Replied By Tom (Eu) on 11/04/2012
Hi Al, Great to hear of your improvements. With regards to your wondering if the ALA was sending your hair back to its original colour I would think that maybe it is. I have included the following article which describes the relationship between ALA and ALCAR when used together. Bascially says that ALCAR can cause oxidative stress which is why it is usually teamed with ALA to counteract any negative impact on cells. I think it is basically the Good guy of the duo and may very well be what has caused your hair to go back to its original colour.
http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/alpha-lipoic-acid-and-acetyl-l-carnitine-can-they-improve-sports-performance-8
With regards to your wondering if it was welding that caused your hair to turn grey in your early years, all I can say to that is that I have an uncle and he has been welding for many years. He is now in his late seventies and last year he had to undergo an operation for a hole at the back of this eye - at least I think that's what it was, which he says he is nearly sure was caused by welding - this goes to show you how much welding he done over a lifetime, however he didn't actually turn grey until he was in his late forties/early fifties. But who knows maybe it's a case of horses for courses.
I have also included a link with regard to a forum on nerve regeneration which may/may not be of use to you, the first guy seems to be using supplements similar to that you use for nerve regeneration.
http://www.healthboards.com/boards/neuropathy/75917-anyone-experienced-nerve-regeneration.html
All I can say Al is that it is truly great to hear of your good news. I can't say that there seems to be much info out there results-wise for people in relation to ala/alcar and neuropathy so you seem to be a pioneer to some extent. Wishing you the best going back to work and hoping that you will keep us updated. Regards.
Replied By Al (Alvena, Sk., Canada) on 11/11/2012
Tom from Eu, those are very interesting links, especially the first one. As far as the second one it seems that the site is not being maintained any more and I could not post to it. My neuropathy started with numbness and loss of motor nerves, then tingling and loss of sensory nerves followed by the onset of pain which peaked about a year or so after starting the chemo. What is strange is that my fingers healed as my feet and legs got worse. By the time I started on ALA the pain and numbness had receded to just my feet but I still had motor and sensory nerve issues in my legs. I was experiencing reduced pain with grape seed extract, I believe because of its antioxidant activity, and so am still taking that. Now that the nerves are functioning better I am to the point, with my feet, where I saw my fingers at in relation to pain a few months before they became just highly sensitive. My fingers are still quite sensitive but not to the point of being painful. I expect that within a month or two my toes and the soles of my feet will be at that stage. I believe that the nerves have actually regenerated and that the sensitivity I am experiencing is from the unconditioned state of the regenerated sensory nerves similar to that experienced after a cut or burn heals.
I went back to work driving a truck hauling containers to and from the rail. It involves a lot of climbing in and out of the truck and a lot of walking as well as about 3000 km of driving per week with 12 - 14 hour days and the only thing that really bothered me was wearing steel toed shoes at one rail yard.
I have also been switched from Lyrica to Cymbalta due to the vision blurring aspect of Lyrica. I am still seeing no improvement in the tinnitus. I have increased the dosage of ALA to 500mg twice a day in an attempt to speed the healing/chelating process. I have no idea if it is helping as I have nothing to compare it to. I do notice a substantial difference in pain now when I take the ALCAR unlike when I first started using it.
Replied By Al (Alvena, Sk., Canada) on 11/20/2012
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.Replied By Al (Alvena, Sk., Canada) on 03/02/2013
It is now six months since I started on ALA and four months since I went back to work. After about three months I hit a plateau where it seemed the improvement slowed down with all the supplements noted in my previous posts. I tryed the vitamin B12 at doses up to 40, 000 mcgs per day with some success and again hit a plateau. I stumbled across L-arginine, it is supposed to increase circulation, and added it to my regimen. I thought it would help by allowing more nutrients to get to my nerves but found that it actually improved things by making my feet feel warmer. I did some more research and found out that phosphorous is good for nerve health and went looking for phosphorous. I found it in a bone supplement with huge amounts of calcium included in it but tried it anyway. It is helping. I began to feel that something else was missing so I added in potassium and magnesium (at the same time) and am seeing beneficial results. The 'electric shock jolts' are now gone but I still have a small patch of numbness in the soles of my feet and a varying level of a burning sensation pain in my feet. I am not entirely healed yet but I am still improving and am working as much as 76 hours per week without issues. I have discontinued Lyrica as it no longer helps the tinnitus. I have also noticed that the timing of my medication/supplements is not critical any more. I take everything in the morning after breakfast and selected ones after supper which is usually about 15 hours later. I also find that if I move my toes around when they get painful that the pain is reduced fairly quickly now. My doctor informed me a couple of weeks ago that ALA is going to be available by prescription in Canada very soon for neuropathy.
My experience is telling me that we all need to try everything available and must utilize all of the vitamin and mineral supplements that can support nerves to promote healing in the quickest manner possible. I can now see that I will completely recover from my chemotherapy induced neuropathy in spite of being told by my neurologist that "where it is a year after chemo is as good as it will get". I am now 37 months from having started chemo and am still improving.
As I am now working full time and long hours, if anyone has specific questions for me, you may contact me directly at gustafsonal (at) hotmail {dot] com. Thank you. Al
Replied By Happy (Up The Creek In, Wv, Usa) on 03/03/2013
in response to: Al from Alvena, Sk., Canada: "It is now six months since I started on ALA ......."
Your symptoms sound like a classic case vitamin B6 over-dose. Read all the labels on all your multiple vitamin bottles, and eliminate all the b6 you find. The 'electric shock jolts' are a big clue.... So is the numbness. STOP THE B6 INTAKE. Root it out.
Replied By Al (Alvena, Sk., Canada) on 03/12/2013
IMPORTANT UPDATE. I missed a dose of ALA and my feet improved a bit during the associated time so I haven't taken any for three days now. It seems that the ALA resulted in a major improvement by removing the heavy metals from my system but then stopped improving things. I saw further improvement every time I added a nerve nutrient to my regimen and then would hit another plateau. I think that the ALA was consuming the B vitamins and minerals faster than my body could absorb them and now that I haven't been taking the ALA any more I am seeing more improvement. It is noticeable in only three days. Perhaps we need to realize that there comes a point that we need to discontinue supplements when they are no longer needed/have done the job they were taken for.
To Happy from WV, USA, I no longer have the sharp shooting pain and just recently added a small dose of vitamin B6 that gave a small improvement. I am sure that the B6 is not a problem. The numbness at one point was up to my mid thigh in both legs and was also in my hands and face. My hands and face are better and I recognize the same sequence of improvement in my feet and legs. I only have a very small patch of numbness on the soles of my feet that is now affecting only my big toes and part of the mid sole area. the cold sensitivity is also improving in that cold doesn't cause as much pain increase now as it did in the past.
To Lily from Kelowna, BC. I don't think gluten is an issue. We don't use flour from modern wheat as my wife has/had celiac disease. I found out about some old varieties of wheat, Red Fife and Marquis, that have a different gluten structure than the dwarf wheat that is commonly grown now and that can be consumed by people with celiac disease. In fact my wife got rid of all symptoms of celiac disease in only six months by switching from gluten free to Red Fife wheat. We now use Red Fife and Marquis flour for all of our cooking and have it locally available at a local organic grower who has a Kelowna company mill it for him.
Thanks to everyone who has replied and given me ideas of things to try. I am still open to trying more supplements in the interest of completely curing this problem. I am sure that the time frame involved is making it more difficult for me than it could have been but I am claiming my life back after what I can only describe as a brutal and demoralizing three year disability thanks to supplements, vitamins and minerals that doctors and specialists that treated me knew nothing about. Don't ever give up. Stay positive to win the battle against poor health. Thanks also to the Earth Clinic site. Awesome. Al
Replied By Al (Alvena, Saskatchewan, Canada) on 09/22/2013
It is time for an update on my neuropathy. It is just over a year since I started ALA and it has totally changed my situation. The nerves are healed to the point that I have virtually no numbness left. I still have a substantial amount of pain due to the super sensitive nature of recently healed nerves. When I wake up in the morning now I am almost pain free but by the end of the day my feet feel like they are on fire. The intensity of the pain is dependent on how much walking/standing that I do with it being worse with more walking. To give you an idea of how sensitive my sensory nerves are, I can feel every chamber of my heart contract and can also feel muscles in my thighs moving past each other. I expect the nerves to eventually toughen up and for the associated pain to be alleviated. Large doses of vitamin B12 seem to help the most and I just started taking yucca yesterday to alleviate the inflammation that results from walking. It is too soon to know if the yucca is helping but I am expecting that it will. I have most of my motor function back. All that is not back is some in my toes. TRY EVERYTHING THAT MIGHT HELP. Grasp at the straws. One or more may help. Several have helped me. AlReplied By Art (Vancouver Bc, Canada) on 09/24/2013
Dear Al.
I am so glad to hear about your success with the ALA. I have had great success with it as well with the burning sensation just above my knees and pressure aches on both wrist. I was taking 2x250mg with every meal and then I discovered I only need to take it at noon and supper. Without this my life would be hellish painful. It was your posts that got me started on the ALA. I did try the R factor ALA with little success.
Art.
Replied By Al (Alvena, Sk., Canada) on 09/30/2013
I have been using the yucca for just over a week and am seeing amazing results. While the nerves in my feet are super sensitive, which results in swelling and high levels of pain, I am now seeing a substantial reduction in the swelling and pain with the yucca.
For those of you who are wondering what I am using, I am now taking:
ALA-200 mg/day, grape seed extract-200mg/day, B12 sublingual-30, 000mcg/day, benfotiamine, B3, folic acid, curcumin, chromium, copper, magnesium, manganese, potassium, phosphorous, fenugreek, acetyl-l-carnitine, l-lysine, vitamin C, vitamin D and yucca.
I may have missed some and don't know the dosages of all of them as I am not at home right now. If anyone has any specific questions please contact me directly at gustafsonal (at) hotmail (dot) com. Thank you and don't give up.
