Q: Both my legs from the knee down are 95 percent useless and my hands are almost as bad — I drop everything. Do you have an article on this illness or can you help in some way. Is this a lack of a vitamin?
JVW: If you haven’t already consulted a neurologist to rule out a neurologic cause for your symptoms, please start with that.
If you know for sure your condition isn’t nerve-related, you might want to have your levels of the eight essential amino acids tested, since muscle is mostly protein, and protein is synthesized from amino acids. To have an essential amino acid (blood) test done, contact a member of the American College for Advancement in Medicine (800-532-3688, www.acam.org) or the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (703-610-9037).
If it turns out you do have a deficiency, you might want to try a concentrated preparation of the essential amino acids (see the “What is…” section below for more information on these).
After experiencing frustration trying to find such a preparation, I requested that Bio-Tech Pharmacal of Fayetteville, Arkansas, make one. It is the only single formulation of which I am aware that contains all eight essential amino acids and no “non-essential” amino acids. It’s called EgEssentials, and it is available through many natural food stores and compounding pharmacies.
Essential amino acids are very safe; the total “daily requirement” is usually estimated at a minimum 50 to 60 grams daily. But if you’re experiencing a deficiency, it might be necessary to take a total of 5 to 10 grams daily to bring your levels up to the “daily requirement” level. It can take several weeks to notice improvement. If there’s no improvement at all in three to four months, this isn’t the answer.
What are…the essential amino acids?
There are eight essential amino acids: isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine.
