What about tactile allodynia? It sounds like whats happening with me.

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/sensi...-to-touch.html

There is a fancy medical word for just about everything!

One word you won't hear from doctors is "iatrogenic".

I've been wondering about your daily activities. What do you do for a living and for fun? Sometimes people get exposed to things in the environment, that can cause problems. Even going to the gym too much can cause strains, or pulls.

We are seeing articles now about chlorinated water (swimming pools)
Hot tubs, even wearing dry cleaned chothes alot is implicated in PN.

I dont do anything like that. My life has been pure hell for the last 15 months. I Pretty much work from home and go into the NYc to my sales office 1-2 times a week. I dont work out at all. I just go for works. I am really starting to loose it. I am crying alot because I am scared and in pain. I do see a therapist to help me cope. I wish this nightmare would end.

I want my life back.

this makes nonsense. How did I wind up with this pain? On paper I am healthy. My upper back is burning most of the time, god forbid It gets touched.

Its my sons birthday today and I dont even know how I am going to put on a happy face for him.

Biofreeze is very cooling. It has a special gel with Menthol and an antioxidant, which block burning signals, for several hours.

Have you tried it? With pain localized in one place it is a good option to try.

On my chest it worked great. On my back I makes it 100x times worse burning.

MRs. D
Is the ALA and other supplements safe to take long term?

Is there any blood tests I need to take to ensure nothing else is effected by these new vitamins I am taking?

If you have normal kidneys, the supplements we use here are pretty benign. I don't recommend anything problematic.

ALA is made by your own body. If that starts to fail, the ALA supplement takes over. There is a decade of research on ALA on PubMed...take a look for yourself.

You need to read up a bit on your own and learn about things involving nerves, and how they function.
This thread for example:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread121683.html

The drugs people take for PN that they get from their doctors are potentially far more serious than any supplement here.

What I see basically from your posts, is a long term use of Nexium. Then use of SSRIs. Then several invasive mechanical tests involving instrumentation. Be aware that "scopes" used in testing have been contaminated and patients have suffered just from that.
And then after all that, you have a NEW symptom!
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00015286.htm

http://blogs.hcpro.com/osha/2010/09/...paign=20100901

This is alarming, and may not be your problem, but you have to realize your current issues have resulted AFTER your procedures.

So if taking ALA or other supplements worry you, then don't.

We offer information here for people to evaluate for themselves.
Several of us know where to find the current research and we share it here. It saves you time, but in no way do we intend for you to follow it all blindly.

Sometimes it is difficult to be objective, and the fresh eyes here can see what you can't. Your first post went into great detail about your testing. I think that is very interesting and revealing and may be a huge clue to your current problems.

I will say I saw recently on another thread of yours, that you went to a masseuse--more than once? I had a masseuse once trigger my shingles ganglia...which for me is in my neck (the shingles went down my right arm initially and that is where my pain is). I'd stay away from massage for a while, to see if that triggered you.

Dr. Latov who is considered the PN expert doctor (with books he has written) is in NYC. You could always consult with him, and take your tests with you that you have so far.

http://www.weillcornell.org/normanlatov/index.html
These are his screening tests:
http://www.questdiagnostics.com/hcp/...eralNeurop.htm