Alpha-Lipoic Acid

[chickiet]

Has anyone heard of and/or tried alpha-lipoic acid? If so, has it helped, and at what doses?

My sister is a nurse and her husband is diabetic. He has diabetic neuropathy, which seems to cause symptoms similar to what a lot of us have - pain, burning, numbness, etc.

He is taking Neurontin and alpha-lipoic acid (ALA). He says that the ALA has helped considerably more than a lot of the other meds he's been prescribed over the years.

ALA is an antioxidant, and you can buy at vitamin stores like GNC. There have been studies that show that ALA helps with diabetic neuropathy. I realize we don't have the diabetic causes of our deficits, but if this helps repair one type of nerve damage, would it help with other causes?

[tc]

I take flaxseed oil regularly, but I take so many nutritional supplements that I'm not sure which ones are effective or not. All I know is that recently I forgot to take all my vitamins and supplements and by that evening, I had bad spasms in my left leg. I take extra magnesium, lots of calcium with vitamin D, flaxseed oil, fish oil, and more. I also drink Acai berry juice every day (expensive and unproven), but it couldn't hurt. It's supposed to be very high in antioxidants. I drink a little cranberry juice daily to prevent UTIs (that works for me). I also take a pill with Glucosamine Sulfate, Chondroitin Sulfate & MSM combined. I know that last pill helps me, because I didn't buy it for 3 months and my hands got much stiffer. When I started taking it again, my hands improved (though they still hurt). I don't know how qualified I am to answer your question, since I haven't had surgery yet. However, I am definitely experiencing nerve pain already because of my cervical tumor.
Teresa

[billanschell]

A year or two ago, one of the SCTA members emailed me that alpha lipoic acid had done wonders for him. I tried it for a couple of months but got no noticeable results. Still, can't hurt for you to try...

--Bill

[chickiet]

Thanks for the responses - I think I'll probably pick some up and give it a try. It's my understanding it's not in any traditional supplements so I'll either have to get it online or from a vitamin store (like GNC).

As pointed out, it probably won't hurt any to try - may not help, but you just never know.

Thanks again,
Chris

[cindylee]

There are some things that work for some but not for others. Anything that helps you is worth a try. The glucosomine with msm helped me in that it took away a lot of my stiffness in my knees and hands. But i haven't been able to afford it so I gave it up. Cindy