Summer "burning" vs Winter "burning"
 

Ok, so this is my first winter with all my new "ailments" or neuropathy, since it all started for me in the spring this past March.

So one of my worse symptoms has been the burning, which has been so much better and more controlled with benfotiamine.

Just when I think I am learning to live with this new life, the seasons change and it is winter time.

I thought it would be better for my burning since my feet always felt better all summer when I kept them cold, in various ways.

NOT.

It is now cold, and well, I have a 4,000 sq foot home and I am the only one home during the day so I do not heat it just for me, so it stays chilly during the day. My feet have a new kind of hurting or burning.... it is almost like....freezer burn?? or..how your hands feel when you are out in freezing weather and when you come in and they thaw out they start to hurt???? They still feel like they are burning but it is a new kind of burn...and now they are not red and hot to touch but cold and the burning is inside like freezer burn.

Mind you, it is NOT winter in my house, lol I am not sitting in a freezer, but I am saying I keep a fleece jacket on and im good, without it, it is chilly.

Does anyone else know what I am talking????

Anyone else have symptoms change with the weather??

I am stumped at how to treat this new kind of burn...it is not the same as before. :(

I use leg warmers when it gets cool and cold out. They warm the
blood going to the feet and prevent alot of problems for me.

I had to use them for a week upNorth even.

Hi Stacy,

Yeah, it sounds familiar. Gotta keep 'em (feet) cool in the summer and warm in the winter. It may sound contradictory, but keeping your feet warm in the winter/cool weather may help the burning. Can't hurt to try it.

Doc

Yes, you may be right. I was avoiding putting socks on, as I thought keeping my toes cooler would help them so I was just wearing my in house slip on shoes without socks, as I do in the summer. I thought it would help to keep them cool because in the summer my feet got worse if I wore socks.

But I think you are right...I need to keet them warm without getting hot. Today I put on a thin pair of socks with my shoes, hopefully that will help.

geeze, just when I thought I had this all figured out. :(

thanks!!

Bwahahahahahaha!!! :ROTFLMAO: If you've got this all figured out, you're a better man than I am, Gunga Din! :D

Doc

I am miserable again. :(

Things had gotten so good when I started benfotiamine, it was a new lease on life. Now however with the weather change or for whatever reason, the pain and burning in my feet is horrid. Last night was a repeat of days gone by where my feet hurt so bad, any sheet that touched them was pain. sticking them out of the blanket was a new kind of pain, the air felt like icicles surrounding them.

Prayer for relief consumed me again.

:(

I had 3 days or so of severe burning on vacation.

I still get them, but not very often any more.

I don't know why either. Sometimes I think it is stress.
Sometimes connected to what I ate that day.

Example. We had a perch lunch on vacation at a local restaurant, my son and I.
We were surprised at how large the portions were too. Perch is expensive and sometimes in short supply up there. (lake perch).
But it tasted fine, so we didn't think about it. It was very lightly breaded and fried, but wasn't greasy.

Both of us by 5pm had burning feet. I took a brief nap and he went hiking on the shore taking pictures of the wildflowers and unusual lichens on the rocks etc. He does ultra close ups.
Like this photo from 2011...
Fringed Gentian (rare) and wild asters

Anyway he came home with burning feet. And mine were doing the same. So I suspected old fish...that is a prime histamine maker, and perhaps some MSG because it is a restaurant. So I got out the AlkaSeltzer, and bingo in 15minutes both of us had the burning resolve. He doesn't have PN either. But he has had some mild carpal tunnel problems when he plays guitar too much. So who knows? He might be on a path that will become PN some day.

So for me at least some burning is often due to something I ate previously that day or the day before.

Have you tried an antihistamine like Benadryl at night? Sometimes that helps too.

I am on zyrtec almost year round for allergies. I use to use benydryll, or should I say MISUSE benydryll, almost nightly for a sleep aid about a year ago. Stupid, i know...so I don't take it anymore at all now.

I did eat more carbs this week than the normal strict diet, but I kept my glucose under control so I was ok. Maybe its the extra carbs.

I don't like meds, so I take Quercitin and Nettles for colds and allergies. Also helps my mast cell connection to POTS. Just in case you want to look into that.

Benedryl has to be taken carefully. It can cause short term memory problems if taken a lot.

That's possible; it can do it to me. Does RLA work for you?

Doc

I have not tried RLA yet. It was on my list to try but then benfotiamine worked so great that I never got it.

I only take magnesium, B12, Benfotiamine, potassium and flaxseed.

I am also on hydrochorothyzide (sp) for blood pressure. Naturthroid for thyroid.

Sally...memory loss? wow that may be my problem. :(

Yes, you can google it. I know someone on the CFS forum that had it. Thankfully it got better.

Alpha Lipoic Acid is great. I take it daily. It started to work within a couple of weeks when my doctor told me about it. Been several years now.

I did just the opposite; the RLA worked so well I never got around to benfotiamine, however the RLA hasn't stopped or decreased in efficacy for me. :D

Doc

As soon as I can get to the health store I will be making a purchase. Any particular brand better than others?

You will want the r-lipoic acid stabilized (Na-RALA)...it should be on the label somewhere. Regular r-lipoic is less soluble and less absorbed.

Many of us, me included, use Doctor's Best Brand.
Some local stores may not carry this. Don't let them bamboozle you into
using ALA regular or unstablized type. They will try to if they don't carry
the stabilized version.

It is available on Amazon.com and iherb.com for a discounted price.

Thanks so much MrsD! Will get the one you recomend!

I have lived in FL,CA,MI so I have experienced all kinds of weather on my condition. Each type does a different kind of flare up.
Anyhow though it may not be the same I do sometimes get this what I call icy hot feeling where I am frozen yet burning. For me though with the weather if it is hot or cold my body seems to feel it to the extreme so I try to limit exposure in those extremes which is not always possible of course. Once I get flared or for ex cold it is hard to warm up and settle it down.
Have you thought of getting a space heater? I have one and it helps to take the chill out of my lower area. Also microfleece throws to put over myself but that are light. Baths too.

I'm not married to any particular brands as long as they're brands I'm familiar with from experience or reputation. We do tend to shop online because supplements have become such a competitive marketplace that someone is always running some kind of sale or deal that can vary over 100% in price. It makes sense (to us) to comparison shop every time we need to place an order, and on the best deals, order a few months' supply at a time.

Doc

My integrative MD is very particular about brands. I get the ones he tests and researches. Pure Encapsulations, Designs for Health and others.

Does s/he happen to sell them?

Doc

LOL, I figured you might say that. I think he sells some, but not all. Just keeps a few. I order all of them exept for the great probiotics that need to be kept cold.

I just want to make sure the best brands are what I use. I have several chronic llnesses and thankfully he is an integrative MD. Most reg. doctors have no idea what to do. They are not all one brand, each is looked into carefully.

Sally, you are really fortunate to have found that doctor(s) you have.

Most people just don't have access to the new integrative specialists that are now becoming more numerous. Consider yourself very very lucky and fortunate.

I am VERY blessed. You do have to look for them. There are sites that have lists though. Dr. Weil teaches MD's integrative medicine also. Not enough people look for them.

Just like my little dog. I had to find a holistic vet. Her vet can use meds and supplements and the blood testing is great. :) Dogs need to use fewer meds also!

That is great you have a good doctor. I have seen a lot of internist and then a holistic md who was just out for the $. So not to sound stupid but the integrative doctor is similar to a holistic or looks at the whole body/mind? Im going to look on that Dr Weil site I get his news letter by email. Though I dont follow his plans he does seem pretty knowledgable?

Dr Weil has a school for MD's to learn much more than they learn in med school. You can find that site and other sites that list integrative doctors. Integrative MD's use western med if needed but supplements and good testing also.

Leg warms sound like the way to go and yes the season change and weather changes affects my neuropathy. I lived in a 3000 square ft home and had a couple space heaters between heated socks and space heaters you should be very cozy.