Ok ladies and gentlemen. I’ve about had it with docs that give me the, “This doesn’t seem diabetes related” response. I was diagnosed Type 1 two months ago and in those two months I have had great success in controlling my BG. That’s fine and dandy, but other symptoms are taking their toll on me. I have daily episodes of my lips and upper front teeth going numb. I have heaviness in my forehead. It feels as though my eyebrows are sinking into my eyes. Often my eyes feel gritty, as if they have dust in them. This all comes along with pressure around my eyes and base of skull. I’m not sure if it is in relation to my BG coming down after a meal? I thought in the beginning that it must be a result of spiking or going high, but no. I can check BG and it’s at 130 or 150s. Could it be migraines? Anyone else feel these symptoms. It can make me feel very disoriented or confused. My endo has checked out and is on the verge of retirement and I’m getting a new referral, and I figure all of you bring far more knowledge than some docs. THanks in advance!!!
PS-We’ve run all the adrenal, thyroid, etc. tests. Nothing showing up there.
I’m no doctor but it sure doesn’t sound like diabetes. Do you have any other symptoms? First thing that comes to my mind is possibly MS if you have other symptoms that correlate more with MS. You certainly seem to be mentioning neurological symptoms. It may behoove you to make an appointment with
a good neurologist
Possible sinus infection or upper gum dental infection. Both of these can cause the symptoms you voiced. Also have seen people with these symptoms having cardiac issues.
Yes I’ve had my teeth hurt from sinus infections
Numb lips is a hypo symptom I have had many times.
If your bg was high for an extended period of time prior to your diagnosis just a few months ago, then a bg of 130 could feel like a hypo.
How low before you feel that? I don’t get that one. I get spotty vision, or central vision blindness in the 40’s. I don’t even shake if I’m in the high 30’s. I get cranky, don’t want to stop what I’m doing to treat (prolly because I get low so often and I feel like I’ll never get anything done if I stop at the first physical sign (or Dexcom warning) that I’m getting low).
Back when I was on MDI in the 80’s, I’d shake like a leaf when I got low. I heard that animal insulins caused more of that than when we are on human recombinant DNA insulins (modern-day insulins)
DITTO what Tim35 said. None of these symptoms should be ignored. Wishing you answers and wellness MN Farm Chick.
“Numb lips” happens to me when the low is specifically brought on by physical activity.
I used to get shaky with hypos too, very reliable, but not so much anymore. I think our adrenaline system just gets too worn out from repeated hypos.
I am actually pretty good at catching the first signs of mental fogginess/confusion when my bg’s are in the 60’s. No it’s not perfectly reliable but it’s pretty good sign.
It could just be your body adjusting to normal BG after an extended time of having high BG before diagnosis. It took me several months after I was diagnosed to feel “normal” more often than not. It would often feel like I had a net all over my body, especially my head, and it would be squeezing tighter. For about three months or more after diagnosis, I would comment to my husband on the times I didn’t feel weird because they were the exception.
I get tons of low symptoms but not every time, it differs each time. I have had numbness in my face lips ringing in my ears etc. The gritty eyes sound like dry eye from some cause. I’ve had dry eye for 9 years now and at my diagnosis I was having terrible eye problems It was one of the signs I had that something was wrong. I was also diagnosed with ocular rosacea at that time and the diabetes makes the whole thing worse. My eyes were very inflamed and so was my whole body with flare ups when I ate tomatoes and other foods. I started using Restasis last year which has helped me a lot but I still need the moisture drops too. The eye part started with what seemed like conjunctivitis which never went away. For a while it was so bad I wanted to stay inside with a humidifier all the time and could only go out with motorcycle goggles etc.
So basically it could be diabetes and it could be something else as well, there doesn’t have to be one cause. I also have migraines and I started having vertigo two years ago and a brief episode of pulsatile tinnitus which went away. At that time one Doc said he thinks I’m getting vestibular migraines now from low Bg and Bg shifts. I get dizzy frequently when my Bg shifts. It’s like something is shaking inside my head- then I know to check when it happens but sometimes not. When I started treating my hashimotos some of the symptoms improved a bit. I’ve started t3 this week because I started having much worse hypo symptoms- exhaustion and sleeping a lot, trouble thinking etc. and my t3 is low so I’m probably not converting t4- and now I’m having to adjust to that.
I’ve felt a bit jittery after an endorphin like reaction after the t3. I think I may need a higher dose because my tsh is much higher when testing in the am. If I don’t feel better in two weeks my endo is going to do more tests for possible adrenal issues I think.
Your symptoms sound neurological- some of them- but really it could be anything. Have you been tested for hashi antibodies and other possible autoimmune conditions? They tend to come in clusters. Even if your thyroid numbers are in range you can still be symptomatic. Keeping tsh at 1or below can help stop the antibody attacks. Also your tsh has to be tested fasting around 8am. Mine was often in “normal” range in the afternoon. I’m nocturnal so I had it done later but when I do it even around 11am it was 2-3 x higher and high.
I’ve had intermittent partial numbness in my face for years on and off from neck injuries and also before that if I drink any alcohol. It is worse with all the other conditions. I have a lot of neurological symptoms with the migraines. Really bright lights or flashes of light also can bring on the vertigo and nausea.
I agree- go to a neurologist, eye Doc, ent etc. I went to all three when my vertigo was at its worst and then after I had two weeks of pulsatile tinnitus a few months later I went back to the ent- I went right away for that because it can be serious. They did a bunch more tests initially for the vertigo and the Doc said vestibular nerve effects and nystagmus of unknown cause. The Neuro was awful- really awful! and never bothered to tell me anything after the first visit where she was arguing on the phone about her computer malfunctions in the middle of my appointment.
But I looked at my own brain mri and figured out it was normal which the ent confirmed 
Then I ended up not doing all of the tests for the pt because I had to do mris and be sedated etc. It went away fortunately.
I’m also having terrible itching now and irritability. I’m going to a new derm on Monday because my Doc can’t figure it out and sent me there. Someone did a scratch test and said I’m having a histamine reaction to something. I also have low vitamin d and high pth so that could be affecting things too. I found out that most vitamin D supplements are made from lanolin from sheeps wool and I’m allergic to wool so I’m wondering if that could be causing or contributing to my itching and rashes. I had increased the d when my hypo symptoms became more severe. I have switched to a vegan vitamin D drop which is made from lichen. My dermatologist said it could take months for the effect to go away if it is the vitamin D causing the itching and rashes. I don’t think it’s completely that. You should check all your vitamin levels etc like b12 , folate etc.
Ps. You may want to go to a dentist too if your teeth are numb.
I have severe year-round allergies (pollen, grass, weeds, dust, animals, etc.) that lead to sinus pressure and infections, and all of your symptoms sound like they could be from that. I haven’t had numb lips or teeth, but I’ve read that those can be symptoms of sinus infections. I’ve had all the other symptoms you describe.
I would definitely get it checked out so whatever the issue is can be treated. To me, it doesn’t sound like it’s diabetes related.