Customer Reviews

Vitamin Shoppe - Alpha-Lipoic Acid, 300 mg, 120 capsules.

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I used to be skeptical about supplements until I developed neuropathy in my feet. A neurologist examined me thoroughly, including an MRI, for the causes that are typically associated with neuropathy, which can include diabetes, alcohol abuse, vitamin deficiency, spinal tumor, and exposure to toxins, but found that none of them applied to me. He concluded that my best treatment strategy was to use vitamins and supplements.

That was eight years ago. I began taking Vitamin B12 and alpha-lipoic acid, but was extremely skeptical. I began by taking 300mg of alpha-lipoic acid daily, but noticed no improvement. Over the eight years since then, I've experimented for several months at a time with taking various doses of alpha-lipoic acid and with taking none at all. After a lot of experimenting, I've found that 1200mg/day works well for me. I take 600mg in the morning and again in the evening. It eliminates most of the pain in my feet and much of the numbness.

You need to be careful in buying any supplement. Some do not contain the ingredients they claim. For example, ConsumerLab tested 15 brands of alpha-lipoic acid and found that two brands contained only 85% as much alpha-lipoic acid as they claimed and a third brand failed FDA labeling requirements. Vitamin Shoppe passed Consumer Lab tests. They also have the advantage that they are both mail order and brick-and-mortar, so I've switched from buying them on the internet to buying them in my local Vitamin Shoppe store.

If you have neuropathy in your feet, I recommend walking or even running as much as you can. I was mostly mountain biking for exercise and when I first developed neuropathy in my feet, my inclination was avoid doing much walking or running because of the discomfort in my feet. However I noticed that even though it hurt when I walked, over time I felt less pain when I walked a lot. As as result, I'm now hiking and running a lot more than I mountain bike; despite the discomfort, my feet actually feel better when I use them a lot.

I've used both the tablets and capsules; ConsumerLab tested the 300mg capsules. However 300mg wasn't enough for me; I needed to take four daily for my neuropathy, so I switched to the 600mg form.