Do vitamins help relieve the symptoms of peripheral neuropathy??? Physician suggested, woman tested!

Updated: Monday, March 08, 2004 12:26:46 PM

Generally, all vitamin suggestions were noted to take several weeks to a month for an improvement to be noticed, but the suggestions are quite helpful.

According to a newspaper article, excessive amounts of Vitamin B1 (thiamine) may help cancers grow, but rational use may slow cancer growth. Researchers at Ohio State University Medical School suggested that thiamine status should be carefully monitored and supplements administered only to meet the patient's individual needs. "Excessive" and "rational" use were not defined (Anticancer Res. as reported in http://www.acs.ohio-state.edu/units/cancer/cncrrpt.htm  ).

1. Vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine)
• 50 mg from one to three times a day. No side effects noted after a year's use.
• 100 mg daily taken with 400 mg folic acid already contained in Centrum Silver multi-vitamin.
• 200 mg per day divided into two doses.
• One neurologist thought 300 mg of Vitamin B-6 daily could cause neuropathy and under no circumstance did he recommend exceeding the RDA of 3-5 mg per day. Note: The RDA is a minimum daily requirement for the general population.
• Use of vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine) while taking Hexalen and Cisplatin for OVCA significantly reduced neurotoxicity. B-6 also significantly reduced the ability to achieve complete remission and markedly reduced the length of remission (Cancer Investigation, 10(1):1-9, 1992 and PDR 2000).
2. Vitamin B-complex
• One capsule daily containing 400 mg of folic acid plus 1 all-B vitamin capsule (containing another 400 mug of folic acid).
• One B-100 B-complex vitamin supplement daily along with acupuncture daily.
• One vitamin B-complex 100 mg time release capsule each day.
• One vitamin B-complex capsule daily along with one 250 mg tablet of magnesium oxide.
3. Vitamin B-12 (cyanocobalamin)
• One shot every 21 days provides relief, even though one woman has been on chemo for the past 2 years.
• Daily doses of calcium, vitamin C, folic acid, and vitamin B-12.
• One woman was forced to use a wheelchair for her severe neuropathy. After a 3 cc shot of vitamin B-12 three times each week, she regained the feeling in her chest, face, and all extremities. She was warned that if the treatment is stopped the neuropathy will return and then, even if the shots are started again, they won't work the second time.
• Vitamin B-12 injections (one cc) three times a week seems to really help, but it took several months to notice the effect.
4. Vitamin B-3 (niacin)
• One woman found that taking 250 mg twice a day provided relief.
• The Physician's Desk Reference states that niacin may cause temporary flushing, itching and skin reddening. It should not be used by those with heart and gall bladder disease, gout, bleeding, glaucoma, diabetes, ulcers, or impaired liver function. Also, those taking any anti-hypertensive drugs should consult with a physician.
5. Alcohol can block how your body uses folate and vitamin B12, so avoid use of alcohol if you are trying the B vitamins.
6. Vitamin E supplementation significantly improved nerve function, mostly in arms and hands, in diabetics after 6 months compared to placebo (sugar pill) recipients. (Diabetes Care 1998;21:1915-18) http://199.170.17.10/pubs/medbrief/mb2_2.html )
7. Vitamin K, along with Elavil (see anti-depressants), lots of aerobic exercise, and a diet high in liquids, fruits, and broccoli.
8. Vitamin B stress complex (usually has folate in it) and a multivitamin with vitamin E.

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