I read that taking Alpha-lipoic acid has been used for years to treat peripheral neuropathy in Germany. However, most of the studies that have found it helps if taken intravenous (IV) alpha-lipoic acid. I also see it can be taken by injection by your health provider. I did try it orally but it gave me a bad case of heartburn. It's been written that most studies of oral alpha-lipoic acid have been small and poorly designed. One study did find that taking alpha-lipoic acid for diabetic neuropathy reduced symptoms compared to placebo.


Cliffman

--is that alpha lipoic has been a prescription item in Germany, whereas in the Us and Canada it can be obtained over the counter.

It is true that in many of those studies the amount of lipoic acid used to get the effects (1200-1800mg/day) is more than most people could tolerate orally.

You could try R-lipoic acid, though. Composed of only the chemically active right-handed racemic lipoic acid molecules (the left handed ones are for the most part biologically inert), r-lipoic can be taken in much smaller doses than R-lipoic for equivalent effect--a 6:1 to 10:1 alpha lipoic:R-lipoic ratio is often cited--and that may help with the acidic effects (I know it helped for me). Not a bad idea to take it with food, either.

but I was taking a lot of things at once. I did get better and didn't have heartburn. So the only conclusion that I can draw is that it didn't hurt me nor any of the cocktail of other supplements. The only recordable and physical improvement that I have experienced was getting my b-12 from 119 to over 900. I was grasping at straws and didn't care which straws worked and which was not working, just as long as there was improvement. Good Luck, Ken in Texas. P.S. I was waaaay to impatient to do one thing at a time and document it all. I've heard it called the "Shotgun Blast Approach".

I would worry that the lipoic acid would burn the blood vessels.

I had an IV when I was in the hospital having my C-section and the blood pressure drug caused phlebitis (inflammation) in my arm veins. My circulation now is difficult because of this and getting a blood test is very difficult...no one seems able to get my veins to work well for blood tests.

Hello,

I am an American living in Switzerland, so I know a little about the US vs German perspectives.

I am a little nervous about the big trend in German speaking countries about the use of massive quantities of ALA. I am a little suspicious. Particularly, there seems to be a big fad here to point a wide range of things to mercury in fillings and then use this as a detox. I am not a medical expert but I am wary of how these doses removes other things your bodies need. This is on the edge of my knowledge so don't take anything I say as gospel but I wonder about other trace elements, metals nutrients, etc that it removes. I personally am not jumping on the ALA bandwagon in the German speaking countries until I learn more about it. It seems at first glance to me that this region is a little unique in how they use ALA and this use hasn't been tested by loads of people world wide.

There are some people in Germany who would get very emotional about what I am saying and admittedly I don't yet know loads about it. Since it was over zealous medicine that gave me the neuropathy in the first place, I tend to take the "whatever you do, don't make it worse" approach and proceed cautiously by really learning about interventions before jumping in.

I'm also a little disappointed in some of the online forums about neuropathy in Germany. They seem to have a bias about just a few treatments. I personally feel you hear about a much wider range of options in this forum. I sometimes wish someone would translate and add some of the basics you find here for the Germans who seem a little isolated in a bubble of a smaller population who have just a few key things that is the trend in that region.

Just my two cents.

I was originally taking the standard Alpha Lipoic Acid (Vitacost brand) and could not handle the heartburn. I then switched to some other brand of NA-ALA that i never heard of and had heartburn. Then I switched to the Doctor's Best brand Stabilized R-Lipoic and found no heartburn with it. I would look into brands that that have "BioEnhanced™Na-RALA" as the primary ingredient. This is usually sourced to the vitamin company from a company called Geronova. Jarrow and Doctor's Best use them as a supplier. I have found these brands are reliable. If you have an Amazon Prime account you can order the vitamin and if you try it and get heartburn they have an easy return policy. I have had GERD for decades so I am sensitive to heartburn. i have had no issues with these.

Good info....thanks Patrick

Cliffman