Martin writes:

I was diagnosed with small fibre idiopathic peripheral neuropathy in 2005. It progressed pretty much as the textbooks said it would. I stopped cycling and kept walking to a minimum because both seemed to make things worse.

For various reasons (long story) I became 99.9% sure it was caused by vitamin B12 deficiency and started taking oral B12 supplements (methylcobalamin, not cyanocobalamin). My B12 blood test was normal so the neurologists I saw laughed off this approach but said the B12 would not do any harm. (B12 blood tests are very unreliable, particularly in people who exercise regularly.) I also took alpha lipoic acid, acetyl-L-carnitine, coenzyme Q10, and a good multivitamin containing all the B-group vitamins. Within about 6 months my neuropathy started to improve, much to the surprise of the neurologists. I now get only mild symptoms, but I am riding as much as I like and still taking B12.

If you are over 50 there is a high probability you may be deficient in B12. I learned a lot from this support group:

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forumdisplay.php?f=20
or http://tinyurl.com/ajzvup2

This program is well worth listening to.

http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/...tation/3823160
or http://tinyurl.com/8

Conversely, a few years ago I started taking a multivitamin with B12.
Some months later began to experience a weird tingling in my right big
toe. Saw a specialist. He suggested the problem could be excessive
vitamin B12 and ordered a blood test, which confirmed his hypothesis.
Quit taking the supplement and the tingling quickly disappeared.

--
Joe Riel