I have heard that getting one's sugar levels under control (for diabetics) can really help with the pain management. So, as I am so stressed about being able to afford medications to keep the pain at bay (any idea how expensive that neurontin is....) that I have decided to try to get my sugar levels under control to help. This is day 3 of no soft drinks, no sweets of any kind, and really monitoring my carbs, etc. Think I may die.....was probably drinking at least a two-litre of sodas or sweetened tea perday (if not more) not to mention candy, cakes, excessive carbs.

Have firmly made up my mind, if this will reduce the pain...I CAN DO IT FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!

Any success stories out there??

Wow, is that ever impressive!

Kudos to you!

What an interesting idea, though.

Two things come to mind: 1.) a couple years ago the washing machine at my rental died and the tenants were really upset while it took me awhile to get together the money to buy a new one. I forget what they did, something insulting or something, and so one of them brought me a huge bag of really great Danish and turnovers and donuts and things.

I wasn't eating that kind of thing very much at the time.

With all the stress, I ate a lot of the sweets and many of my symptoms got much worse and even weeks later when I was no longer eating that much sugar remained extremely bad. (Without looking at my notes in my Time Line, I can't be sure which symptoms it was that got so much worse. I just know that I got very much worse and that I was so sorry that they'd brought me sweets and I'd eaten them)

2.) I hadn't thought this before I read your post, but I've been nearly pain free for a few weeks now, maybe a couple months. I have a lot of trouble with my memory.

And it was about that long ago, maybe a month longer, that I requested that I not be sent desserts any more with my meals. I have meals delivered to me because of how sick I was and how I still am very restricted.

Up until I read your post I thought the vast reduction in pain was a result of taking serrapeptase during the night, having whey amino acids in my coffee every day, taking a lot more magnesium (and less calcium), LOTS of B12 injections, and getting three minutes a day of exercise ... pretty often.

I think you may well have hit on something.

.......I will be happy to give you a success story but...it's tough to take.I was dx type 2 on Feb 19th of this year. It didn't surprise me as I was pre-diabetic the year before. On March 1st I decided to get serious about my health and started a number of things to get control of high glucose ( 2 subsequent fasts of 232). My weight at that time was 266 , fortunately it was all over and not in my middle ( thank goodness)! First I studied the glycemic index in and out. I made note of high glycemic foods in my diet and resolved to remove them almost entirely such as...white breads, pastries , potatoes, desserts, my only bread intake is whole grain unbleached flour. I stopped ALL intake of sodas, fruit juice drinks and any trans-fat. I consume FRESH veggies
salads and a reasonable portion of beef pork and fish. I exercise about 15 minutes a day on my treadmill and get moving ( yes ,even with pn). I finger stick to see how foods affected my glucose levels every meal for the first month. If you don't have a meter get one and don't go on guesswork. It is not easy, and you have to make a lifelong commitment. Well , it's been 5 1/2 months now, my a1c is 6.2 my fasting glucose is 90 and my weight is 225. I am 6 feet tall by the way. If I can do it, so can you , it just takes a firm commitment and patience! Good luck!

Boy flsun,

It sure was easy for me ... when I saw the huge difference that brown rice made and that I could eat it any time I was stressed, and masses of it, and still lose weight... the main problem was my disbelief.

I can't bear to weight myself because I get obsessed and that's the beginning of a downward spiral.

So I just measure myself and watch how my clothes fit.

I've lost ten inches around my waist, and I don't even have to pretend my waist is right under my breasts any more.

I do three minutes of exercise a day, either on my Gazelle, or walking in my garden. But lots of times I'm not well enough to do that.

And, I had to work up from less than a minute.

And, there was a time, maybe it was last year, I forget, when I was losing two to three pounds a week and still eating a dessert every day. (the weight loss came from the three minutes of exercise after not being able to move very much at all because of the tetanus I had)

For me, the main thing is not letting the stress drive me to... desserts.

Well, since I don't get desserts delivered to me any more, I've rather won that battle... but if I could drive I think I'd go out and buy them when the stress is this high.

Time for some coffee with amino acids, lots of creamer, and cinnamon.

That helps.

Thanks for the input. I am ready for a lifelong commitment. I am ashamed to be in such poor physical health at 43 years old...all really at my own hand. Had I listened and heeded 12 yrs ago when diagnosed with type 2...i would not be in this shape. I know it will not make the PN go away...but if it could reduce it to a bearable level....i would be thrilled. The pain has been pretty much constant since about 9 last night....but bearable pain instead of the excruciating norm!

Just a quick end of workday update. Normally by this time I am hurting so bad I want to scream and snapping everyone's head off. My feet are virtually pain free right now, with very mild pain on the outer edges of my hands. NOTHING SEVERE....life is so good at this very moment!

Boy, what a totally, completely DYNAMITE post!!!!!

I had never even connected the end to my pain with the end to sugar, at all.

I think you can get rid of the PN. Why not?

Hi Belinda, the reason my PN started was being in a prediabetic state, and low B12, in the time i have been here i have lots of posts were sugar even affects non diabetic PNer's so sensible eating is paramount.
People with a prediabetic condition and PN caused by full blown diabetes can be fully reversed, it is completely up to you, your doing well by the sounds of it and i am sure you will feel like a million dollars in time, it takes a while for nerves to heal and if you get some flaring, don't panic it could be the nerves healing, i had heaps of flaring of symptoms during the healing process but over time you will feel lessoning of symptoms, no one can put a time on it, all depends on how much damage there is to heal and how much you try to help yourself.
good luck, your on ya way,
Brian

--not only in that pre-diabetic, or sometimes even diabetic, neuropathy can be reversed with good blood sugar control and a wisely chosen supplement regimen, but that good blood sugar control is vital for any of us who have neuropathic symptoms even if we have excellent glucose profiles and neuropathy from another source.

Just as most of us with neuropathy--for any reason--are more prone to compressive effects on nerves than "normal" people would be (sort of an "additive damage" sometimes referred to in the medical literature as the "double crush phenomenon"), many of us are also more prone to effects from anything that compromises vascular function, such as a high blood sugar level, even if that is transient. (We also tend to feel more symptoms from known nerve "irritants" such as gliadin or alcohol.)

I'm often said that those of us with neuropathy should treat ourselves as if we are high-inflammation diabetics, even if we're not, and eat in such a way as to normalize blood sugar, eliminate trans and saturated fats, not smoke or drink, etc. Our whole bodies would be the healthier for it.

What I found is that I have to eat proper food - so I changed my diet to all-wheat everything, brown rice, less sugar but if nessesary - brown sugar ect. and it helps... to me at least. also I found that I shouldn't be hungry. and I'm not diabetic or prediabetic. So, it has to do some thing with nutrition, I don't know and not even my neurologist.
Also, open air is good. I noticed that when I'm in the beach - I have at least 2 days of relief and it is good. Also the Dead Sea is good for my pains. (I know that it is my previlage but you can have mud or salt from the Dead Sea. I think the magnezium is the one that works in this case.)

And by the way - thanks to all of you for the support you gave me when I whose "down". You are my new friends. I'm not glad that we met under these circumstances, but at least... I met nice company.