I have had painful neuropathy in my hands and feet for years. Over the years, I have tried many of the standard meds like neurtin, anti-depressants, anti-seizure (I don't even remember all the names and types anymore) Unfortunately, all of them made me too drowsy to function and I couldn't work and continue to take them.
My podiatrist just recommended Metanx. He says I should try it for 2 months and see if it helps. It is very expensive and the drug info says it causes drowsiness, but I am desperate for some relief. My new endo says he has never heard of it and doesn't recommend it.
Has any one tried metanx and if so did it help and did it cause drowsiness? Any other thoughts or info on it would be helpful.
I've been using Metanx for about a year. I had a lot of pain in my feet, and numbness and tingling in legs and feet. Because the relief is slow, over several weeks and months, it's hard to be 100% sure that the Metanx is working; however, my feet and legs are much better now. And I haven't changed anything else, so I'll keep taking them. Most insurance companies don't cover Metanx, as it is considered a medical food product. It is a B-vitamin complex. I order from an online company called Brand Direct Health. Their price is less than half what my regular pharmacy wanted to charge me, but it is still somewhat expensive. Good luck. I hope it works for you.
I used Metanx for a month or two and found that it took the edge off the pain that 300 mg of Gabapentin was not completely addressing. At that time (two or three years ago?) the pain was waking me up and keeping me awake at night. I did not want to increase my dose of Gabapentin because of drowsiness, so when a podiatrist recommended Metanx I tried it for several months. It worked well.
Because my insurance would not cover it, I did a search and found an entry in Wikipedia giving doses for the 3 B vitamins it contains and the dose of each. I then did a bit more research and bought the three ingredients separately. Its a few more pills to take, but I think they work better for me. When I take it in the morning and at night, I have no nerve pain in my feet. I can miss one dose without any consequences. It seems like there is a build up in my system?
Interestingly, I've noticed a return of the pain within a couple of days when I run out of folate; maybe a week when I don't take the B12. I have not noticed any other side effects from the vitamins themselves.
At one point I did the math and also found that buying the separate vitamins was cheaper than what my insurance company was charging. But as Michelle mentions there are inexpensive online sources.
thanks michelle and cschaub for the advice and feedback. Last year my insurance wouldn't cover it and it was way too expensive. this year they are covering it with a $70 a month co-pay, which is still pretty high but I took the plunge because the pain had gotten worse. I will check out what it would cost to buy separately. I didn;t think of that. What website do you use to buy online
I order a lot of health related things that I cannot buy locally from http://www.vitacost.com/ I searched for each of the three ingredients in doses that are mentioned online. (I saw them listed on the brandhealthdirect.com site too.) Vitacost often has BOGO 50% off their brand.
But if your copay will be $70, that is less expensive than the $95 I used for my original calculations.
But I also want to mention that using the separate ingredients worked better for me for some reason. I could take one dose in the morning and one at night. With the Metanx I was taking two morning and night for the same effect. That was probably the game changer for me.
I have now been using Metanx for almost a year and I have to say it has definetly helped relive some of my neuropathy pain. It took 2 months to kick in but worth the expense.
Metanx is a medical food made by Pamlab that contains L-methylfolate (as Metafolin, a calcium salt of vitamin B9), methylcobalamin (vitamin B12) and pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (vitamin B6). It is a vitamin B supplement. Metanx contains the following active ingredients (per capsule):
L-methylfolate (Metafolin): 3 mg
Pyridoxal 5'-phosphate: 35 mg
Methylcobalamin: 2 mg
