Dr. Lam Labs, LLC

Peripheral Neuropathy Symptoms Can Be Improved With Supplements


Peripheral neuropathy can be due to a variety of factors. It can be a result of physical injury or trauma, infection, toxins, alcoholism, nutritional deficiencies, or metabolic problems. One of the most frequent causes of peripheral neuropathy is diabetes.

The peripheral nerves send information to and from the brain. These nerves also carry signals to and from the spinal cord to the rest of the body. Peripheral neuropathy is a term used when there is damage to these nerves. They may not be functioning properly or there can be some degree of damag. Most often, this causes numbness or tingling sensation in the hands and feet.

Neuropathies are the most common complications of diabetes. This can happen when blood sugar remains elevated for a long time. Usually, this is felt as tingling of the feet or a feeling of pins and needles in the feet. Sometimes, there can be burning or shooting pain in the feet or the feet and hands get very cold or very hot. In more severe cases, there can be numbness of the feet.

In treating peripheral neuropathy, the underlying cause must first be corrected. The condition often improves on its own when the cause is properly managed. For instance, those caused by vitamin deficiencies can be corrected with better diet and vitamin therapy. When neuropathy is related to diabetes, the blood sugar levels should be monitored and put under control.

There are many drugs that can be used to relieve the pain of peripheral neuropathy. Over the counter pain medications can be used to control mild symptoms. The key is early diagnosis and treatment because the peripheral nerves only have a limited capacity to regenerate. In more advanced cases, most treatments can only stop the progression but cannot reverse the damage that has been incurred.

The best approach is to prevent peripheral neuropathy from happening. It can be as basic as eating a healthy diet with more fresh fruits and vegetables. It is important that essential vitamins and minerals are included in the diet. Low fat meat, whole grains, and low fat dairy products are good for the body. Regular exercise and avoiding alcoholic beverages can also help prevent nerve damage.

A well known cause of peripheral neuropathy is thiamine deficiency or lack of vitamin B1. Reversing thiamine deficiency is a good and often highly successful way to nutritionally manage peripheral neuropathy. In addition to thiamine, vitamin B12, DHEA, and alpha lipoic acid are very useful, and these can be taken as neuropathy supplement such as the physician formulated NeuRx neuropathy supplement.