Off gassing/outgassing.
Mrs. D mentioned hard wood floors from China. Ours are premade hardwoods, but I don't know if they are from China. I thought they would be a much safer option than doing all the finishing work here. Maybe not. Formaldehyde seems to be the issue with this type of floor, but I can't find any info on neuropathy/nerve damage from formaldehyde. It mostly seems linked to cancers.

I have always been so careful of buying furniture and safe carpeting made of wool because I was aware of the off gassing toxins. Never thought about premade bathroom vanities and floors.
So, I am doing my homework. I came across this great website and they have 4 sizable free download books with tons of information on hazardous materials. Really great stuff that we should all be aware of especially us idiopaths

Here it is http://www.healthyhouseinstitute.com

I believe aldehydes are harmful to the nerves. They are the by products also of alcohol metabolism. Antabuse (the drug used to deter alcoholics) actually causes buildup of aldehydes in the body and makes people sick. It also we know now causes PN.

To help clear these chemicals, thiamine or benfotiamine would be the supplement to help with this.

At work, one of my friends was accidentally exposed to formaldehyde daily for a period of several months. He was getting headaches, nosebleeds, and I think he was even coughing blood. No nerve damage and it's been a few years now. He is worried about his cancer exposure.

I've worked with formaldehyde a little bit in my prior job. It is carcinogenic and mutagenic; you would likely see CNS damage and not peripheral....but you never know.

I wonder if the build up of formaldehyde/ other of gassing would be what is causing my complete inability to process alcohol. I am pretty sure that my liver is extremely burdened from what ever I was exposed to. I used to be able to have a drink for a pleasant buzz and then have another for a good old time. Since this neuropathy, I can't even take a sip of it with out becoming rapidly drunk in a terrible way.

This is all very interesting. My small Fiber Neuropathy issue seemed to come on suddenly last year after there wa a build up of water in the roof of our house. Over time the water filled down into the ceiling sheet rock, the entire thing collapsed, ceiling caved in and roof was redone. Had the house demoisturized. Lots of repairs, etc.

All of a sudden the neuropathy started acting up. All kinds of food that never bothered me before triggered insane attacks. Buzzing, itching, burning and more. My first trip was to the dermatologist because i thought I had some skin disorder like pruritis. They did all kinds of skin allergy tests. The only thing that came up was formaldehyde allergy. So, i began to think, maybe something was released into the air and got into my system? But, why was I the only one in the house who experienced anything. I gave up any kind of aspartame because that converts into formaldehyde into the body (and giving up aspartame is extremely difficult, as bad as quitting smoking).

i still wonder to this day, since I am idiopathic and have had nearly every possibility ruled out (beyond the fact that i was on a statin and an acid controller - I still blame the statin), if there was something toxic that got to me. I have been tested for a lot of contaminants in the body but i am sure a good inspection of my house will surely turn up some contaminants, mold for sure. With all the water damage.

Thanks for posting this.

Using thiamine properly is genetically driven. There are ethnic peoples (mostly in Asia) who lack enough of the enzyme to process the alcohol and aldehydes it creates in the body. These people get ill very quickly if they drink alcohol, and some drugs cannot be metabolized properly either and require much lower doses. (Crestor is one).

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC303676/

Since this is a mitochondrial defect, it follows that if the mitochondria are damaged, then metabolism may be impaired for aldehyde removal and other functions.
And many of the drugs used for PN symptoms interact with alcohol, leading to increased sedation. Cymbalta in fact damages the liver and if used with alcohol, can lead to serious damage or death even.

Wow. This is really interesting. I also had a problem with a water leak in my home two years ago that had to have mold remediation. About three months later I started having the idiopathic neuropathy and skin rashes. I also have the buzzing and burning sensations. I am going next week to have allergy testing to try to find out what the weird skin rashes are because I have no clue. But I also get bad stabbing in my feet, toes and ankles.

I am surprised i don't see more people here talking about the benefits of Inositol. It helps with liver detox, is good for the cells and a very good blood sugar stabilizer. In higher doses helps with anxiety and insomnia issues. Its part of the great B-Vitamin family. I have especially noticed its ability to help with blood sugar issues. I have used it for years even before the diagnosis and swear by it. one of the better supplements I have ever taken. Dr. Atkins was also a huge proponent of it.

WOW! Now ya got me really thinking! keep me updated on this.

Another link here. I wonder how many of of with otherwise normal blood work who had/ have toxic exposures or chemical sensitivities. I'm on a roll. This basically describes how little they know yet on this topic, but how real it is.

http://jnnp.bmj.com/content/75/suppl_3/iii29.full