I have a prescription for gabapentin. I had taken it just a couple times when I began the R-Lipoic Acid, which worked incredibly for me (not typical at all) - 48 hours, and I haven't needed/taken any gabapentin since (about a year now). I experienced further improvement when I added pantothenic acid (B5). I tried Acetyl L-Carnitine but I don't think it was doing anything much, and have recently discontinued it. There are other things I've been meaning to try, but expense is a barrier right now. Dropping the ALC should enable me to try something else (I have a list someplace....)

At the risk of "Do as I say - not as I do" I went about this wrong. I started a few things at once because I was anxious for relief. I read on one site (which I neglected to bookmark and have regretted since) that the sooner RLA is started, the sooner and better it works, so I jumped in with both feet. The better/preferred method is to try/add/discontinue one thing at a time, so you know what's working and what's not.

It's certainly possible some antidepressants may contribute to PN - anything's "possible", but I tend to discount most reports like that because there's no way to tell what else may be going on/responsible that those "reporters" aren't mentioning. IME, the internet tends to be a very hypochondrial place. I've found it's also not a bad idea to put things into context; a few instances out of how many millions? Again, anything's possible, but... like a jigsaw puzzle, all the pieces need to be assembled in order to get the whole picture.

I get the scarines concerning your vision. I've had a few scares myself after having better than average vision my first 50 years, and my aunt is currently going blind with macular degeneration (and not taking it well at all - who can blame her?)

Doc

@ Tommy:

Please read this thread I started with info on diabetic neuropathy:

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread158275.html

post #9 on that thread:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/post839633-9.html
Discusses new information that some statins actually contribute to developing type II diabetes: included is your Zocor.

I venture to say that the drug reps are NOT sharing this new information with doctors, and hence many doctors probably haven't seen it yet.

Glad to hear you have had success with the R-LA and B5. I'm ordering some R-LA and a few other supplements.
This whole thing is confusing and frustrating. I'll have a few good days in a row and just when I think I'm improving, BOOM, it's back with a vengance.

I truly hope you are getting Doctor's Best stabilized form of R-lipoic.

That's very typical with a lot of conditions. There are no quick fixes, and healing can take time. It may help to chart your progress, so you can look back and determine any trends. It can also help with things like, "Did ABC start happening before or after I began doing XYZ?"

Doc