Alpha Lipioc acid
 

I am really amazed of the increase of energy and general feeling of well being i have experienced since starting on this antioxidant, i am wondering if others here have experienced similar or other reactions whilst taking this supplement., i am taking 600 mg daily.

Brian :)

I've had good experiences with alpha lipoic--
 

--and with the second generation R-lipoic (which I take now--it's supposed to eliminate the non-active isomers, so you can take less, which is improtant for those with stomach sensitivity to acid). These effects haven't been so much in the area of energy generation, but there does seem to be a reduction in burning-type pains.

One thing--in addition to being a potent antioxidant, lipoic had blood sugar lowering effects. Indeed, it's been used in Europe, as a prescription substance, in conjunction with diabetes treatment for a long time. But it can have significant effects in that area, so care must be taken with dosage, especially if one is taking any diabetic medication, to make sure blood sugar isn't driven TOO low.

Thanks for your reply Glentaj, i did check my blood glucose levels vigorously when i first started taking ALA and still do keep a constant eye on them, they have been very good, at fasting levels, before meals and 2 hours after meals.
Luckily i have had no stomach or any other possible side affects from this supplement, i did forget about the newer generation [ R] ALA which i will order next time when to need some more, thanks for reminding me.

Initially i got them because of the benefits that thioctic acid can have with helping to eliminate oxidative stress, whilst researching ALA i did come across literature commenting about possible energy increase but had no idea that it would be so profound.
I have only slight burning left on extremely hot days these days, so today and tomorrow will be a good test, as it's going to be really hot, today expected 106 F or 41 C in our measures and tommorow around the same.

Brian :)

Brian off topic a little but how is your new eating and lifestlye change going that you were working on? On this note I am going to get advised today hopefully on these supplement type things. I was wondering is this research you have done and then tried? I am so fearful of trying things and then when I ask my docs I get a different answer from all. Today I am for sure asking about the b vitamins. I need a booster.

Hi Daniella, i had lost that extra weight i had previously gained plus a bit more, so all up a 2 stone loss so i defiantly felt better just loosing that weight which is to be expected but the increase in energy i am referring to now is very different from that again, this is only after taking them for just over 2 weeks.

Even though i was originally diagnosed as being Prediabetic, i do virtually treat myself as being a diabetic 2, so keeping blood sugars right for me is paramount, ALA can lower blood sugars so constant checks is crucial whilst taking this supplement, it shouldn't be taken in combination with any perscription meds that lower blood sugars, ALA is really an " old boy on the block " Wings [David] has had in his " suggested supplements " in the Stickies for ages, its been used overseas to treat diabetic neuropathy for over 50 years.
There is heaps on the net regarding alpha lipioc acid, here is just one
http://lefcms.lef.org/newsletter/2006/2006_11_07.htm

Regarding taking B vitamins, i take a multi B & 1mg b12 methyl on an empty stomache every day, been taken the multi B for over 4 years never had a problem, it defiantly does give me more energy.

Brian :)

B vitamins
 

I take liquid B vitamins and feel they help.

Ron

Very interesting and good job on the weight. I am glad you found more to help you too.
Rlucky why liquid just personal choice?

Just a quick note about the affect that the ALA had on the extremely hot days,
i can say now that instead of the expected slight burning on the 106 F day, i had completely no burning at all, marvelous :)

That is wonderful, Brian...
 

Just so you know, I had to make an order at iherb for my husband (he uses inositol powder) so I ordered R lipoic and benfotiamine. I am going to try both,
to see what happens. They were very reasonable in price and I can afford them.

My fasting sugar was slightly higher this check up from last, so I would like to see it down. And I still get some burning...not as much as last year, but it is still there. The severe weather change we had (50 degree change) really hurt!

So I will post on a new thread any improvements I see. ;)

Thanks MrsD, i will be very interested in your results too.
Iherb prices are excellent value for money, i have found that it is still cheaper to import from iherb, than to buy supplements here in Australia.
good luck
Brian :)

The weather in Brooklyn, NY (for the past week), has been absolutely mind-boggling. People were jogging in their shorts the other day, and tonight we are expecting snow.

Good Grief!!!

The planets must be shifting or something. Because this weather makes no sense at all. The other day, I just put on a wrap when I went around the corner. A wrap???? In January??? Never happened before. Then I went to the laundry and didn't even need to put a coat on. And little children were running around with no jackets on.

I could not believe it.

The the sky darkened, and I got in the house and in two minutes, the rain came and the lightening hit and my satellite dish kept giving me the message on my tv "searching for signal". Always does that when it rains.

And when the weather does that, I can't even straighten up, let alone use my right knee.

I should live in the desert. This I know!!!

melody

Melody, the weather is weird down under too, it's summer here but we have had some floods in the top end of New South Wales but other places are facing serious water shortages.
Were i live, the winter used to be a god send my burning feet, doesn't the hot weather affect your feet at all ?

Brian :)

Brian:

I'll be honest with you. The only thing that affects the burning of my feet is when my son calls. It's like clockwork. He calls, my feet burn. He doesn't call, well ....I just continue to take my Methyl B-12, and deal with my arthritis. I don't even know that I have neuropathy UNLESS MY SON CALLS.


So it has to be stress related. A trigger that sets up my body to go all screwey. That's the only thing I can think of.

One time, when he called and he was on the phone with his father for 30 minutes, and Alan was trying to get through to him, my whole body started burning. I just stood there and noticed how my arms were burning, and I was starting get real uncomfortable.

I said to Alan. "I'm on fire". He just looked at me.

Nothing I can do about this. He called on Christmas Day and News Years Day. So I burned on both of these days.

The next time he'll call is probably Valentine's day.

The odd thing is that I know when he's on the computer (he lives on the computer by the way). a little message pops up and says 'Frank is online". Now THAT doesn't make me burn, isn't that odd??

But having conversations with him, (and we do not fight, we do not raise our voices, we have perfectly fine conversations), my feet and legs will burn until the conversation is over. It's all in my mind, I know this. My mind sets up my body.

I do have good control otherwise, I don't let myself go crazy about him, I have learned to detach. I'm much better when he does not contact us. Hard to admit, I know this, but I'm just being honest.

Neuropathy is an odd ball of wax, ....you never know when it's going to happen. But in my case, it's definitely stress related.

Melody

Mel
 

I get the same way when my siister-in-law calls from Mi. We have know each other since childhood,I 'm sure it's stress..Ouch. Hugs Sue

Absolutely Melody, stress/emotional upset can aggravate the heck out of PN,
similar to throwing petrol on a fire, i am glad your not affected by the weather, it's dam hard to control those emotions though.
take care
Brian :)

I wish there was a magic pill, so...if we knew some event was going to befall us, that we could just take this pill, and it would quiet all our nerves, so nothing would burn.

Now wouldn't that be a cool pill???

Until it is developed though, I will just have to continue distancing myself from people who hurt me.

Sorry to go off topic, but (and it kind of relates to diabetes and neuropathy),I need to ask you guys your opinion.
I have lost friends over these past 3 years. Two to death, one, a friend of 46 years who stabbed me in the back, and more recently, one of my friends (also a neighbor), who I know for 10 years. Two years ago, she phoned me up and said "would you like to go to Costco with me", (Alan hasn't driven in 7 years), so of course I jumped at the chance". I did my shopping, saved big bucks and was eternally grateful. We became friends and every Wednesday, we'd go to the supermarket together. She never had to go out of her way to pick me up. I live right around the corner. And she wanted company in the car. I have never (I repeat never), have called her up and said 'Can you drive me here or can you drive me there?? I have Access-a-ride for that.

Well, two months ago, I knew it was Costco time and I said 'when are we going?" She said "I can't take anyone in my car? and I said 'why not?? and she said "my husband doesn't want me to". I said 'if it's an accident you are afraid of, isn't that the reason one has insurance?" She said 'doesn't matter". So I said nothing, and we were still friends although I never accompanied her in her car anywhere. I went to her home, she went to my home.
Last month they bought a 2008 car. Beautiful. I saw it on my way to the store.

I called her and marveled how the car was so nice. She said "oh, you like it, I really don't". I found that strange. Then I said 'do you still have the rule that you can't take anyone in your car?" and she laughed and said "I don't know yet".

So 8 days ago, I called her and she told me she hates to ride alone in the car, I then said "well, let's go shopping, I mean, we've been doing this for 2 years, I don't get the problem". She said 'my husband won't let me". I then said "so don't tell him, I live right around the corner and we can go, and you can drop me home, and then park your car, I mean wht's the big deal, I just don't get it, you have insurance". Then she said 'that's not the point". I then blurted out "so WHAT IS the point??" and she said (you guys won't believe this, because I still can't). She said:

"My husband doesn't want me to chauffeur anyone around" I was dumbstruck. I said 'what are you talking about? we go shopping, just tell him you don't want to go shopping alone". Her husband told her "nobody ever chauffeured me around when I was young, and she then said 'no one ever chauffeured me around either" Then she asked me 'did you ever drive anyone around?" I then said 'of course, Alan used to drive and we'd take our friends (who didn't drive), we'd take them out and when I was not married all my friends had cars and I was the only one who didn't drive, and we all went out together" I wasn't about to say anything else because the whole thing made no sense so I then changed the subject. She then said she was tired and I said 'well, go and sleep".

Haven't heard a word from her since. Been 8 days.

She's a diabetic and she was told she has diabetic stomach. She knows I go to Cornell, she has seen me lose weight (I never mention a thing because I'm not stupid, but my body shows the difference). Her husband once commented to me privately "how did you lose the weight, why can't my wife do this?" and I just said "don't tell her you spoke to me about this, she's sensitive". I bet he said something to her and she's mad.

How stupid is this? She's a 63 year old woman who used to go shopping with me and now that I have my diabetes under control, and lost my weight (she's quite obese). Well, I sense that this has nothing to do with chauffeuring anyone around.

what is it with people, when their friends do something about their health, they feel threatened. Her doctor told her that she has neuropathy in her stomach and she yelled at him "what the hell do you know"?

How can a person just give up a friendship so easily? I will never understand people. Really, I won't.

Sorry to vent but this is rather disturbing.

mel

Jealousy can make some act very strange, i personally can't see why anyone should be jealous of another, just doesn't compute to me :confused:

Brian:

You're looking at it from a MAN's perspective.

Let me tell you, jealousy destroys friendships, well, it affects all people concerned.

I'll give you an example.

Twenty five or so years ago, I had a job at a secretary in a non-profit agency in NYC. I got along with EVERYBODY. That's my personality. We were a whole bunch of secretaries. This was before anyone had a computer on their desk.

Guess who was the first one to be chosen to go to IBM school and learn about computers? Me. Guess who was the first secretary to get the computer (desktop), and the first Dot Matrix Printer, at their desk? ME!!

Guess who everybody stopped talking to (and I mean every secretary in the place), for two years???? ME!!!

Not until all the other secretaries got a computer on their desk and then guess who they called to find out "how do I use this new contraption, what does the F10 key do, how do I do word wrap at the end of the paragraph". Who did they call?? (Well not GHOSTBUSTERS, I can tell you that).

Everybody started to speak to me. They didn't know how to do anything and I had gone to IBM school 3 days a week in the morning, and then came to work in the afternoon.

I never understood how some people can just give you the cold shoulder because you were chosen to do a project. I would never do that to anyone.

By the way, it was only the women who did this. The other employees in the company (the men), never dissed me, never ignored me.

The women did.

I guess it's a gender thing.

I think it's just plain dumb but then that's just my opinion.

Melody

Friend's jealousy.
 

Hi Melody:

My reaction too, was that your friend was jealous because you lost weight and looked so good. The fact that you worked hard to lose the weight and learned a new way to eat, didn't make any difference to her. She only knew that you looked good and she didn't. Yes, unfortunately this is a female trait it seems.

Shirley H.

Thanks Shirley:

I actually thought it was all in my head. We have a mutual friend who lives around the other corner. She is our age. She just lost 85 lbs over the past year because she had a heart scare and her doctor said "lose weight'. So she did.

When I happened to mention to my (let's call her the Jealous one), I said' Did you see , so and so"? She lost 85 lbs, my god, she looks great".

Her comment?? "Oh really", then she changed the subject.

I found that rather strange, but now that I look at it, it's not so strange.

I had my best friend of 46 years stab me in the back. I was godmother to her kid and she was the same to mine. We never had a disagreement since we met in high school at the age of 13. We were always chubby.

Well, over the years, I lost and gained, (she did the same) but ultimately she gained a lot, her daughter is over 500, and the sons are all over 250 so there's a gene thing going on as well as bad eating.

Well, two years ago, (after I had completely changed my appearance), she once made a comment "my god, look at you, holy cow, I can't even look at you, you make me so jealous'. We both laughed. (Why the hell didn't I see THAT coming??"

So she betrayed me and hasn't called me in 2 years.

Alan says: "They're jealous of you, you look good". I said to Alan: "are you out of your mind. I'm 60 years old, what the heck is there to be jealous of, I mean, when your 13, then you can be jealous, (you remember way back then, that if you had a friend and she made another friend, you would say "well you can't be friends with her, if you're friends with me". That's a kid mentality. I never did that by the way. Made no sense to me.

If I made a friend, than I shared that friend with all my friends. Who the heck says 'you can't have two friends at the same time"?? It's an immature mentality that does this.

Well, I must be around a lot of immature mentalities I would venture to guess.

I have no time, nor do I have the inclination to phone up people, and then say "did I do something to offend you, to make you mad"??? when I know full well, that I didn't do a darn thing.

I even asked Alan last night. "Do you think I did anything to her, that she doesn't want to go shopping with me". and Alan said "are you for real, she's jealous, can't you see that".???

Hit me with a wet noodle. What the heck is going on?, Do I only have to make friends with 75 year olds (like my lady friend around the corner with the sick doggee?"

Good grief.

I have to make new friends. At 60 no less!!!!

Oh brother.

Thanks for all the support. It was needed, believe me.

melody

A few thoughts also because I have lost many of my friends who are still deep in their eating disorder and I am not. One I feel it makes them nervous because they feel threatened like they will have to change or I will look down on them. Which I don't because it is a battle. Also when people fear having to change they get mean or distance themselves to protect there sickness.In the past I have had a lot of 1 sided friendships where I have been there for them and them not for me. It has brought my self esteem down and I won't do it anymore. I know at times one friend needs more support then another but a friendship can not be 1 sided because that is a therapist.
Melody as for your son I am sorry. You seem like such a sweet women and it is hard to watch your child destruct. I know from my past and the strain it put on my mom and also the other side since I am recovered from an ed and my mom suffers. You never know one day you may be able to have a better relationship. My mom and I has really grown to a healthier one because of boundaries.
As for weather my issue flare for sure in the cold. Even at a cold docs apt my feet feel like a block of ice and send the pain up.

Daniella:

I'm very proud of you for being accountable for your eating disorder. Takes a lot of guts. I only wish my friend Elaine (who died in September), had faced up to hers. She had been anorexic since the age of 15. Been hospitalized, given meds. Nothing worked. She would not go over 100 lbs. It was like a (I can't figure out what the word is), but she would not go over 100 lbs. She would ask me (while she was driving me to the produce store (get that, she actually drove me and didn't think she was the chauffeur, LOL ). She once asked me "Melody, how many calories are in a leaf of lettuce". I responded. "We are not having this conversation". Then she found a way to get me to take her to the store that sells the herbal tea that makes you lose weight. It's a kind of laxative tea. I never knew she was using this to lose weight. I believed her when she said she needed it to go the bathroom. Oh the stuff I found out later on.

She developed Emphysema and later, lung cancer (smoked till she was 51). The doctor sat her down and told her "you have to eat healthy, if you are to beat this. We all sat her down and told her the same thing. I probably should have taken her to the local mortuary and shown her the coffin and said "listen, if you don't get help and soon, you will wind up in this thing sooner than any of us have to". I will always wonder if I should have done this.

But none of us did. We just spoke to her, listened to her and watched her NOT EAT HERSELF TO DEATH. She wouldn't even do the Ensure thing.

All the chemo, and radiation were to avail because her body lacked sufficient nutrients. I was with her 83 year old mother as she watched her daughter slip away. Very painful for everybody concerned.

But it's not called an eating disorder for the fun of it, now is it?? It's a real thing and I give you tremendous amount of respect for doing whatever you are doing about it.

And if you lose friends along the way (and you probably will), well, it's THEIR problem now isn't it??

And I absolutely loved your remark about one sided friendships being what a therapist is. I never thought of it that way. That is such a cool description.

So you keep it up, you're doing great.

One day at a time.

Melody

Mel
 

Wrote long note guess it got bumped,smalll ones,from now on hands hurt
to bad. You have friends,I wish I could drive you to Cosco but can't
drive and it would be a bit far if I could. But I bet we would find some
interesting things. Very cold here as well,time to get that fire going again.

Just back from Kidney Dr. thought I had flu,surprise may loose my left
kidney,he was concered,now it's very concered...I think right now
I would rather loose well one of my friends.ha Oh Shoot,I have the
tremers. I think it's your friends husband. Hugs to all,well no matter
people can be odd sorry ,this happened to you,it hurts. Sue

Sue oh my I am so sorry about your kidney. What is going to happen? When do you find out?Is there someone to help you right now?I am sending so many hugs and wishes to you. You have many friends here and please reach out for support.


Thanks Melody. I hope to write a book and about this too. I know had to want recovery more then anything and be willing to do what ever it takes.You can't negotiate or do part of recovery. It is like you eating cake at every meal but not wanting to be diabetic. It doesn't work that way. You have to do things you don't want to to recover. I am sorry about your friend.You know I sometimes go back to the old place I was inpatient to help the other girls and share my recovery story. It is hard to watch but I know I can't change them they have to change themselves and face their feers.I can only support.As for the 1 sided friends. To me I would rather have 2 amazing friends then a bunch of crappy ones. Melody you seem like a care taker by nature.I hope you have good friends to support you too and your husband as well.I think it my age people think they are super heros and nothing can or will effect them. Many have been through very little. There crisis is breaking up with a boyfriend or having a bad hair day. Really. Until you experience true hard times you can't know or even imagine. I really treasue a feel good day. I used to not even care and when I look back at how destructive I was to myself it makes me so sad and scared. Your physical body and health is your tool for life without it little else as meaning.
Feel better all!

Well, I am seeing a lift in energy too! R-lipoic 100mg twice a day.
I am happy so far.

Also benfotiamine 150mg twice a day is working better than my thiamine!
I had been taking 200mg at bedtime of thiamine, which was good, but this seems better. (of course it is really COLD right now, and my feet are always better when weather is cold)

I bought the Source Naturals for the R-lipoic.
And Doctor's Best for the benfotiamine. I remember that benfotiamine used to be about $60 a month... the new lower prices are NICE IMO.

Thats great Mrs D, mine were always the worse in the hotter season as far as the burning goes, so it will be interesting to see the outcome when your summer days come along.

Brian :)

sleep problems...
 

I am starting to have sleep problems on the R-Lipoic acid. I didn't take any yesterday, and slept normally. The benfotiamine does not affect my sleep.

I am now experimenting with time of day and doses. I did not expect this effect!

I did only 50mg today, in the morning. I'll do that for a few days, and increase to 50mg twice a day.

I have to say I did try ALA regular type years ago. 300mg a day..I had no effect from it. (of any kind). So since it did not help my burning feet, I stopped using it. This new R- form is very very potent. So I hope anyone else here who tries it is careful with it.

I have been wearing socks successfully... it is bitter cold here... but socks have always been uncomfortable for me.
It has been 3 days now, and even at night...so that is a real improvement for my feet! ;)