Dr. Latov's New Book
"Peripheral Neuropathy:
When the Numbness, Weakness, and Pain Won't Stop"
can be obtained at amazon.com , about $14.00
I haven't read it yet, but have heard about it favorably

I'm going to ask Dr. Goldfarb if she has a copy and if we can look at it. He was her mentor.

Mel

Its just "off the press" from what I've heard.

Oh, it's that new!!!! Well, one can only hope, now can't one???

Sounds very interesting.

I just had a talk with Alan about his 3 hour glucose tolerance test and how he might be pre-diabetic and that might be the reason he has PN.

I need a medical degree to explain it and I didn't do very good.
I told him "go on the boards and read it. These guys know what they are talking about".

So we shall see if he gets up enough courage, comes on these boards and looks it up.

For now, he's trying to sit in a lotus position and fly!!

lol Melody

I have been waiting for a second book to order!

Free shipping with Amazon for these two.

Here is the other:
The Side Effects Bible: The Dietary Solution to Unwanted Side Effects of Common Medications (Paperback)
by Frederic Md Vagnini, Barry Phd Fox

You can read an excerpt from the Side Effects Bible here:
http://www.enotalone.com/article/4624.html

This book is a new extension on the topic of drug induced nutrient depletions.
Anyone taking drugs for long term illness should read it. And it is not expensive.

--if I can sneak a copy of the Cornell-Weill Center next time I stop in there. I'm pretty sure there'll be a copy or two lying around.

That's where I go for my Accord Program.

I see Dr. Gantz. She runs the ACCORD Program that I participate in.

That is some BIG PLACE!!!!!

mel

Melody, if Prediabetes turns out to be the cause, then loosing all that weight and going to gym will help him big time.

Brian:

We will be going to see his primary guy, Dr. Fred (our favorite guy), on Monday. He should then have the results of all the blood work that was done by the lab (it's just down the block from Dr. Fred's office).

When Dr. Fred looks at the blood work from the 3 hour glucose tolerance test, WILL THAT TELL HIM THAT ALAN IS PRE-DIABETIC? or will that say "oh, he was pre-diabetic but he no longer is pre-diabetic?"

Or will it just say nothing if the numbers aren't what they should be.

I mean, what exactly are they supposed to find from a 3 hour blood glucose tolerance test.

And if it's found to be that Alan was pre-diabetic but that because of his lifestyle change, his yoga, his going to the gym 4 times a week, if that is a good thing?... well, can they do SOMETHING about his PN?

lots of questions, I know.....

Melody

--if Alan's blood sugar levels are in pre-diabetic (impaired glucose tolerance) ranges, or in diabetic ranges if they are very high (not that probable) or in normoglycemic ranges.

If there's no former test to compare these results to, though, if eh "Scores" in the "impaired tolerance ranges" it will be hard to determine whether he is on the way up to diabetic ranges, or coming down from them. But either way, getting scores in those ranges means he should be cautious about diet and doing exercise--which, in essence, he already is.

Since diabetes/impaired glucose tolerance are both designations based on glucose numbers, and since both are, over time, reversible conditions if one makes the appropriate lifestyle changes (as you yourself are proving, Melody), it may always be difficult to determine if Alan had more severe glucose problems. There's a tendency to consider someone diabetic or impaired in tolerance if they score in the ranges just once, but this is likely an outmoded view--people's ability to assimilate glucose can change, in either direction, over time. For instance, Melody, your diabetes is not as severe as it once was--they have been slowly lowering your meds--and it is conceivable, if you continue to lose weight, exercise, eat well, etc., that at some point you will be scoring at non-diabetic levels, and controlling the condition, merely through those measures, without meds. (A good number of people can control diabetes through just these measures, if their numbers have not been exceedingly high for long periods of time.)

I hope they did the test with insulin levels taken concurrently with glucose levels--these may provide a clue as to how hard Alan's pancreas has to work to control sugar levels, and indicate to what degree he may be insulin resistant, if his glucose levels stay within normal levels.

From what you've described, if Alan does have, or did once have, glucose regulation problems, they're now probably under good control--he's built muscle, lost weight, etc. That doesn't mean if he's had the problem at one point or another it couldn't have contributed to his neuropathy pain, though. It's possible, if he continues to maintain a healthy lifestyle, his symptoms will gradually lessen--good blood sugar control is a good idea even if one's neuropathy is demonstrably caused by something else; big blood sugar swings are crappy for nerves, especially those already damaged. (It's a good idea for anyone generally.)