You might try alpha-lipoic acid and B12 together with folic acid. I have
had a similar problem and that seems to help a bit. I still have a bit of
a tingle in my left heel whenever BG is over about 120.

How has your BG level been?

Jan, when I was on metformin, I had more frequent tingling/stinging in
my feet at night than I have since, keeping bg down with diet alone.  I
don't know why.  Even with my bg well controlled, eating starch or sugar
guarantees that I'll feel it in my feet even if I keep my numbers low
with acarbose or portion control (wheat always spikes me very high).
Your triggers may differ.

I've found alpha lipoic acid, time released, 300mg twice per day to be
very effective in reversing PNs, and there's a lot of good peer reviewed
science proving that it does so.

Susan

Jan wrote in message
<1166115271.501842.33200@n67g2000cwd.googlegroups.com>...

 No personal experience to relate but others in the diabetes newsgroups
have reported an increase in intensity during attempts to normalize their
sugars.    It may be part of a healing or recovery process.    In general,
the most effective way of dealing with neuropathy is to normalize your blood
sugars.   There are additional techniques,  but the common thread in our
posters' reports is that the blood sugars have to be controlled first.

We have had posters report good luck with alpha-lipoic acid and evening
primrose oil to combat neuropathy,  e.g.

Dave Stampe, Ph.D., former Professor of Electrical Engineering at Univ. of
Toronto,  had good results with Evening Primrose Oil for numbness due to
neuropathy. He also used alpha Lipoic Acid for the same problem.

A simple summary of his experiences:

". . . .The best way to reverse neuropathy is to get very good BG control.
This will help you in lots of other ways, of course.

Since good control can take years to affect neuropathy, you can try some
faster treatments. The one that worked for me was evening primrose oil,
available in capsules at some drugstores and most health food stores. I'd
recommend starting with 2000 mg at breakfast and supper. You should notice
some effects in a week or two. After a month or two, you can reduce the dose
by half if you are getting too many side effects.

EPO worked well for me and is reasonably cheap and safe, so it's certainly
worth a try. Alpha-lipoic acid is another treatment that some recommend for
neuropathy, but it's a lot more expensive and can cause stomach cramps. I'm
experimenting with it right now . . . I was taking 900 mg/day,  alpha lipoic
acid, near the maximum dose. It did have  positive effect on neuropathy. . .
."

Here are some of his posts:

http://tinyurl.com/7jy6c

http://tinyurl.com/8g45c

http://tinyurl.com/a66nx

http://tinyurl.com/83qv9

http://tinyurl.com/byfg2

http://tinyurl.com/bkcs6

http://tinyurl.com/bovay

Regards
 Old Al

Jan,

The term you are looking for is "Peripheral neuropathy" or PN for
short. While OldAl has indeed given you good set of references, here is
one more that is paid for with our tax $$$ :-).
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/peripheralneuropathy/detail_peripheralneuropa
thy.htm
It pretty much covers the subject to make it quite scary!

Here is additional one authored by an endocrinologist. Its more for a
lay person and you may graduate out of it soon once you get the hang of
how to grab more knowledge.
http://www.diabetesindia.com/diabetes/feet_long_time.htm

I suffered from PN for at least a year before I was diagnosed as a T2.
Mostly it was my fault as I kept feeling that lack of exercise was
giving me funky feeling. Anyway by the time I was diagnosed (June, 05)
I was miserable.  (The pictures and description on this page accurately
reflects my situation. :
http://www.diabetesindia.com/diabetes/dont_lose_nerves1.htm)

Well that was how I got initiated. Fast forward today. I have pretty
much gotten over PN now. I still have to take extreme care of my feet
to make sure I never go bare feet even at home. I still have heighten
sensation. But I am far more functional and pretty much can ignore PN
related issues.

So how long before I was able to feel comfortable?
I would say at least 3-4 months AFTER I reached my A1c of 5.2.

So what worked?
Three things.
 1 - Exercise (At least 1 hr a day)
 2 - Tight BG control that means staying below 140 almost all the
time.
 3 - Metformin (2x500Mg) and  one tablet of Felcita-OD a day (ref:
http://tinyurl.com/yekbuc)

When I asked doctors about my problem almost every one I talked to ( I
do have a few Dr friends :-)) said bringing your BG under control is
your best bet to address PN.

On upside I should say that the motivation given by PN to stay the
course has been working its magic even today.

PN went in total remission when I started walking 2 hrs a day. Now I
walk every day almost consistently covering roughly 6 miles every time.
It has worked wonders on over all health. 20 months after dxed most
days I wake up with BGs in 80-90 range. At least in my case I can say
exercise combined with rigorous diet has given me good quality of life.
I only hope this continues for a long time.  I must also add that the
change in lifestyle has brought down my cholesterol numbers as well as
my weight (BMI <23).

So have patience. It may take a while before you get relief but you
should get it once you have brought your BGs in control. As always
getting a team of doctors (Endo, GP and an eye doctor at the very
least) will be your best advice counselors. The more you have the
knowledge the higher is the care you may get! This is where we folks
here come in!

Hope this helps.

Wishing your best of health!

Anil