I have heard that too, and I think there is something to it. My son also has a rare recurring form of shingles which first struck him when he was only ten years old. It affects the nerve that goes from outside corner of his eye to his ear and he gets blisters on top of his ear. It is extremely painful but responds to famvir and Gabapentin. Outbreaks seem related to stress, which he handles poorly.
I hope that you get some answers soon, and that they take your pain seriously and work on finding relief.

I would rather there not be a link between nerve disorders and autism, because that is scary to me but I know there likely is. Glad your son gets relief from famvir and gabapentin, never heard of recurring shingles till now. My grandma had them a long time ago.

I was told by my local neurologist that he doesn't know what else to give me for neuropathy, he referred me to UOM and is just basically telling me to wait for the time being. I see his point but still wish he'd give me another med to try in the mean time. I saw a new family doctor today and got a few blood tests, like getting my thyroid checked.

I appreciate your positive thoughts. I wish the same for you and your sons.

I am sure once I get to UOM since it is a huge center I will find out about a lot more.

I would get tested at your new neurologist's office for B12 deficiency. Vegans can have serious deficiencies in B12 levels, since they don't eat animal foods. You should get the numerical result and see if it is below 400pg/ml. Labs today still report levels below that as "normal", which is dangerous.

Vegetarians also get low in zinc and methionine (a sulfur containing amino acid). The phytates in vegetables can complex zinc in the GI tract and make it unavailable for absorption.
Low methionine leads to low SAMe levels. SAMe is a methylation carrier for methyl groups to make neurotransmitters.

It might be useful to get the DNA testing for methylation as well.
If you have a MTHFR genetic error, the little B12 you are consuming may not get activated to methylcobalamin. Some of our posters here have had this test and found they had this problem.

Here is our B12 thread:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread85103.html

If you are not eating animal products, you need to supplement B12. And if you have PN too, then BONUS, you need it for that too. I am not familiar with the zinc and methionine problem, should check it out. Thanks.
Ron

Yes, do check the zinc issue out. Zinc you know, is secreted in seminal fluid and an average adult male can lose up to 5mg in each ejaculate. Men lose zinc this way, and women lose iron for obvious reasons.

Zinc is most plentiful in seafood and meats.

After testing, one of the best zinc supplements should you need one is OptiZinc. It also has copper added to it, to avoid losing copper.

Oh my, I'll have to be careful.