Can you stop the pain of diabetic peripheral neuropathy? It is worth doing a trial of laser and vitamin B12. Both are safe and effective treatments.
B12 supplements are known as one of the easiest and safest ways to help relieve this problem – could utilizing lasers coupled with supplements increase the results?
Julie Waldfogel, a Johns Hopkins doctor of pharmacy, authored a paper specifically referring to those diabetics who suffer from the excruciating shooting and burning pain of peripheral neuropathy – here’s what we know: The common drugs prescribed for neuropathy come with some serious side effects.
Duloxetene (better known as Cymbalta) also used to treat fibromyalgia, can cause difficulty breathing, swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat, anxiety and panic attacks, depression and suicidal thoughts.
Pregabalin, which goes under the brand name Lyrica and is already prescribed for nerve pain from shingles and diabetes, can cause things such as agitation, aggression, and “dangerous impulses.” As if that wasn’t enough, some of the more common side effects are dizziness, blurry vision, weight gain, and swelling of your hands and feet. It has also been linked to the development of blood vessel tumors.
Duloxetine and venlafaxine are said to potentially increase serotonin levels in the blood — something that can be life-threatening.
On the good side, Vitamin B12 is non-toxic, and has been proven to be effective in helping diabetics with this kind of nerve pain. Doctors learn in medical school that a
classic symptom of a B12 deficiency is peripheral neuropathy! And guess what has been found to be “unequivocally demonstrated as the prime factor” linked to a B12 deficiency? None other than the popular diabetes medication called metformin.
A study done at Bethesda Diabetes Research Center in the Netherlands, found using metformin could increase the risk of a B12 deficiency by 19 percent. On top of that, around 25 percent of people in the U.S. are deficient in B12, whether they’re diabetic or not.
Another group of drugs draining your B12 are the acid-suppressing meds called proton pump inhibitors (PPI) like Nexium and Prilosec. So, if you have neuropathy please get your B12 levels checked and make sure you don’t have B12 deficiency. If you’ve been on metformin for any length of time, or have been taking one of those PPI drugs, it makes perfect sense to have your B12 levels checked.
And since we know there is plenty of research that laser helps peripheral neuropathy, do a trial of the TheraLase class 3B laser on the feet, legs and lower lumbar spine. It makes sense to take a B12 supplement and try the TheraLase laser!