Here is what the Linus Pauling institute says about Lipoic Acid


Please google "linus pauling institute lipoic acid" as I am not allowed to post links being a newbie

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What is really confusing is there is no clear consensus on which form (R or the racemic RS form is better). **

"alpha lipoic acid, offers little benefit"

Admin Note: Sorry but this post has also been edited as we are not allowed to have copy/paste from websites that have Copyright. Only the link to the article is allowed when the poster has reached linking default membership

You should absolutely ask for a referral to a neurologist, who will do EMG tests to determine if you have peripheral neuropathy or not. I have SFN (non-diabetic) and have been taking ALA for a year or so. Honestly, I don't think it's had any affect. I've read all the literature, and the neurologist I saw said it won't have any negative effect. But it's far and away not something you can expect to control your neuropathy, especially without doing more research into what might be the cause.

Hi All

Thanks for all your insight.

Has anyone had any success with Benfotiamine?

Does it have the same effect as Alpha Lipoic Acid? Has anyone taken them them both? I am planning to add Benfotiamine to my regimen as well after hearing positive reviews about in in dealing with neuropathy

ok it says that the studies on the benefits of Alpha-linolenic acid are sponsored by the manufacturer of the Alpha-linolenic acid.

Gert, α-linolenic acid is a polyunsaturated fatty acid with a number of physiological roles. It is an essential fatty acid, which means that the human body can not synthesise it; it must come from dietary sources.

It is not the same thing as R-lipoic acid, which is a cofactor for enzymes like the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex.

You can also use our site search (up above in the solid bar, but I'll include the link) many specific meds or vitamins/supplements and symptoms have been mentioned here in the past -
https://www.neurotalk.org/search.php

Thanks..

Last year my bloodwork showed elevated sugar, but no formal diabetes diagnosis ..

This year when PN flared up about a month ago, I was on a low carb diet trying to loose weight.. (I am about 40lbs overweight)..

When the doctor ordered bloodwork , everything came back fine. My question is:

Is it possible that , my elevated sugars already did the damage to my nerves, by the time I switched over to a low carb diet , so that the bloodwork could not detect any diabetes/prediabetes ?

I have a doctors appointment this week, and I am trying to formulate the right questions to ask, as some of the primary care doctors are quite dismissive about neuropathy

A couple comments on this thread:
-Metanx is a prescription "medical food" that is intended to treat peripheral neuropathy. the active ingredients are L-methylfolate, methylcobalamin and pyridoxal 5-phosphate. Obviously, you can buy each of these over the counter if you wanted to. I have taken all those supplements in combination and it does seem to help. Later I stopped taking the high doses of P-5-P because other studies indicate it can actually cause PN for some people. Unfortunately, nothing works for everyone and for some people nothing seems to work. You just have to research and try things to try and hit on the combination that works best for you.

-There is some research that seems to indicate that it is possible for nerve damage to be done while people are still in the pre-diabetic phase. But just like much of the information related to PN, there is no definitive proof of this.