I have started to have shooting “on fire” pains in my left foot. I have contact my podiatrist, and he is sending me back to my PCP. Well, I guess there is a pecking order, but in the mean time, what do I do about it. I am sure that it’s the beginnings of neuropathy in my foot, but how do I control or work with it. My BS’s have been great since switching to Janumet, and amaryl. My numbers have been around the 120’s to 130’s for the last 6 weeks,…and my exercise and eating patterns have been more in tune with normal than ever before. I am on 100 or less carbs a day…so I’m doing what I am supposed to do…
Talk to me about your experiences with this kind of thing and what you did…thanks.
It may or may not be neuropathy. There are many other reasons for what is going on in your foot - a trapped nerve for example somewhere higher up, like in your spine. However, until you know for sure you need to write down when the burning is worse and what you were doing physically when it gets worse and what your blood glucose levels are when they get worse. Also note if anything eases it, such as moving in a certain way, putting it in a different position or not. And keep taking the pain killers on a regular basis.
You may be put on something that when you read the label might mention epilepsy, but even if you are not epileptic it can work well for nerve pain. I do not know what the two medications are that you are on, so cannot comment on those, though you might want to read the labels for possible side effects to see if there is anything mentioned about nerve pain or tingling.
If it’s neuropathy, & it may not be, lowering BG is the best route to take to assist healing. Are you consistently at 120-130, or are those your after meal readings?
Alpha lipoic acid (ALA) is an OTC amino acid supplement that can help. ALA helps rebuild the myelin sheath of nerves. Depending on the severity of the neuropathy, about 600 mg daily in divided doses is the usual dose. The form that’s most effective is R-ALA. It’s expensive, though. ALA can also lower BG.
The burning sounds like my symptoms. I take R-ALA as mentioned by Gerri and also benfotiamine which is a fat soluble B vitamin. I have stopped both for a month and the symptoms returned, and then got better when I resumed so I think they work.
Although I still have tingling and the occasional sharp pain the burning is long gone. I believe I read somewhere that healing can take years as the myelin sheath heals very slowly. Of course good blood sugar numbers needed too.
If it is neuropathy, Dr. B mentions the symptoms getting slightly WORSE with recently lowered blood sugars, as your nerves will give you twinges as they heal. If you’ve been being extra-good or lowering your BG’s due to better/different meds or diet or exercise, your temporary “reward” might be more nerve symptoms. Diabetes is chock full of irony.
I get a shooting pain in my left instep or ankle about once or twice a year, always at night to ruin my sleep. It always passes the next day. I suspect mine is due to a nerve I cut in my calf trying to repair itself. Have the doctors check for any other kind of nerve damage, too.
It happens during the night when I am sleeping. I have arthritis in my shoulder, so can’t sleep on that side. The pain is on the side of my body I am laying on. I had considered that possibly it was from my sciatic nerve being pinched in the night, but of course, I went straight to something dealing with diabetes. Panicker that I am. I have appt. today, and will let you know what they say. I can’t afford spendy meds or OTC’s…so it will have to be something that fits into the budget. If I sit too long or don’t exercise, I noticed that it does get worse. The pain this weekend past was horrible!!! So better to check it out, than just let it go. I’ll keep in touch. Thanks for the info and for the ideas.
I’ve heard that Celexa or other Fibromyalgia drugs can help with neuropathy. I get it sometimes and just kick and pound my foot on the ground til it goes away. If mine gets worse or more frequent that’s the route I’ll pursue…Good Luck!
Aside from the mandatory fire drill during my appointment, it was pretty much what I figured. I have a “slight” case of neuropathy in my left foot. So she gave me an injection in my foot to block the pain…no steroids, thank goodness, and then a “baby size” Neurontin for the next two weeks and see how that goes. If there are any side effects, I’m to call her and we’ll see what else we can do. I still have 100% feeling in the foot, so it’s not something that is full blown yet. Getting it in the beginning and being able to change some of my habits is a good thing…so I feel good about that. But as usual I am a skeptic and we’ll see what happens…
Can you tell me what the Dr. did to diagnose the “slight” case of neuropathy? I am a newly dx’d diabetic (just in Dec) and my glucose is really well controlled. However…some of my first symptoms were neurological…the tingling fingers and pins and needles in my feet. Both my Endo and now, now yesterday, a podiatrist, have confirmed that it is neuropathy…but I just had a long time diabetic who thinks she is an expert swear that it “could NOT be neuropathy” and that the docs do not know what they are talking about if they have not run tests to PROVE I have neuropathy. So I am confused.
I do not know what else would be causing these strange symptoms that came on at exactly the same time as the diabetes…it’s by lateral meaning it occurs in both of my hands/feet (but not simultaneously…so it will occur in either hand or foot, but not at the same time, necessarily…so I don’t think it is a pinched nerve…for example, why would I have a pinched nerve on one side today and on the other tomorrow???).
She had the endo trace the movement of the electrical impulses from my nerves to the site that they did a low dose electrical shock. They do the same thing for carpal tunnel. The amount of time and the intensity is what showed that it was a slight case, along with my controled numbers and the other healthy things I am doing. The fact that it wasn’t consistent every day all the time also showed them them that was a alight case, and that with the med and the other healthy things I am doing and will continue to do should keep it at bay for now.
I volunterred for a Neurologist for 9 years and I would you start with a Neurologist for this and not yourPCP.Myine is very,very bad. I could step on a nailand not know it. I take Neurontin. He also recommended Lyrica but the side effects scare me so I am afraid to take it. I take 900 mgs of Neurontin a day and it helps. Good luck to you. Reed
