Peripheral Neuropathy, Rapidly Receding Gums + Bloods

PhilParma

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Sep 27, 2015
Messages
543
Location
Minnesota
Tell me what you think about all of this:

Symptoms of concern:
- Peripheral Neuropathy (toes are frequently partially numb. Worse at night. Faint numbness also radiates to hands at night.)
- Toenails and toes tinted orange. Comes and goes depending on severity of numbness symptoms.
- Rapidly receding gums
- These symptoms began 1-2 months ago.

Diet:
- OJ, store bought (700 - 1500 calories per day)
- Cheese (~600 calories per day.)
- Sourdough bread (from time to time. Sometimes I feel this food is detrimental to my gums.)
- Various fruit; watermelon, canteloupe, oranges, pineapple, apples, etc.
- Olive oil (from time to time; 1-2 tbsp per day.)
- Red Meat for dinner
- Potatoes (from time to time; a pain for me to cook)
- Oysters, canned (1-4 times per month)
- Chicken breast for dinner (from time to time)
- Coca Cola (I used to drink 3-4 bottles at work, but I've gone cold turkey on this.)
- Carrots w/ Apple Cider Vinegar (3-4 times per week)

Supplements:
- Pure Casein powder (25g-100g per day. Experimented w/ high dose due suspected poor liver health.)
- Glycine powder (1/8 tsp)
- Taurine powder 400mg daily
- K2 MK4 (2mg-20mg per day; normally 2mg; experimented w/ higher dose due to suspected poor liver health.)
- Vitamin A (150,000 IU daily; dry eye and acne prevention; I feel dumb about this one. I'm throwing out my Vit A.)
- Methylene Blue (2mg per day, applied to gums. For treating gum recession and brain fog.)
- Caffeine (pills and coffee; roughly 400mg-1000mg spread throughout the day.)
- Tyromix (1 drop morning, 1 drop night; afraid to dose any higher without more regular blood testing habit.)
- Also experimented with Lapodin/cascara, and Energin. Quit both for the sake of simplicity. And Energin seemed to make my numbness/neuropathy worse. Lapodin/cascara knocked me out and made me too tired.
- Working towards phasing out all supplements except perhaps K2 1-2mg per day. Maybe thyroid; I'm possibly hypothyroid despite historically normal TSH.

Miscellaneous:
- Work outdoors, homemade sunscreen used each weekday (aspirin, baking soda, caffeine)
- Pulse: 50's with sun down, 50's or 60's with sun up
- Temp: don't measure this regularly enough; usually 98.1-98.6
- Committed PUFA restriction for almost 3 years
- Underweight, 6'1", 148 lbs (when I increase calories, bad symptoms start to develop, e.g. brain fog, fatigue, receding gums.)
- Depression, anxiety, lack of motivation...these symptoms were significantly improving until this recent health episode that I've been describing. The last month I've spent all of my free time socially isolated and oil pulling to protect my gums. Very anxious over rapidly receding gums. I also shine red light on my gums a minute at a time throughout the day. I'm desperate to save them.

Recent Bloodwork:
MgBz98J.jpg

(WBC and Neutrophils have been slightly low for years, nothing new.)

Tl;Dr: I have partial numbness in extremities (slightly orange toenails), and rapidly receding gums. What are your thoughts?
 

ChristineHou

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Joined
Jul 8, 2018
Messages
9
Just a thought but look at gotmag.com. I see you don’t have any results for an iron panel and minerals, very important. Good luck. Also xylitol is good for oral health.
 
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PhilParma

PhilParma

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Messages
543
Location
Minnesota
Ive swished with xylitol for about a year. I feel like my gums are part of a systemic problem.

Never heard of gotmag. I'll look at it. Thanks.
 
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PhilParma

PhilParma

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Messages
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re: gotmag, I forgot to mention that I apply topical magnesium gel several times per week. And I use a magnesium chloride spray on my underarms as a deodorant. Not saying that that means I'm not deficient, because I know that some people believe that topical magnesium isn't absorbed well.
 
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PhilParma

PhilParma

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What is the best blood marker for inflammation? My ESR was "1." If iron excess is the root cause of inflammation like gotmag.org claims, then my iron is probably okay since my inflammation seems low. I drink coffee along with high iron foods, although I don't donate blood.
 

sladerunner69

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The neuropathy is probably from all of the supplements you are taking, they are suppressing estrogen to very low levels. This has been discussed in other threads, many of us who take a lot of anti-estrogen, AI supps complaing about nerve/joint paint. Decreasing things like aspirin, k2 and e to just occasional usage is probably warranted. Also b6 is known to cause neuropathy as a side effect, which is why Peat recommends dosages of just 10mg as a "big dose".

And of course caffeine tends to stimulate the nerves, I have noticed more nerve pain with more coffee.
 
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PhilParma

PhilParma

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Messages
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Location
Minnesota
The neuropathy is probably from all of the supplements you are taking, they are suppressing estrogen to very low levels. This has been discussed in other threads, many of us who take a lot of anti-estrogen, AI supps complaing about nerve/joint paint. Decreasing things like aspirin, k2 and e to just occasional usage is probably warranted. Also b6 is known to cause neuropathy as a side effect, which is why Peat recommends dosages of just 10mg as a "big dose".

And of course caffeine tends to stimulate the nerves, I have noticed more nerve pain with more coffee.

The estrogen angle makes sense since my libido is quite low. I think I have high DHT, low T, low E. Thanks for the response.
 

ChristineHou

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Messages
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What is the best blood marker for inflammation?
(Sorry don’t know how to copy the question with who wrote it)
GGT
And
Homocysteine
So I heard
 

Blossom

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Blossom

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@ChristineHou @Blossom
Is ESR a poor measure, or just not ideal?

I need to read up endocrinology... :bookworm:

I think it's good that your ESR isn't elevated but I don't think it means definitively that you don't have inflammation somewhere. I'm not a doctor or scientists but I know CRP is tested frequently in hospitals as part of evaluating inflammation.
 

sladerunner69

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The estrogen angle makes sense since my libido is quite low. I think I have high DHT, low T, low E. Thanks for the response.

Low E symptoms, as in very low E achieved when bodybuilders take a lot of pharmaceutical AI's during steroid cycles, include low libido, trouble concentrating, lack of emotion, bone/joint pain, and nerve pain. Estrogen actually activates opioid receptors which relaxes the nerves. There is another thread on here called "weird symptoms from estrogen inhibiting supplements" or something similar. Even Ray Peat has mentioned that estrogen should be kept low, but pushing it too low with supplements and concentrated substances can cause these symptoms...
 

Dolomite

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I had very inflamed and receding gums when I went through menopause and I think it was due to the excess estrogen after the progesterone dropped and my mouth pH changed.

That was many years ago. My gums are now healed and I have less plaque than I ever remember. I do use the Dr Phillips system as discussed in the thread by @achillea. I have reduced the amount of xylitol gum I chew because of a post by haidut about xylitol and the liver function. The only gum area that was still inflamed has cleared up.

But I think the main thing that has helped are the Ray Peat recommended foods such as fruit, OJ, milk (Lactaid), and gelatin. I think all of them have contributed to my gut health. It looks like the you are missing gelatin in your food. It has taken me several years to reach this point but I think gut health is very important for mouth health.

Gelatin and beef broth twice a day helped my husband recover from colitis caused by an enteric pathogen.

And since you are underweight I hope you read about @BenjaminBullock 's experiences in the Dermatitis thread.
 
Joined
Apr 21, 2013
Messages
181
Tell me what you think about all of this:

Symptoms of concern:
- Peripheral Neuropathy (toes are frequently partially numb. Worse at night. Faint numbness also radiates to hands at night.)
- Toenails and toes tinted orange. Comes and goes depending on severity of numbness symptoms.
- Rapidly receding gums
- These symptoms began 1-2 months ago.

Diet:
- OJ, store bought (700 - 1500 calories per day)
- Cheese (~600 calories per day.)
- Sourdough bread (from time to time. Sometimes I feel this food is detrimental to my gums.)
- Various fruit; watermelon, canteloupe, oranges, pineapple, apples, etc.
- Olive oil (from time to time; 1-2 tbsp per day.)
- Red Meat for dinner
- Potatoes (from time to time; a pain for me to cook)
- Oysters, canned (1-4 times per month)
- Chicken breast for dinner (from time to time)
- Coca Cola (I used to drink 3-4 bottles at work, but I've gone cold turkey on this.)
- Carrots w/ Apple Cider Vinegar (3-4 times per week)

Supplements:
- Pure Casein powder (25g-100g per day. Experimented w/ high dose due suspected poor liver health.)
- Glycine powder (1/8 tsp)
- Taurine powder 400mg daily
- K2 MK4 (2mg-20mg per day; normally 2mg; experimented w/ higher dose due to suspected poor liver health.)
- Vitamin A (150,000 IU daily; dry eye and acne prevention; I feel dumb about this one. I'm throwing out my Vit A.)
- Methylene Blue (2mg per day, applied to gums. For treating gum recession and brain fog.)
- Caffeine (pills and coffee; roughly 400mg-1000mg spread throughout the day.)
- Tyromix (1 drop morning, 1 drop night; afraid to dose any higher without more regular blood testing habit.)
- Also experimented with Lapodin/cascara, and Energin. Quit both for the sake of simplicity. And Energin seemed to make my numbness/neuropathy worse. Lapodin/cascara knocked me out and made me too tired.
- Working towards phasing out all supplements except perhaps K2 1-2mg per day. Maybe thyroid; I'm possibly hypothyroid despite historically normal TSH.

Miscellaneous:
- Work outdoors, homemade sunscreen used each weekday (aspirin, baking soda, caffeine)
- Pulse: 50's with sun down, 50's or 60's with sun up
- Temp: don't measure this regularly enough; usually 98.1-98.6
- Committed PUFA restriction for almost 3 years
- Underweight, 6'1", 148 lbs (when I increase calories, bad symptoms start to develop, e.g. brain fog, fatigue, receding gums.)
- Depression, anxiety, lack of motivation...these symptoms were significantly improving until this recent health episode that I've been describing. The last month I've spent all of my free time socially isolated and oil pulling to protect my gums. Very anxious over rapidly receding gums. I also shine red light on my gums a minute at a time throughout the day. I'm desperate to save them.

Recent Bloodwork:
MgBz98J.jpg

(WBC and Neutrophils have been slightly low for years, nothing new.)

Tl;Dr: I have partial numbness in extremities (slightly orange toenails), and rapidly receding gums. What are your thoughts?

An excess of vitamin B6, particularly the P5P form, causes peripheral neuropathy. It takes about a month for it to resolve once you’ve removed all supplemental B6. Diamox (acetazolamide) also seems to cause it, but which resolves in mere days after stopping.
 

Owen B

Member
Joined
Jun 10, 2016
Messages
310
Rapidly receding gums? Low-dose doxycycline. It's used fairly widely in dermatology. And dentistry.

Just google "low-dose doxycycline + dermatology" and you'll find out a lot.
 

Dolomite

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Messages
812
The doxycycline is a good antibiotic and I was prescribed that by a periodontist but only after I went through several of his cleaning methods.

Edit: And the doxycycline did not solve the receding gums.
 

Peatful

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Joined
Dec 8, 2016
Messages
3,582
I had very inflamed and receding gums when I went through menopause and I think it was due to the excess estrogen after the progesterone dropped and my mouth pH changed.

That was many years ago. My gums are now healed and I have less plaque than I ever remember. I do use the Dr Phillips system as discussed in the thread by @achillea. I have reduced the amount of xylitol gum I chew because of a post by haidut about xylitol and the liver function. The only gum area that was still inflamed has cleared up.

But I think the main thing that has helped are the Ray Peat recommended foods such as fruit, OJ, milk (Lactaid), and gelatin. I think all of them have contributed to my gut health. It looks like the you are missing gelatin in your food. It has taken me several years to reach this point but I think gut health is very important for mouth health.

Gelatin and beef broth twice a day helped my husband recover from colitis caused by an enteric pathogen.

And since you are underweight I hope you read about @BenjaminBullock 's experiences in the Dermatitis thread.
Not Collagen Hydrolysate?
Did that trouble him or did you simply not use?
Thx
 

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