The Most Successful Thing You Have Tried
 

I am curious as to what is the most successful thing you have tried that has helped the most. For me it was changing my diet to a plant based natural state diet and avoiding inflammatory foods.

learning to eat better
 

Giving up on the buscuits & gravy & potatoes. Learning what turns into sugar and how quickly. Picking my way to a better diet but still leaving enough comfort to be able to eat that way for life. Also Morton Epsom Salt Lotion. I take many supplements but cannot attribute lessening pain to any one item, may be simply passage of time. I am afraid that a plant-based natural diet may be too much of a quantum leap for me. I am still getting used to 100% whole grain bread. haha. Thanks for your post, I will look at the diet with a sense of morbid curiosity,haha. Ken in Texas.

This is good to read for anyone interested in a vegan diet and how it may help PN:

http://arizonapain.com/vegan-diet-heal-neuropathy/

In my experience and opinion after trying literally everything, cannabis is the most effective neuropathic pain treatment.

For anyone who still thinks of marijuana as an addictive street drug, you need to rethink it. It is also a very effective medicine and an invaluable gift from our planet.

wow....thanks...great website.
diandra

I agree on all counts

I think r-lipoic acid has helped me. While I'm certainly not asymptomatic, I'm much better than I was before I started taking it. In the NutreVal test I took, I did show as being low on alpha-lipoic acid too.

The only other thing I'm doing differently which may or may not be playing a role is that I've switched to a very low carb diet. My fasting glucose is 80 and my A1c 5.2, so I'm not even close to being pre-diabetic, but I do have metabolic issues in the form of reactive hypoglycemia. When I took the oral glucose tolerance test, my glucose at the two hour mark was 71. (The pre-diabetic level start at 140, and diabetic at 200.)

Given that half the people with SFN are diabetic or pre-diabetic, I decided it couldn't hurt trying to keep my glucose levels lower even if I don't meet the "disease" criteria in case there's something the docs just don't understand. Maybe some of us unlucky souls are just genetically predisposed to SFN, and "normal" glucose levels are enough to cause it. Maybe we need to be even lower than normal. Just grasping at straws with that of course.

Anyway, besides losing a quick 10 pounds, I have to say I do feel better after I eat. My heart doesn't pound the way it used to after a high carb meal (always whole grain BTW). I prefer not eating the amount of meat I'm eating now, but going low carb eliminates a lot of food I used to eat instead of meat. Still working my way around that issue.

Oh, and lidocaine patches do help on my feet when I have a bad night. I think I'm more prone to bad nights the more sedentary I am during the day, but I can't say that for sure.

Sugar is dangerous
 

After 10 years of PN small fibre, I have found that sometimes it has a mind of its own. I have had exacerbation after viruses and after antibiotic use mainly.
I am on the thin side and active so blood sugar was never a problem for me.

That changed a couple months ago as I found I could no longer eat carbs and sugar. It was exacerbating my PN in a bad way.

Why? Who knows?? But sugar seems to be a big aggravator of PN for a lot of people not just diabetics. Processed sugar is toxic.

I find that sugar is a big flare for myself, as is any kind of fried foods and meat (I can usually get by with Tuna without a flare). And I do agree, it sometimes has a mind of its own. I have a few "secret weapons" that I use when I have a really bad flare, but here lately nothing really works. Stress is another big instigator I suppose. Of course, its hard not to be stressed when dealing with something like this.

Thanks for this thread. I too can identify with much of what everyone said. Sugar, carbs, viruses, even processed foods can all cause a flare and like H1N1Guy said, PN is stressful... and the stress, in turn exacerbates the PN symptoms. It's a vicious circle.