diabetic neuropathy and benfotiamine

Your feet burn, tingle, itch and there's nothing you can see on your feet or shoes causing it. Sometimes it's a stbbing or shooting pain. This is the start of diabetic neuropathy , damage to nerves. The link leads you to the National Institutes of Health/National Medical Library and offers a more complete description of various forms of diabetic neuropathy .

There are many treatments for neuropathy; cheap generic medications, expensive brand medications, IV insulin and Anodyne therapy to name most of them. Most prescription medications have impressive side effect profiles although many patients will have no side effects and many others find the pain relief to be worth putting up with side effects. One treatment that gets little recognition is Benfotiamine, a nonprescription thiamine derivative effective in treating diabetic neuropathy. I can summarize all the research as follows: it's about as effective as any prescription medication with far fewer side effects and no interactions with other medications. It treats the actual cause of the neuropathy rather than simply treating symptoms. Benfotiamine 150 mg, 2 capsules twice daily can frequently reduce symptoms of neuropathy. The link will connect you to a retailer that also has all the research posted at his web site. I have no business relationship with this company.

Keep in mind that any treatment for neuropathy is only a treatment and not a cure.

Metabolic Activation Therapy

This treatment was first developed by Dr. Tom Aoki and has been available at his center in Sacramento CA since 1986. A number of people in Reno NV seemed to be appropriate candidates for this treatment but Sacramento was too far away for the weekly treatments. Endocrine Associates began offering this treatment in Reno March 2002. The results confirm the findings published on this therapy.

The most notable benefit is how kidney failure slows down. Some patients note that they can feel hypoglycemia more easily. Some note an improvement in neuropathy. Some have reported that their retinopathy (eye disease) has stabilized.

The treatment is a once-weekly, 6-hour process. An IV is started and a specially-programmed pump delivers pulses of insulin. The patients eat carbohydrates to prevent hypoglycemia. Finger stick blood sugars are tested every 30 minutes. Every hour a 2-3 minute breathing test is performed to see how well the person is using the carbohydrates (respiratory quotient).

This treatment does not replace insulin therapy but is in addition to multiple daily injections or insulin pump therapy.

For more details and a list of publications on metabolic activation therapy see the Aoki Diabetes Research Institute website. Information is also available at Metabolic Industries and Advanced Diabetes Treatment Centers. If you think you would benefit from MAT ask your physician for a referral to Endocrine Associates.

Basics of diabetes care and other endocrine conditions

Rather than repeating what has been published in print and on the internet I will provide links to web sites that I have found to be useful and reliable. I am starting off with a very short list and will be adding more as I can.

American Diabetes Association:
http://www.diabetes.org/

American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists:
http://www.aace.com/

What is an endocrinologist?

I treat patients with hormone abnormalities. Diabetes mellitus is the most common endocrine condition. Insulin is a hormone that allows the body to use sugar as fuel or for storage. I see more and more people with diabetes because more people are getting diabetes and treatments for diabetes are getting more complicated. There are new insulins, new pills, new pumps and continuous glucose sensors That can make a person's life better with diabetes but also can be more confusing with medication interactions, different ways the medications work and how to best use the technology and information available.

The thyroid is another source of hormones, and both too much and too little thyroid hormone can be a problem. Because the thyroid is considered an endocrine organ I also evaluate and treat people with enlarged thyroid (goiter), absent thyroid, thyroid nodules and thyroid cancer. I do not perform thyroid surgery.

Osteoporosis falls within my area of specialty. It is considered a metabolic disorder and has traditionally been studied by endocrinologists. A variety of treatments have been developed in the last 20 years to effectively treat this condition.

Other endocrine conditions are related to the pituitary gland, adrenal glands and reproductive glands.