[Doug1961]

This is the Cliff Notes version of my PN experience. If anyone has any questions, I'll be happy to elaborate. My PN is currently classified as idiopathic, but I'm working on the theory that it may be caused by medication.

I had a pre-existing heart defect (bicuspid aortic valve) and in 2009, they found an aortic aneurism (almost 8cm!). Prior to this, I was taking no medication or supplements at all on a regular basis. When the aneurism was found, I was put on a low dose aspirin, crestor and metoprolol. After surgery, CoQ-10 and a multi-vitamin was added to the mix. I stayed on this group of meds for over a year.

The doctor allowed me to drop the Crestor because it was causing me a lot of muscle and joint aches (which went away within 2 weeks) and my cholesterol was doing good. At the same time, he allowed me to drop the metoprolol, but he put me on Hyzaar to maintain the BP lowering affect of metoprolol. I think this is also about the time my PN showed up. It's difficult to remember because it (for me) came in so slow and started off as just a small area on the right side of my right foot. I actually wrote it off for months as being caused by bad fitting shoes.

When the PN started to cover a larger area and show up in both feet, I abandoned the "shoe theory" and started doing research on the internet. I decided that my problem was PN and began working with my doctor. The EMG shows that only the sensory nerves are having a problem. The blood / urine work found no cause and test to check the blood circulation in my legs found no problems. During all this I began adding a lot of supplements (Vitamin E, B, garlic, cinnamon, etc.) with the thought, "If it doesn't help, I doubt it will hurt". When nothing changed, I changed my thinking and began to wonder if what I was taking on a daily basis was the cause, so I stopped taking everything that wasn't actually prescribed. Then I started looking into those meds as well and found that both Crestor and Hyzaar have PN as a side effect. Even though it's only a very small chance, it's still a chance.

Last month the doctor allowed me to pursue this theory and changed my BP med from Hyzaar to Procardia. I've also added MegaRed, B12 and CoQ-10 back to my daily regiment, based on what I read here. For me, and I assume everyone else, PN is very slow to change, so it'll be a while before I know it this helps

Well, I'm not sure that was as "Cliff Notes" as I meant for it to be. Sometimes I ramble as if I was being paid by the word.