I definatly DEFINATLY get side effects and my symptoms DEFINATLY get worse when I smoke,not all the time but a lot of the time (since april this year for some reason) could this mean that I dont have neuropathy but may have something else, as 2 psots now say there is no correlation between smoking and PN ......

I am not diabetic (at least not that I know of) and I smoke. I have smoked for 20 years and several before I quit at that time.

When questioned by my dr about this habit, he said, that it COULD be a contributing factor to how I feel.. but not to this neuropathy..

I want to quit.... but I want help to do it (yep, chicken) and I can't take Chantix now while trying to be diagnosed... and I really can't consider quitting at this point under the stresses this situation has caused ..

Not a smoker and have never smoked. Central nervous system damage due to autoimmune-related severe B12 malabsorption.

Will go to the mat for anyone's right to smoke, as long as they don't smoke where others have to breathe it.

I only mentioned smoking as a nutrient issue because smokers have been found to have less usable B12 (who knows, maybe other studies found the opposite). So, if I smoked I would take methylcobalamin and a B complex.

Of course, I think people with nerve problems should take methylcobalamin and B complex.

rose

Ok Bob. Mark if you drink stop if you can,PN is one thing that
does effect. I'm tired are i would carry on.. Sue

I have to say that for the past 4 months since my symptoms have been getting worse I have tried to quit smoking 4 times because it definatly does make the numbness/altered sensation worse.And you are right about the stress,for me it is a vicious circle as it is my ONLY vice I have left nowadays as well. Yet it seems this is being taken away from me because of the bad BAD effects it now has on my neuropathy, but without my last 'crutch' it seems that everything is doomed. Have you got any ideas why I should be experiencing these problems? Especially as there is no evidence to say that smoking should affect it.....

Mel, I am idiopathic and I smoked for 8 years when I was young. I quit 26 years ago. I believe people when they say that pn is not caused by smoking. Smoking does, however, cause vasoconstriction and that could add insult to injury to an already stressed nerve. However, I stuggle with a weight problem (also stresses the system), so I am predisposed to feel kindly towards people who have a flaw or two. We are survivors, not superwomen (or men). Here's to loving all who have human frailties.

Not diabetic and I smoke.

I'm with you Dahlek. I don't apologise for being a smoker.

The question I've been pondering lately is all the chemicals in cigarettes besides the nicotine. The post I made the other day about the trip to visit my daughter...that was one thing I forgot about. I didn't smoke in their house so I was smoking much less than I usually do. I won't say exactly how much but I'm a heavy smoker. So it followed, in my mind, that perhaps my PN is induced by those chemicals in the cigarettes??

My doc gave me a script for Chantix. It works differently than Zyban (Wellbutrin) and is much more effective. I'd get the prescription filled in a heartbeat if I could afford it. 230.00 (if I recall correctly) for 30 days and then there's a refill to pay for. Medicaid won't pay for it. I don't even have that much to live on every month! A carton of cigarettes here in Virginia is still only about 25.00 for a name brand. 18.00 and some change for the brand I smoke. My doc says it's cheaper in the long run to quit and the 230.00 is probably about what I spend a month on smokes. Right. So it's a catch 22: If I stop smoking so I have the money to by the Chantix...well that makes a lot of sense doesn't it? I wouldn't need the Chantix to begin with! Sometimes her logic escapes me.

ETA: Duh! Silly me! Welcome, Mark! My pain is all in my feet. And as you said, compared to many I'm very blessed in that my pain levels are nowhere near what other's are.

I was wondering if you would be able to explain how your PN came on,which body parts were affected first,second,etc...

Where is your PN the worse, is it purely sensory,motor, any autonomic issues, mixed etc...

Were you ill before it came on with any infections,viruses, do you have any other medical conditions?

I think if you can paint a clearer picture of the initial presentaion and circumstances, it might be easier for people to offer more targeted suggestions and ideas.

Just wanted to say I am a smoker and my B-12 leves were absolutely fine. I had every test imaginable done and TWICE and all tests were negative. I am not a diabetic either. So, my guess...because I am a "spiney" is that my neuropathy is more a compression type and/or radiculopathy. The PN went away in my hands after two fusions. Now it is back? And why? Probably because I have irritated a nerve root again and the peripheral nerves are mad! The same thing is going on with my feet...but I have lumbar/sacral problems too.

Also, never was a drinker and never abused any substances other than smoking. So, I look to my spine as a cause for most of this. And all I do is to take Klonopin .5 mg once a day and one Vicodin a day. This keeps it all tolerable. Other than that, the spinal injections I get from time to time help tremendously!!! The nerve(s) get calmed down and then the PN calms way down too. And I would take supplements other than the Calcium with D I already take but I just don't as I have various reasons for not. But basically, no amount of supplements is going to rid me of the arthritis compressing on nerve roots and/or stop the neuropathic pain because of it.

I do think though that if I were to stop smoking it would make a difference.

Mark, it would help us all understand what you are going through if you could tell us in a short narrative what happened. Something like--I'm a 45 year old guy who was perfectly well until.....when I developed a funny feeling in my toes....over the courseo f the next____days, the symptoms changed in such and such a way. So far, the tests that have been done are_______(AND GET THE RESULTS FOR US< PLEASE). My doctor thinks I have _____and plans______- I take xyz meds. I drink xyz amount of alcohol and use xzy drugs or have been exposed to xyz toxins.

My family history: My mother...or father do or do have anything like this...or wahtever.

Those of us who have been here a long time really care about the numbers and specifics. There are people here who have made themselvse quite expert in different aspects of neurological disease and neuropathy.

And you probably know I've posted a list of tests for neuropathy on lizajane.org. Please check it out so you can help guide your own diagnosis.

I'm not sure what you have at all. My guess is the cigarette thing is a red herring. It sounds like you might have some sort of inflammatory neuropathy, or fibromyalgia, but it's not at all clear yet.

In the meantime, do stick with the supplements. The lipoic acid and carnitine cannot possibly be hurting you, just as fish oil can't hurt, or B12 and folate.

You might have lots of fluctuations with coincidences which don't mean a lot.

I, for one, can't for the life of me figure out why I get better or worse, except for sinus infections. That's the only certainty.