[mrsD]

Dear Joan.

I am taking 1000mg of Citrulline daily (not the citrulline malate).

I am using the Source Naturals brand. I started with both, including arginine, but I don't think one really needs that every day, since most of it doesn't get past the GI tract. One day I did alot of bending in the garden, (when taking both) and I got a severe orthostatic reaction (I am still taking my blood pressure meds). So I dropped the arginine for now, and just use the citrulline.

I have noticed an improvement in muscle burning, my leg pain is much less, I can do stairs better, etc. It has not yet done much for my blood pressure. But the pounding heart I was getting in the middle of the night has gone away. My feet still get a little cold at night but not like before when they would actually hurt being cold. I've had cold feet ever since my thyroid retired. Even with hormone, they still get cold in the winter now.

The tablet is huge...hard for me to swallow. I have to zen myself into it, and place it with the pointy part back, and with a big swallow of water, toss it back. Otherwise sideways it seems to scrape all the way down! There are powder forms of this, so I might investigate that when the time comes to reorder.

Have you had your Vit D tested? Newest research is coming in daily about keeping serum levels at a good reading.
Here is a video on that:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQ-qekFoi-o

[soxmom]

Hello and welcome, we are glad you found us.

[Joano]

Originally Posted by mrsD

Dear Joan.

I am taking 1000mg of Citrulline daily (not the citrulline malate).

I am using the Source Naturals brand. I started with both, including arginine, but I don't think one really needs that every day, since most of it doesn't get past the GI tract. One day I did alot of bending in the garden, (when taking both) and I got a severe orthostatic reaction (I am still taking my blood pressure meds). So I dropped the arginine for now, and just use the citrulline.

I have noticed an improvement in muscle burning, my leg pain is much less, I can do stairs better, etc. It has not yet done much for my blood pressure. But the pounding heart I was getting in the middle of the night has gone away. My feet still get a little cold at night but not like before when they would actually hurt being cold. I've had cold feet ever since my thyroid retired. Even with hormone, they still get cold in the winter now.

The tablet is huge...hard for me to swallow. I have to zen myself into it, and place it with the pointy part back, and with a big swallow of water, toss it back. Otherwise sideways it seems to scrape all the way down! There are powder forms of this, so I might investigate that when the time comes to reorder.

Have you had your Vit D tested? Newest research is coming in daily about keeping serum levels at a good reading.
Here is a video on that:

Thanks, Mrs. D, for the information. I too am hypothyroid and take medication for that; also have reynauds. My vitamin D is in good shape--it should be as I take 5000 units of vit D/day--some even suggest taking more.

I have some L-Citrulline from Source Naturals too, but it is in capsule form, 500 mg each, so I will start taking 2. (They're not too big) Dr. Ignarro suggests 2-3000 mg of L-Arginine twice a day, and that seems like a lot. I'll wait and see how I do without adding it. I did notice that iHerb had a combination pill of both, but wasn't sure about it since the dosage was different.

Thanks again for your response.

Joan

[mrsD]

Joan... there are creams designed for the feet, with arginine in them. I haven't tried them, because they also have capsacsin in them, and I hate that (the burning!).

But some can tolerate that.

We've had some discussion about the topical version at PN.
http://www.argininewellness.com/healthifeet.html

So far I am pleased with the l-citrulline. But it has only been
a month. I think that if one has circulatory problems in the feet, there are probably other body areas with constriction too.
Oral treatment therefore would be global and treat unseen issues. The topical would help only at the level applied.

[Joano]

Originally Posted by Joano

Thanks, Mrs. D, for the information. I too am hypothyroid and take medication for that; also have reynauds. My vitamin D is in good shape--it should be as I take 5000 units of vit D/day--some even suggest taking more.

I have some L-Citrulline from Source Naturals too, but it is in capsule form, 500 mg each, so I will start taking 2. (They're not too big) Dr. Ignarro suggests 2-3000 mg of L-Arginine twice a day, and that seems like a lot. I'll wait and see how I do without adding it. I did notice that iHerb had a combination pill of both, but wasn't sure about it since the dosage was different.

Thanks again for your response.

Joan

Thanks for the tip, I will try it--I'll also check on the PN forum. Joan

[mrsD]

I found other printed sources for citrulline dosing.

A Google book by Dr. Ignarro where he recommended 750mg citrulline daily.

I also found some other person who said to take both.
1000mg arginine + 750 citrulline.
(most amino acids need to be taken in gram amounts, BTW).

So I decided to do 1000mg of each.

I have sent you a PM (private message) too.