So i couldnt stand the tingling and burning in my feet so i broke down and started taking neurontin. Well it does take care of the pain, but now i am hyper aware just how numb the front of my foot is. How did all happen so fast , was i that oblivious to it. Just ignored the numb big toe. When i bend my toes downward feels so stiff and the ball of the foot is tight. Always had trouble with plantar fascitis being i was a runner, just depressed.
Neuropathy is an awful condition to endure. I did not realize it was happening either and it was pretty severe by the time I was diagnosed. It sounds to me that you are still fairly early in the process.
I did reverse my neuropathy and it is much better today although not completely gone. But I could barely function in the beginning. Now I have a fairly normal gait and am able to use my hands again.
It is a slow process to heal this condition. Even with yours being relatively new the reversal is still a long game. According to what I have learned and experienced, it takes about two years for it to begin to heal. There is a good report on this that Johns Hopkins put out a few years ago.
So, this is what I did in my particular case. I took no prescription meds. I took the supplement R-Alpha Lipoic Acid in high doses for about three years (1200 units per day). I kept my blood sugar as close to normal as I could. My average A1c for the past six years (from diagnosis) is just under 5.5. I had other complications and the only hope I had was to have a normal blood sugar level.
I took other vitamins including a B complex, but the R-ALA really made a difference from the very first dosage. I’m not saying that all of this will do for you what it did for me, but I can’t imagine how it could do any worse for you.
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Hi Randy, thanks for replying, i started on the r ala today, i also have the plain ala, i bought it before reading up about it . Stupid i know. Yes i am now seeing its going to be a long haul to get this under control, i also bought l caritine as this is suppose to help . I cant stand the gabapentin so i am going to stop it. My sugars have been low but not normal in the morning, 110 even though i go to sleep with an 88. I figured dawn phoenomena. I cant take a b complex as one of my problems going into this was my b12 200 points over normal and my b6 was 2.5 times the high normal .
Mikael
I wouldn’t be too concerned about your overnight number. I would be okay with that myself. I gave up worrying too much about mornings. I just take my starting number and work through it from there.
In the beginning I took 200 units per day of the R-ALA and could tell a difference within a day or two. When I ran out of that first bottle I waited about a week to get another. I realized by then that I was missing the affect of it. I did a little research and experimentation and ended up taking 600 units morning and night. You can get 200 unit caps from VitaCost online. I really didn’t want to be taking 12 capsules a day. They seem to have as good a price as I can get anywhere else.
I have never heard of the kind of issues you have with your B vitamins. We seem to all have our little health bonuses.
Hi Randy I was reading your post about the neuropathy and that you took/take the r ala for it. You said you started with 1200 units, did you find some capsules that were a high dose? I have started to take that as well because my doctor recommend I try it but the highest dose I can find is 100 units. I will check out that company you recommended. What does are you taking now? Also you mentioned that you didn’t notice the neuropathy at first, did the symptoms come and go? I am finding that the burning comes and goes and I notice some numbness occasionally but on the top of my one foot not the toes or bottom… I also find that I am not consistent with taking the r ala either, but I will change that since I would rather not have this complication if I can help it. My last A1c was 5.9 so I guess I need to be more diligent with keeping my blood sugars lower.
Hi LSS the only place that I found the higher dosage caps was at Vi8taCost. I found the same thing as you, that everything else is 100 units. I started out at 200 and worked my way up until I found something that seemed to work the best. That was how I got to 1200 per day. I had to quit taking it because I could not afford it. But by that time I was in pretty good shape. I am continuing to improve even though I have not been taking it for a couple years now.
I really don’t know what the magic number is for an A1c. Like I said, I had a lot of complications (both peripheral and autonomic neuropathy, retinopathy, etc.). They were all quite severe and got much worse when I brought my blood sugar down. I determined to have normal blood sugar levels if at all possible because this was the only hope I was given that I might find some relief. None of my doctors thought I could improve or reverse the situation.
All that I can tell you is that you do not want to let this get out of hand. I have no idea what type of physical pain you have ever endured. But I can be very confident in telling you that no matter how bad that pain has been you have never felt anything like neuropathy. It took me over two years of constant 24/7 pain before I found real relief. Believe me, you don’t want this experience.
hi randy just checked their site, they don’t carry the 600 mg r-ala anymore. found it at another site piping rock health products
mikael
Hi Randy thanks for all the information, I definitely do not want to get more severe than what is going on now with the burning feet. I will keep up with the ALA and see if I can get some improvement. The neuropathy seems to be the only side effect so far and for that I am grateful. I will also work on getting my blood sugar in even better control. I have to admit that I have not been as diligent as I could be with that but from reading others post I think that is something I should strive for. 
I always say that it is best to keep your blood sugar as close to normal healthy levels as you can safely do. It becomes even more of a balancing act when you run in a normal range. It took me quite a while to figure it out and I had some pretty scary incidents. You are already in a pretty decent spot. It should not take you a whole lot to moves the needle. I would just do it slow and methodical.
Like I said, this is a slow process. You are playing a long game. In fact many times it was a two step forward and one step back process. The wins are small and the trajectory is anything but straight.