Mrs. D, I watched the videos. I love the Mercola site as well as Life Extension Foundation. I am a member of LEF. Thank goodness for them and other sites that tell the truth.

I am actually feeling so sad now reliving what I went through with Leaquin. The sad thing is that my Gasto doc I have now says he sees no evidence I had that. Makes me ill to think of that.

I know so much more now, how sad we have to learn the hard way. I am going to tell my son and his wife. I don't think I have done that.

Thanks for the videos.

Mustang,beleive me when I say that we all know where you are coming from!! It took 3 year's before any Dr's dx me with RSD. They all kept telling me that it was all in my head! I fianally went to a neurologist who gave me am EMG test. My finding's were way off of the chart's!! I now have full body RSD,for over 10 year's now. I guess my ? to you is,have you seen a Neurologist or any pain Dr's?? I cannot stress enough how much you have to push your issue's. Or you will just be another #. I also wanted to welcome you to this Great Place! It has so many wonderfull people who are full of knowledge! Hang in there! Breezy55.

To "mrsD" : What's wrong with the "OXIDE" Form? -- The GNC brand I've been taking says: "Magnesium as 250 mg as 63% Oxide and Magnesium Gluconate."

I avoid taking any NSAIDS (such as Alieve, Naproxen and Aspirin) as in people affected with Cipro toxicity, it can “augment” the problem. I hear Tylenol and Acetaminophen is safe though.

Still I don't even take that. I only take clonozepam/Klonopin (0.5 twice a day for anxiety and pain management) and no other drugs. I'm afraid to take anything else that might worsen my symptoms, I as feel I have definitely had some great healing strides since July.

I seem to get worse flare-ups (especially cramping) when it rains or when their is really high humidity. Is anyone familiar with how the weather effects your NP pains? I live in Chicago with harsh winters, I hope the usual cold weather doesn't do too much damage this season.

…And also, is anyone here with Cipro/flouroquinolone poisoning having a hard time with their Neurologist? I get the tests I need but she keeps thinking that Cipro CAN'T cause Neuropathy, despite it being directly on the severe side effects label. ...How ironic.

Pain and fear are a difficult cycle to break. Especially when you don't have answers. Finding a diversion helps some. Whether is coming to the forum, reading or a good show on the tube, anything to get your mind off the pain for a bit. Talking yourself through it may help as well. Its easy to be consumed by pain and fear if you let it. I wish I had something more tangible to offer, but I haven't figured that one out for myself, let alone be able to stop someone else's pain.

I'm in Indiana. Not being raised here, it surprised me when I finally found a pain specialist here. He's great and his staff is nice too. It was only luck that I stumbled upon his clinic. There may be someone in FL. that you just haven't found yet. Don't give up. If you have a good friend or spouse, just venting to them can make a difference. I'm glad you found this forum.

Sam

About Keeping your mind off of pain - or "Escapes"
as they are called.

Here are some things that help me personally. ...As it is, I have flare ups of bad days when the pain is very annoying and almost unbareble, but then days when I certainly feel it fading away...times where the pain is far "less frequent" and "less painful" - the 2 ways I judge my healing. I can only hope these are good signs.

I keep a "daily journal" of how I feel each day & what I've done. This helps me figure out what irritates my symptoms as well as what heals them, i.e, bad weather, exercise, new vitamins, whatever.

I started eating better and lost nearly 30 pounds in 3 months. (quit Fast-Foods) I will continue to try to be a healthier person, even when this neuropathy stops - better for life in general I think .


Escape #1: Dreams

On an odd note - I practice some strange "escapes" that keep my mind off of the pain. First off, I take no medication for the pain at all. I only take 0.5 mg of Clonozepam/Klonapin twice a day for the anxiety - the rest of the stuff I take are vitamins. So I'm always looking for an escape.

-- so, back to the escapes - I realized I dream every night and I kind of live a 2nd life there (in the dreamworld that is - like most of us ) where the pain can NOT follow. So that's something we can all look forward to EVERY night.

In the morning, I write down the dreams in a daily journal so I can remember them as life-experiences. We literally spend half our lives sleeping, so I figure remembering the dreams (no matter how odd or silly) owes the same as remembering real experiences at times.

Escape #2: RPG Video Games

I also got into playing certain types of Video games. Yes, I'm 42 years old, but I noticed that playing "RPG" or Role Playing Games (On X-Box or PlayStation, or whatever) provides a weird escape from real life. RPG games don't require much rampant button pushing as most video games; so it's not so bad on your fingers - and after a while playing them, they place your mind in an alternate world so to speak.

This might seem downright stupid. It certainly sounds stupid, but it's not. I actually got this idea when I heard that video games are banned from prisoners -why? Not because its entertainment (many prisoners have TVs) but because they make time pass quicker and provide a kind of limited alternate reality that Wardons don't want prisoners to have.

It seems to me, that your mind can only focus on certain things at a time - playing video games for a while during your day or after work in your personal time WILL relax you and take your mind off of depressing thoughts -plus they are just fun in general.

There are many RPG games for women, too like any of the SIMS games. I play Fallout 3 -an apocalyptic game & some cool Star Wars ones, too. ..Is this immature? -- it probably is - does it work as mental therapy? - I KNOW it does for me.

In my therapy group other people use TV shows to pass time and for similar reasons (any Netflix or cable TV Series to be specific) to get their minds off of negative things - I think gaming may be similar, just more interactive. The difference being, games place YOU in the show rather than just watching it.

Anyway, that is my two thoughts regarding "Escapes".

Magnesium oxide is not absorbed to any useful extent. It remains in the GI tract.
Mixtures tend to not be real mixtures. Magnesium oxide is the smallest volume maker in pills because oxide does not weigh much. Gluconate is a heavy portion however, and I would not expect much of it in that tablet.
There is a link to the studies on absorption in my magnesium thread here:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread1138.html
Magnesium oxide is however an excellent laxative and is used as such (Phillips tablets).. because the magnesium remains in the bowel.

I've called manufacturers and they cannot tell as a rule from their recipes how much of each is in a mixture.
http://www.drugstore.com/products/pr...6&aparam=92272

This means 63% of your daily RDA requirement value. However I take issue with that. Magnesium oxide is 60% magnesium elemental by weight. That 63% on the label does not mean you will ABSORB any of it.
So 250mg of the magnesium oxide is 150mg magnesium by weight, but very little if any is absorbed from this. Don't count on anything being helpful from this product therefore.
from http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Mag...hProfessional/

My link to my magnesium thread gives more details on this subject. You can read further there.

Oxide therefore does not give much if any absorption into the blood stream, and is to be avoided.

For MrsD:

That was very helpful. I did not know that. Still, I can't find any other types of Magnesium in my local stores. For the time being - is it alright if I keep taking the Oxide Magnesium that I'm taking now? ...I mean will it hurt me in some way?

--Just asking until I can get a hold of the other type.

The oxide won't hurt you unless you take alot of it...then it will cause diarrhea.
But it is not doing what you want it too.
Of course you didn't know this, along with most doctors who still find it in their reference books:


WalMart carries SlowMag and its generic called Mag64, or MagDelay. SlowMag was initially formulated for use by doctors for patients low in magnesium. It remains over the counter too.
Your initial dose should be one tablet twice a day at different times.

Ask at the pharmacy if they are out of it, and they will order it for you.
http://www.walmart.com/search/search...straint=976760

Any pharmacy can order this for you... drugstores, Kroger's
Target etc. Will take a couple of days, depending. WalMart may take a week.

You know the exact date of your onset? That is unusual. Can you also remember exactly what you were doing then, before that date? You need to be a detective to find your trigger.
You are young for gammopathies. (that is what your newer tests are for).

What do you do for a living? Hobbies? vaccines, illnesses, food reactions or food poisoning, solvents, chemicals.

Do you take any drugs, including over the counter medications?
Did you have a B12 level done at all? Do you eat alot of wheat products, gluten?
Any medically invasive procedures? traumas, accidents, or surgeries?

The more you can tell us the more it may point to a path for you to try and heal.

To mrsD:

Thanks, you saved me a lot of time with such practical advice. I would have been struggling to get that info from anyone and anywhere else. I'm glad to know I can get this from a store rather than getting stuff on-line as I somewhat distrust buying supplements online.

It seems you know more about dealing with PN than I do and I'm tempted and a bit embarrassed to ask you questions, especially as new circumstances arise. But I don't want to overburden you, so if you don't mind - I'll ask them one at a time.

I'm still baiting a question that I feel a little silly for asking though - but I'll ask you anyway. It's about the weather and PN pain. Is it just a mind trick, or does rain and high humidity actually irritate PN pain? I don't know if this is in my head, or if there is some actual basis for this kind of thing.