[aloneouthere]

Anyways, here's what I'm planning to take to combat this thing and hopefully heal myself *crosses fingers*. I want to know what you guys think in terms of dosage. Lemme know if you think I'm taking too much, too little, if I should add anything, take something out... so on and so forth.
Money isn't really an issue here, so if you guys have an expensive but effective solution, please let me know!

Methyl B-12. 5 mg a day, sublingual.

B complex with benfotiamine (i've heard some good things about this!) 300 mg's.

1 mg of folic acid

2400 mg's of acetyl-l-carnitine (clinical reports say that higher doses are important)

480 mg's of gamma linolenic acid (GLA)

200 mg's of R-lipoic acid (not the regular ALA kind, this one I guess is supposed to be tons more potent)

Vitamin C (says it's effective with GLA)

100 mg's CoQ10

1000 mg's of fish oil

Comes to about 90 dollars a month spent on vitamins! No matter, I'm trying to do whatever I can on my own to try to get over this thing. should I be taking more of something? I've read that some places say 20 mg's of Methyl b12??

Anyways I got these off the stickies, so if it weren't for you guys I wouldn't be able to compile this list. I can't say how thankful I am for all of you. Thanks a bunch.

[MelodyL]

Hi,

We have one thing in common. We both take a 5 mg of the Methyl B-12 every day. I also take a vitamin supplment (when I remember to take the vitamin supplement).

But then again, I eat a diet that Jack Lalanne would be proud of.

Maybe some day you and I will get to be his age???

You're doing good. Keep it up!!!

Melody

[mrsD]

about the GLA...

What exactly are you taking? Black currant oil, evening primrose etc?

They would typically have less than 100mg of GLA /capsule.

How much benfotiamine is in your supplement?

[glenntaj]

--what are the levels of each B in your B-complex?

[aloneouthere]

GLA is from Borage oil, each capsule contains 240 mg... b2 10 mg, b5 50 mg, b6 10 mg.. all of that twice a day.

[aloneouthere]

Oh, and 150 mg of benfotiamine... 2x a day.

[Mark._.]

I have every supplement you have listed except for the folic acid (jarrows b-right has 800mcg per 2 capsules) and the c0Q10. I have had to stop and start some of these as they were seeming to make the neuropathy worse on occasions,that doesn't mean they are not good to take.At the moment I am taking the 5mg B12, Jarrows B-right complex 2 capsules a day,440mg GLA in 2 divided doses, 2000mg super concentrate fish oil (300mg epa + 200mg dha per capsule) in 2 divided doses,400iu of vitamin E (mixed tocopherols) and 15mg zinc, I may start adding the ALA and acetyl-l-carnitine again as I am not getting any problems taking these supplements at the moment.

You should maybe look at adding vitamin e and zinc...
As for the benfotiamine there are some reports stating that it may not be safe to take high amounts as it is fat soluble and really quite potent, I bought some and started taking it but stopped after about a week as my back went very numb,not sure at all whether it was the benfotiamine or not,maybe taking the normal thiamine would be a better bet, I hope this information helps you...

[mrsD]

http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/g...nic-000305.htm

It is important to understand that GLA needs support nutrients to work best:

Much of the GLA taken from the oils mentioned or as a supplement is not converted to AA, but rather to DGLA. DGLA competes with AA and prevents the negative inflammatory effects that AA would otherwise cause in the body. Having adequate amounts of certain nutrients in the body (including magnesium, zinc, and vitamins C, B3, and B6) helps to promote the conversion of GLA to DGLA rather than AA.

It is important to know that many experts feel that the science supporting the use of omega-3 fatty acids to reduce inflammation and prevent diseases is much stronger than the information regarding use of GLA for these purposes. Two important, and most studied, omega-3 fatty acids include eicosopentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), both found in fish and fish oils.

[aloneouthere]

So if I'm taking some of the other nutrients... such as Vita C, B6, then it's ok to take the GLA. and if not, it's not ok?

[mrsD]

Over 10 years ago we started with EFA supplements in this house.

We all took flax oil, evening primrose, and fish oil. Over time we adjusted things according to response.

One thing I noticed after a couple of years was the evening primrose wasn't needed anymore. Once we got going, and fixed the deficiency our own GLA was enough (we make this ourselves). I even found that once I accidently bought stronger primrose and it upset my GI tract considerably. So I stopped taking it and soon after my son and husband also.

Dr. Sears PHD who started attention to good fats had a GLA paper in 2 parts on his website at one time, that in his opinion one didn't need high doses of it.
Once you start to use it as a "drug" in very high doses like you are doing, it can drain or skew other parts of the system where it resides. Chemistry is like this...provide alot of substrate and you can PUSH to end results.
IMO B6 and magnesium are the two most critical parts to that EFA chemistry.
Both are needed to utilize fats properly. You can choose foods high in magnesium and not need to supplement. B6 is not that easy to do, and a supplement is necessary.

For example if after a few months, you do not see the improvement you are expecting.. one alternative would be to drop GLA and increase the fish oil.
(to say 3 or 4 a day). This would show if you are not improving inflammation with the GLA alone. I have always thought you need flax oil with GLA.. and that might be an addition that may help too. But then if you see what you wanted you may not need to make changes. It is just important to understand that any list for one person may not work the same in another.
You can get a gram of flax oil in one tablespoonful of Smart Balance peanut butter. If you like peanut butter and eat it anyway, it isn't an expense to switch brands. That is what I do. I have food sources now for many EFAs.
Omega 3 eggs, Smart Balance spread, and Smart Balance Mayo...all can serve like supplements now.