does it help?

September 23, 2010 10:58 PM

Alpha Lipoic Acid?

Anyone have experience with taking alpha lipoic acid for diabetic neuropathy? Is there any benefit from taking 200 mg instead of 100 mg?

posted by fifilaru to Health & Fitness (4 answers total)

Have you asked your doctor about it? There seem to be lots of studies recommending the use of 600 mg daily as a possible treatment for diabetic neuropathy, though some of them concern intravenous use rather than oral use. Are there any sources indicating that a smaller dose is effective? Here's a report saying that an oral daily dosage of 600 mg works as well as 1200 mg or 1800 mg. Does your doctor say that 100 mg or 200 mg would be a better dosage for you than 600 mg?

This NCCAM document suggests that alpha-lipoic acid may lower blood sugar too much, and that therefore it's important to monitor your blood sugar levels closely while taking it.
posted by Ery at 7:38 AM on September 24, 2010

I was taking 600 mg. for neuropathy, and it did seem to help somewhat. It isn't a cure, though, at least not for me. If I stop taking it, the symptoms come right back within a day or two.

Adding acetyl-l-carnitine seemed to help even more, but I only took it for a few days (stopped because I was sick of all the pills I take... but I'm probably going to suck it up and start again.)
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 8:43 AM on September 24, 2010

I'm not a diabetic or a doctor, but my father is an endocrinologist and has done a lot of work with Lipoic Acid. There have been a lot of promising studies about it and it's used much more widely in Europe for diabetics.
posted by radioamy at 8:57 AM on September 24, 2010

The interactive part of this site is down, but It is useful to take a look at the visual. It has a nice summary of many different supplements and their proven effectiveness.
posted by annsunny at 1:23 PM on September 25, 2010