I am flying cross country as I’m writing this, also in pain, feels like someone has a match to my feel. In January i was diagnosed with neuropathy from diabetes and high level of b6 in my blood(how they got there is beyond me). So i went on low carb and was very faithful about my meds. I lost 19 lbs, sugars were looking good, got really sick of eating low carb and was bad for a few meals(maybe 6) for a week. As i’m sitting here just took my sugar 3 hrs after eating airport food, crab cake, salad and shimp flatbread. The glucose was 209. I have spiked a couple of times in the 170’s anyone have any suggestion besides low carb. Thank you
Mikael
I am sorry this is so tough. It can be an unfortunate consequence of diabetes. I have had the same issue for about 15 years.
By and large, neuropathy is a progressive issue. Yes, sometimes higher blood sugar will make it worse but in the short run the pain from neuropathy has come about over time.
Which is not to say that maintaining a low blood sugar is not important. Certainly, high blood sugar can make neuropathy worse. Just as heat, cold and walking can make it worse.
My best advice is to check with your doctor about medications to treat the pain, limit nerve pain and help with sleep. I use Gabapentin and it works well for me. but the truth is different medications work for different people and do not find relief from any medications.
As for better diabetes management, I suggest getting a copy of “think like a pancreas” it is a practical book that most people find helpful.
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I will order the book, i have had numb toes for years and last year i had plantar fascitis in both feel than when i got diagnosed in Jan i guess being aware of it and also b6 is coming down in my blood, which i heard it might hurt like hell . I hate when i pull my pants or shorts up my thigh my feet vibrate . It just seems to be getting worse since I’ve been on medication.
Have you considered starting insulin?
It sounds you are like me when it comes to carbs. If eat any bread products it’s just like eating raw sugar for me. I eat a very high protein diet 150 grams keeping the carbs below 80 grams a day. I have been type 2 for 20 years the one thing I have learn over time is you figure out what foods spike your sugar. how I did this you must keep food log for a month of everything you eat.You must check Blood sugar 1.5 hours after the meal to see what you blood sugar is. then record blood sugar with that meal. When you see the spikes review what food you ate. For me some fresh fruit like apples bananas strawberries my body handles better than bread. The thing about diabetes everybody different so there is not magic pill or diet that works for everyone unfortunately you’ll have to figure out what works best for you. From my experience I’ll person who didn’t take care of their diabetes for several years. The neuropathy and My feet and legs is so bad when I had to have a total removed toe I was awake the whole time no painkiller and didn’t feel a thing not trying to scare you but the reality is if you do not control your blood sugar it’s slowly destroys your body. Diabetes is a disease of denial especially when you’re new to diabetes, because you don’t really feel bad symptoms you will drop weight. But don’t let this fool you because what it’s doing inside your body is very damaging and the problems will not show up for years later. Diabetes can affect your vision and cause diabetic retinopathy which i also have. I’m just trying to help so you don’t end up like me. Like I always say to anyone who tells me I they Have diabetes I am the poster child of what you should not do with diabetes. The old adage pay me now or pay me later well this is very true for me I’m paying a lot the medical bills procedures trust me you don’t want to go there.
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Echoing what Marie said, consider insulin as an option. That’s what I did when it became unmistakeably clear that I could not maintain the numbers I wanted any other way. That was about 4 years ago and I wouldn’t go back for anything.
Also, there is suggestive evidence (mostly testimonials) that maintaining stable blood sugars may help reduce neuropathy symptoms in the long term. More research needs to be done, but it’s beginning to look as though, given favorable conditions, the body has at least a limited ability to repair peripheral nerve damage (not central).
David, remind me again, did you start on bolus insulin to cover meals as your first insulin? (I know now you’re on a basal insulin and bolus insulin for meals)
Welcome @Macdaddy1387 to TuDiabetes - thanks for sharing your story.
Short answer, yes. That was in part because I could get it without a prescription, and in part because taming the postprandial spikes was my #1 priority to begin with. As I gained experience, I concluded that a basal/bolus regime would provide the best long term stability—as indeed it has.
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P.S. I hasten to add that I approached insulin very carefully, after a lot of reading, self study and planning, and began with very small dosages which were cautiously ramped up a little at a time until the proper level was reached. Insulin is not something to treat casually: it’s a two edged sword. It can be very dangerous if used thoughtlessly, and—quite literally—a lifesaver when used with care and knowledge.
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Welcome to TuDiabetes. Thank you for sharing your story, it is important for people to know these things so they can think “long term” when making choices.
David, What was your daily average bs when you started insulin, and how many carbs were you eating a day? It seems my average is 115-119. if I have a drink or two in the evening I’ll awake in the 80-90 range and slowly creep back up. I eat less than 30 grams of carbs a day and strive to keep below 130 at one hour post prandial. Sometimes I think about adding a very small basal to keep me below 100 during the day.
My A1c at the beginning was in the low sevens, which equates to an average somewhere in the 130-140 area. That doesn’t sound too awful, but it was climbing steadily and I wanted to arrest the trend before it got any worse. As I gained experience and skill with using insulin, it came down to around 5.5 and I still think there’s plenty of room for improvement.
As for the carbs, I wasn’t counting them before I started insulin so I can’t say what the numbers were. Since beginning, I’ve tried to keep to 50 a day or less.
As far as the alcohol goes, it’s like everything else involving diabetes: different people get different results. For me, it has a mildly depressing effect on BG, not enough to cause scary lows. And there is relatively little reactive bounce later on. Others can have different experiences—sometimes wildly different.
Thanks for the data point. My last few a1c’s have been 5.6. I think my low night time numbers offset the higher days. What type of insulin did you start with?
I began with R because it was available without prescription. Nowadays I use Levemir for basal, R for high protein meals, and Apidra for corrections or high carb meals.