Vegan Diet Eases Diabetic Neuropathy Pain
 

** an article I found that would likely be of interest to this community ** The title is self explanatory. ** "medpage vegan neuropathy" by Kristina Fiore. Thoughts appreciated.

Here it is...
 

I started eating vegan in late November of last year. I was in NYC for a family event and a relative who saw I was in pain due to the endless walking suggested I give it a shot. I was finally committed to trying anything reasonable, even if it was difficult.

So I set off on a one month experiment that is still on the move.

Do I feel better? Yes and no.

Overall health- I have not been this healthy in decades, two, but still, decades.

Symptoms- expanding in frequency, location and duration.

It was not what I expected. Yet, at the same time it is possible that it could have been much worse without the change. My glucose readings have been better. I did a few days of 10-12 tests to monitor fluctuations.

I am glad that I chose to try it. I'm not even sure when/if I will go back to a "regular" diet. I have yet to experience the results mentioned from the link, but I feel better overall for trying this.

Jon

Welcome rvp7777. :Tip-Hat:

I have been a vegan for 15 years. When I was dx'd with PN two years ago, I first thought the cause could have been B12 deficiency (I did not take any vitamins). Then, I thought alcohol could be the culprit but that was quickly ruled out. We have since landed on idiopathic aka "unknown". Just to be on the safe side, I now take vitamins and do not consume alcohol. I still do not consume animal products. Does it help the PN? That too is unknown.

The article:

*edited out copyright quote*


Note that pain scores are separated from "neuropathy symptom scores."

I don't understand this part:

"Those on the vegan diet also had significant improvements in neuropathy symptom scores (NTSS-6) not seen in the control group, along with similar changes for quality-of-life scores, but the differences weren't significant at the end of the trial, possibly because of the small number of patients or because of the effect of participating in a study on the control group, Bunner said."

significant improvements...but the differences weren't significant

I hope more studies like this are done. Not a surprise to me that the vegan diet was helpful for neuropathic pain, as research has shown it is across the board for human health, but difficult for most people to buy into this idea, for many reasons I suppose. We have been taught by our government (seriously influenced by dairy and beef industries) from a young age that milk builds strong bones and that meat contains protein that we need. Never mind how sick our population has become on this advice. And animal products taste and smell so good, at least until you have avoided them for a while.

Ron

Sorry! Slipped my mind.

I was raised on animal products like most people so I do not judge others who consume them but I can attest to the absolute lack of appeal after avoiding them.

I don't judge other people, but I judge behavior as wrong, or just not making sense, when people continue eating animal products as a significant part of their diet, when some major studies have shown that it increases the rate of many chronic diseases. (And it's bad for our ailing planet as well.) Then people are surprised when they come down with cancer, heart disease, etc. I'm not immune to this, I know it's tough. I just can't get over shrimp and salmon on occasion. You have salmon with its beneficial Omega 3 fatty acids--does that over-weigh the negative animal protein?
Ron

There is new information out there this week or so
about certain types of tick bites leading
To meat allergies.

Google that for more details. I suspect
some people will be reactive in many ways
now as a result.

It's the Lone Star tick. It can make some allergic to red meat.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/a-tick-b...c-to-red-meat/

the causes of increases in cancer, heart disease and lung disease is much more complex than simply eating red meat. we are bombarded now in exposures everywhere we go with toxic chemicals and chemical compounds in the air, water, and environment, including the home and car. if only it were so simple as to stop eating something

How true. Being vegan does not automatically equate to good health. There are so many challenges in our modern world. There is absolutely no way to eliminate your exposure to toxins these days. The best you can do is minimize your exposure through the choices you make every day. Whether you're a vegan or meat eater, choose whole foods that were cultivated with minimal pesticides/chemicals if you can't afford organic.

As I have mentioned in several other threads, since I started reading about health and decided to begin eating very little meat and dairy, and eliminated extremely fatty foods (especially saturated fat), concentrating on vegetables, fruits, beans, etc., some of my PN symptoms (sharp pains) have gone away, and my other pain (aching type pain in many places) seems to be more stable. Before, it was only getting worse. That was about 5 years ago that I made the change. To be fair, I have developed pain in a couple new places and tinnitis during this time, could be due to loud music in my youth (I am 45 yo now), but can't help believe it is due to the PN.

The thing is, I have a hard time eliminating sugary snacks like Boston Baked Beans and Peanut M&M's, so that has no doubt hurt my progress. And also shrimp.

I believe the way to health is first eating a whole foods plant-based diet. This is where most of the evidence is. Also, if you look around out there, there is a lot of healing going on using various methods. I believe avoiding toxins as much as possible is a great idea. We are now exposed to thousands of toxins in our environment, and some of them we intentionally consume and rub onto our bodies. You can get extreme on eliminating toxins--juicing, enemas, sauna, rebounding, etc., and this would probably help.

I search on youtube for podcasts about "healing", "health", etc. Extreme Health Radio is a good one to get exposed to a variety of topics. There is earthing, magnets, electromagnetic fields, structured water, all sorts of things people are doing.
Ron

fyi some more info. regarding meat allergy from the Lyme Disease Forum from a while ago

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/post953244-1.html

If you are diabetic the best thing to do is get sugar out of your system and you should feel a remarkable difference along with the right medications, specialist, etc.

Yes....sugar is a tough one. It's everywhere. Even if you're not diabetic, stopping all sugar for six weeks can help you reset your sweet tooth. You'll find that you no longer like really sweet things. You'll still want/like it but not at the same level you did before.

When I bake, I reduce the amount of sugars called for in recipes dramatically. It's rare for us order desserts when we go out to eat because we find them way to sweet now.

Haven't had Boston Baked Beans in years. Didn't know they still made them.

Sugar is a tough one but it is toxic and found in some form in most everything we consume. Even if we avoid it completely, we still get plenty in our diet.

You are right, echoes, that the causes of the epidemics of diseases we are seeing is more than just diet, but I believe diet is a major part of it. You make it sound like what we eat is not important, which I think is what people want to hear. Yes we are exposed to a myriad of toxins in the air we breathe and the food and water most people consume. We can drink purified water and organic food to eliminate much of this. We don't know the implications of genetically modified foods, which are difficult to avoid. We are bombarded with electromagnetic fields of all sorts and we don't understand all the implications of this. We are exposed to radioactivity due to that naturally occurring in the earth, from nuclear power plants, coal-burning plants, and nuclear accidents like Fukushima. Eating whole plant foods gives the body the raw materials it needs to protect itself from all these insults.
Ron

With all the changes I've made, from diet to exercise, I've expected better results. I am going for a consult with another neurologist. I like my current one, but he is unmoved on further testing. I had an EMG done over two years ago. I feel much worse now. Perhaps they are not useful in monitoring changes in function?

I was 70 pounds heavier and not doing much but taking metformin and passing on most obvious sugary food opportunities to help myself.

I can tell when I've consumed too much sugar at this point. It is an awful feeling.

I agree on hidden sugars out there. Abundant. One of the hardest things to move back to was embracing most of my liquid intake being tasteless. I still struggle a bit there.

They need to repeat the EMG. Two years is too long, especially if your symptoms have changed.

I too have lost weight (25lbs) over the past two years. I can't gain weight. :(

Oddly enough a cancellation happened with a neurologist I was looking to see for a consult yesterday. I have a scheduled EMG now, though a ways out.

A step amongst the stairs.

Personally, I don't see how an EMG is going to move you any closer to healing your condition. If you are seeing a mainstream doctor (MD), he will still not have any solution, regardless of the outcome. Can you not drink decaf coffee & green tea? That's what I drink mostly. I know more water would be better.
Ron

Ron,

I want to see if the readings are worse. If not, well it is something else perhaps. I know that even having my sugar under control I can end up having flare ups. The issue is that while my overall health is leaps and bounds better I have weakness, discomfort and pain at levels that exceed where I was last November when I really took the bull by the horns and became more proactive.

I get your point- one neurologist flat out said "we know you have neuropathy, there is nothing to be gained from an EMG." I understand it is limited information from the test, but I am burning through time off at work right now when I am so rigid I can't imagine sitting all day. My office routine has my cubicle divided so I move from computer to writing desk through out the day. I have duties sprinkled throughout every hour to force movement.

I am constantly working to make my day better with smart usage of time and I adjust accordingly to bad results. I think continuing on my diet/supplement/exercise/medication path is a positive work in progress. I feel a strong need to know "how much worse." It won't stop my approach, but it may help my focus.

Jon