alarming food connections:
 

There are reports of a drug on the PN causation lists which is also quite toxic to the bone marrow, showing up in shrimp that are farmed in Thailand and other countries.

http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-500262_162-644203.html

A longer article:
http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.p.../article/4395/

Chloramphenicol in honey from China:
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dhp-mps/vet/f...enicol-eng.php

This drug is still available as Chloromycetin for rare, life threatening disease states, but was removed from sale in most countries otherwise in the 70's due to its toxicity.

Horse meat:
http://ec.europa.eu/food/food/chemic...untries_en.htm
This article details why horse meat may be dangerous, and it lists chloramphenicol and nitrofurans (this is Macrodantin/Macrobid a drug used in humans for bladder infections) may be present in the meat.
The article is pretty complex, but if you use the search function in Windows edit=find...you'll find the warnings.

Atenolol?
 

Should atenolol be added to this list/thread?

I came across this snippet by accident this morning...
...which got me to :Hum: so I searched the PN forum(s) and only found that several people here with PN (besides myself) have taken atenolol.

Going to google, I find some hits, but nothing really concrete. There's one site that pops up several times, but IME, they tend to link everything as a cause for everything (I think just to get hits on their site for advertisers?)

Checking my own records, I stopped taking atenolol (for migraine prophylaxis) around the time my PN manifested, but have no recollection nor notes suggesting any connection at that time.

My mental processing runs this way: If atenolol were to cause Type II diabetes (or interfere in some way with feeding peripheral nerves) which in turn begat PN, and then the atenolol were stopped, might the diabetes remit (failing to manifest on subsequent tests for diabetes) yet the damage to nerves having been done... Follow?

Anything's possible; I'm just not finding anything obvious on Pubmed (and not literate enough in medicalese to translate) or elsewhere credible.

If nothing is found it might make sense to delete this post to avoid any confusion.

Doc

Beta blockers used to be first line for Blood pressure. And that population is huge. Over time it was shown that patients',
low blood sugars (a warning sign of pre-diabetes or reactions to diabetic meds,) were masked by the beta blockers. Masking lows, is dangerous for diabetics and pre-diabetics as they cannot feel the changes lows bring. I don't think beta blockers CAUSE diabetes commonly, but they certainly cloud this issue quite a bit. There will always be some people, taking them who already have insulin resistance and/or prediabetes, and they would show up in studies.

Also beta blockers cause broncospasms (a breathing emergency), and raise lipids. They also cause reduced cardiac output, so aerobic exercise is blunted and affected. People really complain about this effect quite a bit. Difficult to even climb stairs for some!
So they were replaced in BP management by ACE inhibitors. But some people still take them.

Beta Blockers do have a risk for myopathy...
but it is not common:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2070426

I think the most likely scenario is the cold hands, cold feet that beta blockers can cause. Changes in circulation from anything can impact nerves in the distal periphery in a bad way.

This list is mostly for known direct acting toxic type drugs.
But atenolol (and other beta blocking drugs) have the potential for being a secondary trigger I guess, depending on the person and other medical factors present.

Hello. I know this is an old post, but I am longing to ask someone you whether your peripheral neuropathy went away, and how long it took.

Are you still suffering? I hope not.

Hope you are still there--take care.

Diclofenac?
 

Hi!
Does anyone suspect long term use of diclofenac contributing to nerve damage?

Thanks.

I'm not positive, but my ortho put me on diclofenac, and it has made everything 2x worse. I went off of it the second I realized this.

hello I am new here. I have developed numbness, tingling and muscle weakness over my whole body after just one day on Metronidazole antibiotics given to me by my dentist for a tooth infection. I went to emergency hospital and was checked over and had CT scan. All fine but 6 days later, the symptoms are still there. Am feeling very panicky that they will never go away.

I stopped the tablets when I looked at the side effects of Metronidazole included PN, numbness, etc.

I have now been referred to a neurologist by my doctor. My son is disabled with a neurological disorder so I do not relish seeing a neuro - have avoided them for 7 years with my son now.

I had been taking a multivitamin complex for about a month before which had high levels of B vits and was worried about B6 being too high - 75mg I think.

Does anyone know anything about this? I've searched the internet and found a lot of evidence for the side effect but not much about whether the symptoms can be helped or permanent.

Not sure if I should try any supplements. Am taking fish oil supplement and contemplating COQ10 and Acetyl L Carnitine having read this website. Bit scared about B vits. I have a healthy diet, don't eat meat and since this year have not had antibiotics for many, many years - I avoid medication as much as poss, even painkillers.

Thank you!

Welcome to NeuroTalk:

At this point, I would ask you to get a blood test for B12.

I'd stop the complex 2 weeks before the test.

There are some considerations at this point.
1) if you have a genetic problem called Charcot Marie Tooth,
a drug may push you into symptoms if you have not had them previously. Most CTM patients however show some symptoms when young.

2) If you are low in B12 or use any other drug that is problematic for PN, your problem may be additive with it.

3) Since you don't eat meat...you could be low in B12...so that needs to be addressed.

Thanks for your reply. I will check my Vitamin B12 levels. The symptoms are still there but I think they have slightly improved.

I do eat cheese and eggs daily but will up my fish, too.

Is it safe to take Vitamin B12 on its own? Thanks again for all your help.

B12 is one of the safest vitamins to take:
Here is our B12 thread with medical links etc.
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread85103.html
Yes it is best to take alone, but you can use a complex
later in the day if you choose. B12 should be taken orally on
an empty stomach, at least 1000mcg a day.

Stop all supplements for about a week before testing.
You should test above 400 US units, pg/ml