Thanks for this. The ketogenic diet is the right diet and has significantly improved my SFN. Any ideas how relevant what he says is to minimally myelinated or non myelinated fibers as in SFN?

Your body will tell you that a ketogenic or Atkins style diet is best because of how much reduction in pain you will see. I have found if i do strict Atkins i get a ton of pain relief and also have less need for medicines.

Try the diet for two weeks. Then go and try something processed, sugary, loaded with gluten or the like. Your body will react almost immediately with intense nerve pain. Best test is a donut from Dunkin' Donuts. Within 2 bites you will want to die.

I like that he says it can be reversed in 1-3 years. That is assuming you are dealing with the possible causes that are idiopathic or unknown. So, you basically have to treat your body assuming you have a condition - which kind of stinks. Thats why so many of us are willing to be guinea pigs with supplements and alternative treatments.

Thank you for posting this! I have tried many things, some that really help me. We have to keep trying, right? I am going to give this diet a go, I assume that I should have my iodine, etc levels checked first. This should be interesting. And very hard at times. I went carb free before and we have a heck of a good reason to stay strong

Thanks, Patrick. Yes, you're right. As I mentioned, I've been on the Ketogenic diet for some time, months in fact, and have lost about 50 lbs, and my symptoms are much better, not to mention my energy levels. And yes, at one point I did break it and I immediately and for sometime after felt the effects.

However, recently my symptoms have expanded to regions where they weren't present before and I'm also now experiencing something new, namely, burning. I wonder if this is because a few weeks back I broke my diet or for some other reason, difficult to tell. I still would take this diet over anything else. I don't touch carbs and sugar, and many other things that are unhealthy or difficult to break down: it's basically my self-designed ketogenic autoimmune protocol and it has done wonders for me.

What I was more so asking/wondering about is how much of his general advice is applicable to SFN, since it seems more concerned with large nerves, though perhaps I'm wrong here even though he doesn't mention SFN, and regardless perhaps it would be applicable anyway. My primary concern is to what extent SFN can heal or go into remission. I'd love to hear from SFN people about their journey's and experiences, especially those who have seen improvement or even remission. I guess I'll find out about myself at some point - still searching for the cause - since I plan to be on the ketogenic diet for some time to come.

Thanks for this info!
 

Years ago I semi-followed the Weston Price type diet and still believe in some of their principles. There are many similarities to the Ketogenic diet. For example I never buy low fat foods including yogurt. I make my own from raw, grass feed organic milk. I still make and consume some fermented foods.

I now eat a paleo diet. However, it does allow certain types of sugar like coconut sugar and maple syrup. When I add one of the options to my coffee (coffee is also a no no for me) I immediately burn. I noticed in the Keto Diet it does not include sugars. so as difficult as it will be I think it's a better match for me.

I have a few questions in regards to what he recommends in the article.

1. Resveratrol 500 mgs per day to 10,000 mgs a day based upon the patient’s symptoms and budget?

2. Use of iodine and iodide supplements, is he referring to increasing table salt or something else?

3. Very liberal replacement of B complex vitamins especially B1 and B12. Optimization of vitamin D and E levels due to their immune modulating and antioxidant effects in nerves. Use of inositol is also a treatment choice? I'm aware of the B12 but not the brands or amounts of the others mentioned?

Thanks,

Cliffman :)

I never bought into the low fat/non fat craze which I call designer "foods"...It's been commerce. I also believe in the Weston Price principles and attended our local support group for years. They gave me my first intro into Coconut Oil. These days I start off my day with 1T Olive oil and 1T Coconut oil before I go to sleep. I also use CO during the day and in my morning coffee. My fav CO is Nutivia but also buy whole foods brand unrefined CO. C

Another comment, I've never taken Resveratrol but 20 yrs on grape seed ex. I believe Resveratrol is "like" an OPC but not sure but know it's the newer grape supplement.

http://www.benefits-of-resveratrol.com/what-is-opc.html

And my friend who with 15 yrs of neuropathy from statins, threw away gabapentin and other drugs she's taken once the grape seed ex took hold in her body. She's been taking Grape seed ex probably 4 yrs now. She's also involved in a class action lawsuit re: Lipitor. I've talked to her so much about carbs and she eats too many as I see it, but she doesn't want to hear me on this food issue. We can do so much and I'm happy she's doing better now taking grape seed ex. C

Jack Kruse's Blog has interesting stuff
 

I just looked at the section on sleep. I could spend all day reading his blog.

I am always looking for some voices out there that have been helped regarding their idiopathic small fiber neuropathy. Nice there are others who are trying to do something about it through diet and health practices. Sometimes I feel it is useless to continue trying but even if I did give up I would still be eating a ketogenic diet. Energy and mental clarity are nothing to sneeze at. I hope people will come back to this page if they find something that works!