Hi everyone,

It's only been four months since the onset of SFN and I can already will see my muscles shrinking. Shoulders, forearms, legs, etc. have forgotten significantly smaller yet I can not use my hands and fingers due to the pain. Have any of you found any methods of maintaining muscle tone and strength? If so please advise.

Thanks,
Cliffman

This is where acetyl carnitine comes in.

As people age there is a process called sarcopenia. It is the loss of lean muscle mass due to aging. You can look this up if you are interested.

There have been studies showing whey protein in smoothies, helps prevent this. It can be very helpful.

If you are over 40, you might ask your doctor for a testosterone test to see if you are getting lowT.

In the spirit of exercising to tolerance, I use a spin bike that has handles for your hands. The exertion may not develop larger muscles but may facilitate quicker rerouting of fibers to the musckles being used. My Chiro told this to me and even if it is a load of huey it is a positive"spin". haha. Good Luck, Ken in Texas.

I lost a lot of weight since I got this as well, mostly I believe because i changed to a diet that involves less stimulation of my nerves/inflammatory foods.I am very lean now and there is muscle but it is tight lean muscle and i have very little body fat aside from hanging skin around the belly button where I used to have a happy Dad belly. Impossible to get rid of. I also cant lift weights like i used to. I can basically handle mild walking and I force myself to throw the football with my son (while wearing very protective gloves to reduce the compression pain). I am currently 6'1" 146 lbs. A year ago at this time I was 195lbs (my diet was not good then though). i look like all those dried out vegetarians i used to make fun of.

My Testosterone was good a year or 2 ago. I will get check again soon. I think there has to be some link to to SFN and muscle loss (autonomic?). Have you checked your BMI? My doctors told me its not panic time because my BMI is still in the low end of acceptable but I need to try to gain weight however possible. Most importantly, make sure it levels out and stops going lower.

Mrs D's recommendation of Whey protein is a good one. For me, Acetyl l Carnitine has actually been a bit of a fat burner, not helping to gain me any muscle but keeping fat off. Between that the R-Lipoic, Benfothiamine and other supps I am enjoying the benefits of their weight loss attributes. I am not giving them up but I cycle off every now and then.

MrsD do you a brand and/or strength most people take?

Thanks,
Cliffman

This product has a huge competitive marketing and many changes occur quickly with it. Back when we did this alot, we used Designer's Whey...but I don't see it on this list at all!

So here is LabDoor's reviews:

https://labdoor.com/rankings/protein

If I were buying today, I'd get the NOW brand in the first tier.

But just starting out, it might be best to get a small can (one pound) so there is no waste. WalMart has some small canisters for example compared to health food places.
Amazon has NOW unflavored : smaller can:
http://www.amazon.com/Whey-Protein-I...rotein+isolate

If you use milk and cereal often you can mix the whey into the milk, and use it on oatmeal or whatever. Getting unflavored is handy because it allows you leeway in mixing up some interesting health drinks on your own.

The label will tell you how much is in a scoop they provide, so start with one scoop a day and see how you feel. I wouldn't go over 2 scoops a day without some doctor input, and making sure you can handle the protein amounts (kidneys need to be in good shape).


But I would read the labels to see if magnesium oxide is added.
This can cause diarrhea in some people. I've had guys coming to me with this problem in the past, and we traced it to the magOxide added.

I enlarged the label on the NOW whey and I didn't see it.
Keep whey in a cool, dry place. It can go bad and make you sick if you store it wrong or whatever.

You can add ice cream (my son did that), Kefir, various fruits,
and even flax oil... 1 teaspoonful. You won't even know the flax is in there, but it is an Omega-3 which your body can eagerly use. Buy from a vendor who keeps this in the refrigerator and you keep it there too, paying attention to expiration dates.
It is fragile to heat and light and will go rancid quickly.

We have a hand held battery wand type mixer, but a Bullet or other blender works easily. It can be fun if you've never done it before.

Here are helpful hints, on storage, and use of whey powder:
http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/pres...wder-5361.html

It did not know that muscles can atrophy with small fiber neuropathy? Is that true?

Yes, I think they can depending on severity.

The signals from the periphery go to the dorsal roots, along the spine, and those depend on those signals and have a feedback of sorts back down to the origin location. If the sending signals from say, the feet, don't get received, then the dorsal roots forget about sending the feedback signals and the muscles deteriorate.

This goes on all the time at a low level that you normally do not notice. When a kink develops in this feedback, you get twitching, and or cramping sometimes too.

I thought the muscles were shrinking due to lack of use...interesting to learn otherwise.

Cliffman

There may be more than one cause happening in some people.
Weight loss is another robber of muscle mass.