Well, dogzRbarkin.... you are a complex person.

Statins do cause neuropathy.
NSAIDs do cause heart attacks, in addition to bleeding episodes.

And nitro sublingual expires quickly in the bottle. Once it is opened 6mos tops. If unopened ... one year. So if your nitro is not fresh, it is most likely evaporated away. (nitro leaves the tablets and turns into a gas). Taking ibuprofen with any angina is not a good idea.

If you get out in the sun, but not much, you can start at Vit D 2000IU D3 daily. Without a test, then it is basically a shot in the dark for larger doses.

The B12 you can try, and I would start at 5000mcg methyl form daily, on an empty stomach. But if you are not really low in either of these, taking more will not have much effect.

All the supplements besides these two cost substantial money.
Without some direction, it is difficult at this point to say what you need or would work.

I think it is possible you are gluten intolerant, but testing for that costs money.

So basically without insurance you are in a tough spot.

What you can do is clean up your diet. (lower the amount of carbs and sweets you eat). Take flax oil and fish oil, and some foods now have them added. Neither is that expensive to buy. This might improve your inflammatory pain some. Avoid alcohol.(which is expensive anyway). With less carb/sweets, your pain may improve some. You can try Salonpas patches for your knee pain, instead of ibuprofen. But if your knees are bone on bone with no cartilage, you may not see much improvement with Salonpas. (they don't work on severe cases).

Keep reading here and something may stand out for you to try.

... well, thanks, mrsD ... I think you may be going slightly out of your way, to put that thought nicely ... and I suppose, ( )

I think it is fair to say, my record in taking care of and ebing responsible for my own health, has been "spotty, at best", so far, but I think we are both trying to share information honestly here, so that can't be a bad thing ... and I will be the first to admit without prompting, I have some "mental health" issues, that have seriously affected the degree to witch I have sought out treatment and care over the years, for both physical and "issues" ... but hey, at least I still have a sense of humor about it all (and if that wasnt what you meant at all, don't worry ... I'm stepping up to the plate, of my own free will here)

... like I said, I am jsut trying to get my bearings here with this PN thing, so I can plot a course for myself. And I am very appreciative of all the input and advice, and will try to make some changes, large or small, for my own benefit. It is confusing terrain, to be sure, but confusion is nothing new to me. And I promise to read the stickies, before I ask any more foolish questions ... thanks again, for all the advice and guidance.

OkeyDokey....

Just so you know, one can now buy "smart" food.

Yes, Omega-3s have never been so easy to get thru food. I sure wish these were available when we started just over a decade ago in our house, to change our diet for health.

http://www.smartbalance.com/

I use the Smart Balance peanut butter. It is as good as any other out there. I've just bought the new milk. And we use the butter substitute spread. And there is a new sour cream! Too bad it is full fat, as I use the reduced fat one by Breakstone.
But when our store gets this I might try it anyway.

There are even chicken nuggets from Canada -- I forget the brand, but available from Costco. My hubby eats those for lunch sometimes, but he threw the box away, and only the ziploc baggie is left in our freezer! But they have Omega-3s in them.

There are Omega-3 eggs now too! Egglands' Best Omega-3!

So one can do Omega-3s pretty well now by just selecting "smart foods".

To address the question about your neck, yes you would need an MRI to see what's going on. I ask because numbness in my hand was my first clue I had a neck problem.

OK< thanks for the info. I will put it on the list, for when I get some insurance coverage ... and best of luck to you also, Swmn.

Half Cow Half Boy What a Hoot!
Your humble honesty and inborn sense of humor is what's gonna be yer savin grace there partner!

AND I think you cut yourself a bit short sometimes!....

I think you are 'smarter' than u give yourself credit for Dogz!!
When I joined this board 6 months ago, I thought B12 was some sort of off-brand shot gun.......
You've got a pretty darn good grasp on alot of this stuff, so, give credit where credit is due.......
As far as the 'Spinal intimidation'......it's no big deal......
Our Spinal Column is divided into 4 segments.....from top to bottom:
1) Cervical 2) Thoracic 3) Lumbar 4) Sacral

So, when you hear someone talk in terms of spinal issues, there's yer ticket.
So when I said my issues are in the Lumbar spine, that's the lower back basically and the nerves in that region of the spine are the ones that control the lower extremeties.....thus my bilateral (both) leg pain .
You probably already know this and are sitting there with a smart@$$ grin on your face watchin me make an idiot of myself acting like I know something

Yes, and you've received a plethera of vital info all at once. This is a fine example of how much people care here!! Don't be intimidated by it......get a nice big ol' notebook, take notes and B4 you know it you will realize that you've become your very own Pain Management Specialist!!

I put myself thru medical school simply by investing in a $4.99 paperback Merck Manual.....
No, but really. Unless you've got $ falling out of your pockets, IMO the best way to get a GOOD understanding of what we are battling, is to keep a journal and notes, take to heart what folks share here, jot things down, absorb the info that works/pertains to you, put aside the info that doesn't.....
Otherwise, take the $ that is falling out of your pockets and go see every Dr you can find and go in a HUGE circle of confusion and frustration...... and you'll eventually end up right back here. Only with no money left. Well....in reality, you're gonna want to end up with SOMEbody with a medical degree at some point.....but there are ways to avoid wasting $ on those who don't have your best interests at heart.
I have faith you're gonna end up in good hands

AND
Absolutely! I'm SO glad you started your own thread. That was the smart thing to do! Your story has many facets to it and a lot of others will learn from your testimony.......so yes, my friend....I'm glad you didn't tag your first post on the end of some other thread......

So glad you've joined this 'club'.... as you put it

Thanks, I have seen the "butter" / spread and the peanutbutter in stores around here, I will try them out. I also have a jar of fish oil caps, that I give to one of my dogs for his skin problems / allergies. I havent been taking it myself, but I will start. I also ordered some more online, as well as:


CAL-MAG CHELATED



VITAMIN D (D-3) 2000 IU



METHYLCOBALAMIN VITAMIN B-12 1000 mcg



CO Q-10 plus L-CARNITINE 50/100 mg


... hopefully that will give me a decent start on the supplements. I think I will try that along with trying to live without the ibuprofen, cutting back on the alcohol intake, investigating diet changes, asking my foot doc to have a go with the Neurontin (gabapentin), looking into the magnets and patches, trying to get a vitamin chart (or whatever the test is called), and take it from there .... maybe adding one piece at a time would be a good idea though, huh (so I can tell better what is working, or what isnt), or should I jsut shoot the moon and go for broke ? Thanks again for all the tips.

... what? No "5" ?


1) Cervical 2) Thoracic 3) Lumbar 4) Sacral 5) Ligeous


... sorry, couldn't HELP myself

This is a good start. The CoQ10 and carnitine may be too low a dose to see results. But none of your list is "harmful" in any way at this point. One thing about food is that certain additives like MSG can over excite nerves and give lots of problems. So with your dietary attention, avoid the MSG (monosodium glutamate) as much as possible. Also do not overdo on salt. When you start
Neurontin, there may be fluid retention, and eating salty foods (which are common in most restaurants) can make that more likely.

There is a guy who writes books, and publishes on Yahoo...
various lists of terrible restaurant food choices. Eat this and Not That is his moniker.

This is the website he is featured on:
eatthis.menshealth.com/
I cannot get this to load for me...I've had some computer DSL problems this weekend. But when that site is available check him out. He will explain why certain things are unhealthy, and then give you an example of what instead is similar and better.
Your library, may have his books too. And he has been a guest on Rachel Ray's show. I think he is very good for showing how you can eat tasty stuff and avoid the pitfalls of unhealthy food.
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Eat.../9781594868542

So keep us up to date on your progress!

Here's a good web site for the second part of that concept!

And welcome, dogz! Glad that you've found us.