neuropathy

[blackrhino]

Has anyone dealt with neuropathy in their feet?If so,is there a way to reverse it?

[Dorothy]

Yes Rhino - I helped my Mom with her neuropathy throughout her body when she was in her late 70's. Her retinopathy reversed and her pain in her legs reduced dramatically. First thing to do of course is get your diabetes under control. The body has an amazing ability to heal itself if given what it needs. 

I know it's a bit premature to even suggesting it - but I'm finding this slanted bed thing Al suggested really exciting and one of the things it's supposed to do is regenerate nerves. Just a thought.

That neuropathy can be real painful. What do you do for the pain if anything? Are you on any medications for the neuropathy?

[blackrhino]

Yes it can be painful,buti dont experience the pain often.I take benfotiamine,which is a fat soluble b vitamin and it really helps.I was told that because its fat soluble, the vitamin doesnt get flushed out of the system as some water soluble vitamins.It gets in the cells and go to work.Neuropathy is caused when the body is lacking thiamine.It doesnt make the feeling go away completely tho.But i guess once i fully recover from diabetes,it will go away.

[Adora]

I have totally reversed neuropathy and numbness in my legs and toes multiple times. I like the b's too. So, I do it with massage and proper eating. The massage only works a little without raw food. Or, if you're eating too much, especially sugar. What is too much? Sorry- I haven't figured that out yet. The other day I ate a handful of dates. They were so good, I stopped because I felt done, and they weren't dramatically difficult on my BS. That wasn't always the case. I just change/heal constantly on raw foods. I alternate with sharp and tickle types of massage. I like to walk barefoot, but you really have to be careful. I have hurt myself. I healed, but I have learned to watch the ground when I walk barefoot. After you wash feet, with scrub brush - more massage. I love to massage vegetable glycerin( learned about it here from Wodgina, I think) into them until moist feet are dry and smooth. Then sock them. Do it daily. If you don't want to walk barefoot then massage for at least an hour. Use your finger nails, dig and caress, It is like as stones and grass. Pumps the circulation and nerve supply into hugh gear. I also, do cold thermogenesis training and I worked on my feet "carefully"first, because they are the most fragile.  Look up Jack Kruse cold thermogenesis posts if your interested or I could tell you more

[blackrhino]

Thanks adora!Anything knowledge you have to give on this subject,ill gladly accept.I hope all is well with you?

[stoneforest]

Dorothy, what diet did ur mothers neuropathy improve with? I too have neuropathy

[Dorothy]

Stoneforest, my Mom was on a horrific diet before she came to live with me. I told her that I would take total care of her (and she needed LOTS of care) only if she would eat what I gave her without complaining - because I could not take care of an blind obese person with no legs - which is where things were rapidly heading - or she would have to go to a nursing home. She chose to come with me and eat what I gave her. The transition for her had to be slow. I had to replace the worst offenders with less toxic alternatives in order to deal well with the emotional aspects of food and also, rather importantly, not make her go into extreme detox all at once. I replaced artificial sweeteners with stevia in the same kind of packet, coffee with grain coffee, white breads with whole grains, sweet things with fruits and my raw deserts - basically everything artificial and sugary with a better choice. I thought I was going really slow, but it only took three months for her to no longer need her meds. The neuropathy healed on it's own it seemed as long as her blood sugars were stable. I do think that finding Minami fish oil was really important for her - it's the only one that is not heated and did wonders for her on many levels. She never went fully raw, but probably 80% - just because I shared with her what I was eating. If I had known about raw paleo back then she would have been even better off I'm sure. She stopped being able to digest salads, but I would make her raw soups with vegetables which she could digest. I gave her healthier versions of all her favorite foods.

Most of the gain Stone I'm sure was in just stopping the destruction from the diabetes and the toxic foods -- giving the body a chance to take a breath and regenerate on it's own. She was on lots of supplements, but I bet that wouldn't really be necessary with the right diet. I didn't give her dairy. She was basically eating whole grains, vegetables, only the best oils and some meat until she stopped being able to digest cooked meat and then I started giving her things like smoked salmon - but neither of us knew about eating raw meat back then. She would eat poached eggs most days.

But remember, I had to go in little steps and take into consideration where she was coming from. It took a decade before she would even be willing to try some sushi. She was also on about 30 medications which we had to take her off of one by one. You are really ahead of the game already being here on this forum.

What's your diet like now Stoneforest?  Where's your neuropathy? Mom had it in her legs and arms and eyes - but probably everywhere else too. I guess I'm asking is what are your symptoms and how did you get your neuropathy? Was it because of diabetes or something else?

I don't believe that much of these degenerative problems are irreversible. Once the body has the right nutrients in the right balance it seems to go to work fixing - pretty much at any age and at almost any stage of degeneration. What was right for Mom might also not be right for you. But at least you know it's possible.

[stoneforest]

Dorothy, thank u so much for ur moms story. It's people like u that give us hope thru example.
I have neuropathy mainly where ur mom had it (eyes,arms,legs).  But it's really all over. I don't quite meet the criteria for diabetes but most of us on this website would say I m diabetic. My fasting glucose avges at 105.      I'm very thin and it's always been hard to gain weight.

Ive been inconsistent at doing RPD for over a year now. But im determined to heal myself. And For the passed two weeks, daily  I've been eating 1.5 pounds 85% ground beef grassfed and two apples. For the passed two days I've been eating 75 grams of ground at trimmings. 

It's getting easier but I often still question my diet: to eat or not to eat some carbs? To eat only one meal or a few small ones?

I'm just trying to stay all raw except for cooked fish once per week.  I'm assuming that if I minimize carbs to no  more than 40grams daily I shd be ok.

[Dorothy]

Stoneforest - what was your diet like before?
So far from my experience it doesn't seem necessary to omit all carbs to beat down diabetes and neuropathy. I'm going to tell you my super-limited experience with zero carb. After reading Lex's journal from beginning to end I tried zero carb for a couple of days and it was just too hard on my kidneys.... took me weeks to get back to myself ... but I was just eating muscle meat and fat. Lex eats the entire cow! All the organs. I think that make a gigantic difference. It seems to make a difference even with my dogs.

Adora here tried zero carb and she is a diabetic so it might be good to ask her experiences.

Why do you think it is best for you to do low carb? Are you going to eat vegetables? Are you going to have any berries? Why did you choose apples?

There are some supplements that are supposed to be good for neuropathy. Are you open to supplements or are you doing the pure paleo route?

[stoneforest]

I did forget to mention that once per week I eat "primal ground beef" which contains all sorts of organs. I am inclined twds low carb because of the hyperglycemia due to presumed insulin resistance. Also, there is some data showing that a ketogenic diet can be helpful for alzheimers and seizure disorders.  Some believe it may help other neurological disorders as well. 

I'm open to supplements such as benfotiamine but I feel that if I add a supplement now and experience a change, it will be harder to see how much the diet really contributed.

[stoneforest]

I forgot to mention I eat avocados twice per week and occasional berries and greens.

[Dorothy]

I think that makes sense to change only one thing at a time and do just the diet. It's so hard when you try multiple changes at once. Are you thinking because ketogenics helps with other neurological diseases that it might help with neuropathy?

[stoneforest]

Yes.
Why do u say the zerocarb diet was rough on ur kidneys? What did u feel?

[cherimoya_kid]

Also, there is some data showing that a ketogenic diet can be helpful for alzheimers and seizure disorders.  Some believe it may help other neurological disorders as well. 

Yes.  In fact, I'd say any disorder that involves excess or uncontrolled/uncoordinated brain activity can benefit from eating more fat and less carbs.

[Dorothy]

Yes.
Why do u say the zerocarb diet was rough on ur kidneys? What did u feel?

Yeah - I'm tuned into my organs. I pretty much know when any of them are upset. Just one of those things I've learned over the years. My kidneys acted ("yelled") like they do whenever I've had something too toxic that they were struggling to get rid of in the past. Hard to explain to someone else really. I don't remember if I had actual pain - but that's not necessary for me to know. I felt panicked - like if I continued my kidneys would be in trouble. My energy was not the same for weeks after that. I've just been eating clean and experimenting with diet for so long that I guess I'm pretty sensitive to what my organs are experiencing.