Foot pain

I started treating my Type 1 diabetes on June 21 of this year. Since then I’ve had all sorts of strange numbness. This week, my toes started hurting. Its gotten so uncomfortable, I’m up at 4am posting this message.
I read that rapid change in BG can cause this symptom. My last A1C done 1 month after diagnosis was 9.5. I’m averaging 115mg/dL these days. I’m happy that I’m able to control the BG, but my feet are killing me.
Has anyone had experience like this? When can I expect the pain to go away? What can I do?

Chuck:
I think I know what you are describing, as I have lately also felt something similar. I have an upcoming appointment with my doctor next week and looking forward to asking him more about this.

In the meantime, make sure to check in the Foot Care section of the Forum:
http://tudiabetes.com/forum/topic/listForCategory?categoryId=583967%3ACategory%3A29887

I too suffer from these pains and at times I find it is incredibly painful and it makes me flinch quite sharply with the pain. Most unpleasant! I was on Amitriptylin for a period of time which definitely helped but most doctors don’y like presrcribing it long term. Definitely talk to your Diabetic nurse or Doctor about it.

Chuck,
If it turns out you do have diabetic neuropathy, ask your doctor about a treatment called anodyne therapy. It is infrared therapy. If the neuropathy is caught early enough with this treatment it can give you a lot of relief. I had it 30 min a day 3 times a week for 3 months and have 95% feeling back in my feet and a lot less pain.

My feet hurt and that scares me. It’s a strange pain in the tops of my toes, just like the one that Chuck described. It’s not so painful that I can’t stand it, but it is definitely noticeable.

I had high blood sugar today that took a while to come down, but then dropped pretty suddenly. Can this be a one time thing?? Or should I have more tests?

(True confession) I haven’t been to a real endo check-up in months. So I’m overdue. But just wanted to check if this can be a one day thing…

Neuropathy can start out in a lot of ways. For me I started having the tingling pain in my toes like they were asleep all the time, then I slowly lost feeling in the bottom of my toes, thankfully it hasn’t spread past my toes. I had my Neuro do a nerve conduction study and that is how they finally diagnosed me, but they had an idea along that is what it was.

i have my feet checked every month by my doctor. she has this thing like a tuning fork thay vibrates and she holds it on the bottom of my feet and times it till i cant feel it vibrate any more.diebetics must take good care of there feet. my grandfather had to get his cut off from not taking care of his diebetes! worst yet after that he got gangrene and they had to take more off. in the end he died from diebetes!

I was diagnosed with small fiber peripheral neuropathy(PN). My doctors did not think it was caused by diabetes because my fasting blood glucose was “normal” although I did have a positive GTT which they ignored. So I started searching for another answer to my foot numbness and pain. My pain was so bad I was limping and I had to sleep with my feet dangling off the bed so nothing could touch them. The tingling extended from my legs and arms to my trunk. In searching for an answer I found a connection between gluten(wheat, barley and rye) intolerance and PN. The short story is that I went gluten free(I have non-celiac gluten sensitivity) and have had a regression in my neuropathy. I no longer limp, I can sleep with my feet under the covers, the tingling all the way up my arms and legs and around my mouth is gone. I have been gluten free for 5 years and still have some numbness in my feet and tips of my fingers.

Now, 8 years after having a positive GTT, I decided to take a look at my blood glucose again. I bought a meter and found that my fasting BG was still under 100 but I could easily go over 200 after eating. By limiting carbs I am keeping my BG under 120 most of the time. I am hoping that perhaps this will help my neuropathy even more. Maybe I will get even more feeling back into my feet.

In a way I am glad that the doctors told me that my positive GTT was not a problem. If they had diagnosed diabetes at that time I may not have searched for other answers to my PN. I may have started the amytriptyline or the antidepressants the doctors prescribed and continued on my downward spiral. Just because you have diabetes does not mean that is the only cause of your PN.

Well i do not have numbeness, But I do suffer from Planter faciltis. In both heels. But last year i went thourgh surgery on right foot. Its doing alot better maybe 50 percent better. And just two weeks ago i had other one done so i am on the road to recovery from this one. You may want to found a good knowlegeable diabetic/podiatrasit in your area to check that out early. I was blessed and found one in my area.I think mine is due to floors at work because my a1c is 5.5 and i am in tight control so thats what i think is my Major issue.Take care diabeticidol94

An interesting aside, I was diagnosed with and treated for plantar fasciitis for 30 years before my feet started to go numb. I also had Morton’s neuroma and surgery did not make much difference. My son, in his 20’s, started to complain of foot pain similar to that of PF. All his foot pain completely resolved after eliminating gluten from his diet.

I am not saying that gluten is a cause of everyone’s foot pain, but only that it worked for me and my son. It is only one more possibility that should not be overlooked.
Anne

I would love to read that but the link doesn’t work. :frowning:

Take this very seriously…my doctors “ho-hummed” it. I now have a Charcot foot, which is believed to be related to neuropathy, and is a major complication.