New here supplements confusing for me
 

Just wrote a long post and then lost it, I was sure I was logged in and it said I wasn't. So here I go again, dang.
New here so I hope I'm posting in the right place. I own a motel, bar and grill, work like a crazy person. Have type 2 diabetes and last Oct. I had so many things wrong with me I can't even remember them. I wasn't eating, I was working 17 hours a day and drinking. Taking my metformin without testing. I think my bg must have been going low, then eating something crappy it would probably go high. I could barely string a sentence together I was exhausted, bloated and had had a headache for two months. Memory was so bad they said I had a flu shot and the next week I swore I hadn't. My feet and hands were always cold, my left arm itched all the time. My Nurse Practitioner said to stop the Metformin, walk drink water ect and come back in a month. Life and work got in the way I didn't go back. Holidays came and I ate the wrong things drank to much then business got slow and I laid around crocheting, eating candy watching TV.
So in Feb. I thought I better start taking the Metformin again keep tract of my blood sugar and let her know how I'm doing.
Within 3 weeks I started feeling funny in my fingertips, I thought it was the yarn I was working with, then I got shooting lightning electrical feelings going through me everywhere. Well my back hurt from sitting on my old couch so I thought that was it.
Went back to the NP she said I have sciatica and Neuropathy from diabetes go home take the metformin and get my bg down. She also said "well, maybe this is a good thing". Really? WTH
I have my bg in good shape, lost almost 20 pounds, quit drinking and began vitamins. Seeing a chiropractor for my back.Joined here.
Have had blood work, neck ex ray and a lymes test all was good, vitamin D was on the low end of the in range. She would not check my vitamin B and I begged twice. So now I have nothing to go on there. She did not refer me to a Neuro I made the appt. getting her to refer the only one we have here in Hooterville. Can't get in till end of June.
I was doing a little better with the horrible painful fingertips after the supplements but lately they hurt pretty bad again. My eyes have been getting red and it's hard reading all of a sudden. Going to the eye dr. today.
BTW, after not listening to me the NP finally is and now she thinks it may be MS.
I'm reading so much that I'm confusing myself and ordering one vitamin and supplement after another. This is a list of them. I would like to stop some of them and make this easier. I need to figure out what to take how much and when to take it.
Neuropathy Support Formula
Mega Red
Fish Oil
Eve Prim Rose Oil
Vitamins, C-D & E
Turmeric
Garlic
Slow Mag
Cayenne
MSM
CoQ10
Oligonal
Acelyle L Carnitine
R-Liptic Acid
DHEA
Ginko- stopped this one
I'm sure I had more to say in the post I lost but can't remember it now, lol. I hope it's not on here and I just can't find it, gawd, I feel stupid today.
Any help thoughts would be appreciated. Will chek back later off to the appointments for the day.

Hi there. So you have all that list now? Several of them are duplicates.

I'll get back to you later, when I have more time. You really should only start with a few, and see what happens.

Your diabetic status points to the one to start with.
I'll get back here later today, or early tomorrow. ;)

Thanks and BTW love your kitty pic. Have a black too. Lucy and her sidekick s gray, Vinnie the Noodle. :)

Neuropathy Support Formula This has 3 things in it.
B12, benfotiamine and R-lipoic acid. You should take this on an empty stomach, to get the benefits of the B12. This is quite expensive, but if you want it this way instead of separately, that is your choice. Sometimes it is better to take them separately, and then you can adjust doses better.


Mega Red
Fish Oil These duplicate each other. You don't really need both. These provide Omega-3 fatty acids to help repair the myelin covering of the nerve axons. 2 Mega Reds a day or 3 fish oil is usually all you need. The long chain fatty acids like these are made from alpha linolenic acid (like from flax) in the body.
It is a long complex chemical process, using GLA (from primrose) as an intermediate step.


Eve Prim Rose Oil This intermediate Omega-6 can help metabolize flax oil but is really not necessary unless you want it. The fish oil skips metabolism in the body right over this one.
You also do not need really high doses. But it does show up in older papers for neuropathy patients, as being useful.

Vitamins, C-D & E These are helpful. If you are low in D3 get your test results so you can figure out how much to take. The general rule is 1000IU for every 10 pts needed to raise. A goal if 50 is the low end of normal and typically used.

Turmeric This is not absorbed much in its natural herbal form. The studies using curcumin from Turmeric used special forms that were altered chemically for better systemic absorption. Curcugel 500 and LongVida brand are examples.
Use curcumin with a fatty meal, as this helps absorption. Curcumin is good for inflammation of the lining of the blood vessels, and for diabetics this is a good goal, and improves circulation.

Garlic This is not really necessary unless you want it for something.


Slow Mag This is critical for diabetics. Start at one tablet twice a day. There is also a new magnesium lotion that is very good too, that you can rub a small amount into target areas and it helps with pain, and cramping. Morton Epsom Lotion...use only a little at a time on intact skin. Available at WalMart and online at Amazon. Diabetics lose magnesium daily thru the urine, so they tend to get low quickly.

Cayenne Some people find this helpful. But it is also very hard on the GI tract. If you have an intolerance to nightshade veggies, this will upset you.

MSM I don't believe this is necessary. If you eat eggs you get plenty of sulfur.

CoQ10 This is critical for people using statin drugs to lower cholesterol. Actually if you have PN and use statins you should consider discussing with your doctor, discontinuing these toxic drugs. (that is my opinion). CoQ-10 is now available in better absorbed forms, like Qunol. Qunol is at Costco and Walmart and up to 300% better absorbed than the older oil caps. It is also less expensive. 100mg of Qunol therefore is an average daily dose.

Oligonal I don't know much about this one. You may not need this in the beginning, but can add it in later if you want.


Acetyl L Carnitine This can be useful, but you can add it in later.

R-Lipoic Acid This is helpful for diabetics. If you get the new R-NaALA (stabilized form, you only need 100mg a day).It may lower your blood sugars, so do your testing to see what effects it has on you.

DHEA you should really get a DHEA test before using this product. It is a pro-hormone and should be used carefully to see if you really need it and how much daily.

Ginko not really necessary for most people unless they have poor blood flow somewhere in the body. It affects blood clotting so mixing it with aspirin or some other drugs is not recommended.

**********************
When starting out, it is best to stay with The Big Three at first. Most people are low in at least one (and some in all 3) and can benefit from fixing this first off. Then you may not need other supplements at all. (or lower doses of some things)
B12-- methylcobalamin at least 1000mcg a day on an empty stomach

Vit D3-- dosed according to your vit D test results. Most people use 2000IU to 5000IU daily depending on your own level.

magnesium Very important to diabetics... I give details on this above. ^

Fish oil or Krill oil is the 4th critical supplement. Most people if they don't eat Salmon or use Flax in their diet, need this. It is anti-inflammatory and helps with repair of nerve damage.

A good all around vitamin is helpful too. Centrum Silver is one with good nutrients. Or Jarrow's B-Right is a nice formula. you can do this once a day.

The rest of the list can be tried one at a time added in after about 2-3 months on the Big Three.

Hi,

I am so sorry and understandably you are frustrated you are not getting any cooperation for your nurse practitioner. You definitely are not alone. I too have been waiting for months to see a specialist.

My primary too just said I had diabetic neuropathy and dismissed me a prescription for Lyrica. (it's a shame the way we are treated by this profession who charges an obscene amount for doing nothing)

You mentioned the numbness alpha lipolic acid is supposed to help with the burning.

My Vitamin D was low too and was told to take 2000 mgs daily. My B12 was high.

June is around the corner you will have your appointment with the Neurologist.
Hang in there till then. You probably should see a endocrinologist for the Diabetes.

I have one coming up been waiting for a couple of months now.

Had all kinds of test EMG, MRI for Lumbar tons of test tubes and I am still at square one.

Went to a diabetic educator that was interesting.

Hugs Gloria aka (uglogirl)

Thank you so much for taking the time to put this information together for me. Without a doctor I feel alone in this right now and have been kind of in a panic. Even with a doctor we don't don't have the best health care situation in this area. I feel more like I have something to go on now. The Slow Mag is something I just started, don't know if that is what is helping but my fingertips feel good enough today that i can type without using my nails. I'm so glad I finally found this place and yet so sad that there are so many of us.

Hugs to you too Gloria. I have plenty of stories about being dismissed by doctors here with only a prescription and no information. It is a shame and I wonder what happens to the elderly in my area that don't have the resources to give them needed information.
Two years ago I kept going in with no voice, she kept giving me ab's so finally I made an appointment with a ENT, took months to get in. By that time I needed surgery on my vocal cord and then couldn't talk for two months.
Same thing with this, she never said a word about seeing a neurologist had to figure it out myself.
I'm reading a book right now you might like it's by Sherri Shepherd, Plan D how to lose weight and beat diabetes. I just started it but sure would recommend it to anyone with or without diabetes. Wish I had read something like this a long time ago.
Hope your having a good day. :)

Sandy, do you have a doctor that knows about supplements and NT Factor?

Thank you and I am going to look into getting Sherri Shepherd's book
Have a great day.

No, wish I did. What is NT Factor?