Med Question for mrsD
 

My question is about starting vitamins and supplements. I already take a multi, B-complex, vitamin D3, fish oil and am starting B12 injections. Based on what I have read here, I am going to start with Alpha Lipoic Acid and some others recommended to help the nerves repair themselves. I also need to change my diet since I get way too much sugar and gluten.

So, if I start feeling better, I would love to get rid of some of my Rx. Has anyone been able to do this with success? I take amitriptyline and verapamil for migraine, Vimpat to help with those and neuropathy, and 0.5 of Klonipin to help me sleep better, it helps with less RLS at night.

Thanks!

Sounds like a good plan. It will take a while before you can consider changing medications.

With RLS and migraine ...you really should add magnesium in some form to your supplement list.

Since your legs are an issue, I'd try the magnesium lotion now available at WalMart...Morton's Epsom Lotion. Rub it into your
calves and ankles -- 1/2 quarter's diameter on each leg.
If you see improvement I'd then start an good oral form, like SlowMag, twice a day. Magnesium has been used in some migraine treatments as well. So you might get a double effect.

Discuss the drugs with your doctor in about 3 months... you may need to taper off some of them with supervision.

The Klonopin esp. will be difficult to change.

Fish Oil
 

I have recently read in a major university study (can't recall which one) done in 2009 that fish oil in the form of soft gels is not effective in helping to prevent heart attacks. According to the study, only oil from consuming fish such as salmon and sardines is effective. I had been taking 1700 mg of EPA and 690 mg of DHA in Omapure softgels until I read this study. After reading some of your posts in 2006 on fish oil, however, maybe I should resume taking these soft gels. They won't do anything for the burning peripheral neuropathy in my feet, but the finding regarding heart attacks doesn't negate the other benefits you mentioned, right?

Supplement research seems to go one way then another. I think it has to do with patient/subject selection.

Studies can also be maniupulated with the math... to give certain outcomes. Choice of subjects also is a huge factor. The most publicized manipulations were done with the drugs (stimulants) for children. One well known doctor discovered this in the study he was running, and went public.
The drug company tried to censor him in fact.
http://www.ahrp.org/infomail/04/12/03.php

Another really terrible discovery was that Merck created a phoney journal in Australia to promote success in fake studies on their drugs.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Drugs/s...1#.UY4kb0qU8s0

These are just two incidents. Supplements have long been targeted by mainstream medicine...because they hold potential
for lowering medical costs and creating less need for RX drugs.
It is also very difficult to control variables in the subjects, to get clear results. People are so unique, have unique dietary preferences, activity levels, etc.
Another factor is placebo control. Drug companies give elaborate tests to weed out subjects who have placebo reactions.
http://www.wired.com/medtech/drugs/m...urrentPage=all

Fish oil really helped my son go Ritalin free...for HIS ADHD. It was totally dramatic. From 60mg a day of Ritalin to ZERO, with a huge improvement in his skills in high school. Fish oil contains DHA which is involved in forming and repairing membranes and receptors for neurotransmitters in the brain. The EPA in fish oil has anti-inflammatory effects as well. I know a fellow who had severe autoimmune disease attacking his kidneys, and his doctor found a paper from China about this and put him on 13 grams (a huge dose) of fish oil... which reversed this kidney damage successfully. So yes, the EPA and DHA are ESSENTIAL fatty acids which we need. You can choose to do it with diet, or supplements. Krill oil is now becoming more popular because of its improved solubility and absorption.

It just, therefore, may be that in the future we will see other studies on fishoil or EPA and DHA that state their success with heart disease. Studies are only a starting point, not an end point when considering effects of drugs, treatments, and supplements, therefore. ;)