★★★★☆
Just an update for everyone. I had to switch back to Lyrica from Cymbalta due to a negative reaction. After reading the the information from the top link from Tim in Eu I considered the information about ALA being used to remove free radicals from ALCAR therapy and came to the conclusion that they might be better taken together to get the best effect and so have tried it. I have had no issues from doing so and have gone back to my original dosage to find that I have less pain now at the lower dosage. Almost all the numbness is gone now and I only have pain in my toes. It is aggravated by the job I am doing but is still improving and it is at a level that I can tolerate so I will keep at it for now. It almost seems like too much ALA & ALCAR can cause a higher level of the frozen/burning/pins and needles type of pain in the same way that pressure/activity can aggravate the sensory nerves with this condition. I have found a 5 mg sublingual B12 in the AOR brand and just started using two per day with promising results.
Alpha Lipoic Acid
★★★★☆
I am amazed at how good this is working. After 13 days of taking alpha lipoic acid I have had my pain reduced enough to quit taking hydro morph contin and I actually have less pain and numbness now than when I started taking ALA even with being off the narcotic pain killers. I am picking up my benfotiamine and acetyl-l-Carnitine on Friday the 14th. If it helps even half as much as the ALA I will be back to work in a few weeks. We need to make chemo patients aware of this as much as possible. Al
Alpha Lipoic Acid
★★★★☆
I developed peripheral neuropathy from an overdose of Oxalyplatin in chemotherapy for stage 3 colon cancer in February of 2010. It affected my upper palate, hands and legs up to my mid thigh. I have been on Gabapentin, 3600 mg/day, for an extended period of time and then found out it was increasing my blood sugar by 15.0 with a single 300 mg dose so was switched to Lyrica instead. I have also been on narcotic pain killers along with the others and at times nothing would touch the pain or numbness and when nerve testing was done the doctors could not believe that I could still walk as there was zero sensory and zero motor nerve conduction. I had to look where I was putting my feet as I could not feel where I was putting them. I have been very slowly and steadily healing in spite of being put into a diabetic condition by the Gabapentin.
I read about alpha Lipoic acid in an article about fat loss/muscle building with a relationship to insulin sensitivity and it listed five ingredients of which ALA was one. When I looked at ALA in the search engine and read that it would cure neuropathy and that it is used to reduce the side effects of Oxaliplatin in chemotherapy I picked some up and started using it on 1 September 2012. I immediately noticed an improvement in my feet( the only currently affected area). It was so dramatic of a change that I discontinued all other medications to see what it did by itself. I have spent a couple of sleepless nights due to pain and have started using my other medications again today. Other than Lyrica and Hydromorph contin I take grape seed extract, fenugreek, St. John's Wort, milk thistle, glucosamine and condroitin sulfate with MSM, vitamin D, B12, curcumin, Motrin, and Apo-Temazepam for a sleeping pill. After less than 4 hours since resuming my other medications with ALA my feet are about 75% better than they were three days ago.
Is there anything else that I should be taking to speed the healing/reduce the pain and numbness? Please reply directly to gustafsonal(at)hotmail.com. Thank you. Al
