[Alkymst]

I may have missed an earlier post about this book but I just received a copy of Norman Latov’s book, “Peripheral Neuropathy, When the Numbness, Weakness, and Pain Won’t Stop” which I read last night. I know from earlier posts that there are very mixed feelings about Latov but I’ll make some observations anyhow.

The book is short, 134pg and costs $19.95 but I think it can be a good “primer” for newly diagnosed PN sufferers. However, as many long time PN sufferers have noted there is an incredible wealth of information contained within the posts and stickies of this forum so my suggestion to “newbies” would be to use the book as a starting point. The real details of virtually any PN related topic can and will be found within this forum. For long time PN sufferers the info is basic and elementary and probably won’t tell you anything that you don’t already know or haven’t found on the forum.

The 7 chapters are relatively short and include a description of PN, a brief discussion of motor, sensory, and autonomic nerves, axonal vs demyelinating PN, symptoms of PN, diagnosis of PN (a far cry from LizaJane’s comprehensive tests in the stickies), causes of PN (here for example he includes discussions, albeit brief ones, of glucose intolerance, vitamin deficiencies, celiac disease, alcoholism, bariatric surgery, malabsorbtion, autoimmune, CIDP, vasculitic, Guillain-Barré, viral and bacterial infections, Lyme disease, leprosy, cancer, chemotherapy, paraneoplastic disease, primary amyloidosis, hereditary, drug-induced including statins, toxins like heavy metals, solvent and chemical related (near and dear to my heart), plexopathies and radiculopathies, and last but by no means least IDIOPATHIC. This list, while seemingly long is still truncated and does not include all of the now 100+ recognized causes of or contributors to PN.

A chapter re: management of PN focuses primarily on systemic pain meds (anticonvulsants, antidepressants, and opiates) and topical (lidocaine and fentanyl patches and capsaicin) and interventional therapies. Autonomic symptoms and treatments are also described followed by a very brief discussion of alternate meds including proper nutrition and supplements (much less info than found from MrsD's posts or Rose’s B12 site). The last chapter is testimonials from various PN sufferers reprinted from Neuropathy News or Guideposts.

Alkymst