I was hiking this past week and picked up a few cool rocks on the beach. When I did I got a sharp pain in my arm almost like tingling but it went away almost immediately. Then I got it in my other arm. I have a history of connective tissue problems and I’ve had frozen shoulder in both shoulders.
I’ve never had neuropathy and my sugars are very well controlled. My last a1c was 6.0 and I average 93% in range most of the time.
A very long time ago before I was diagnosed I had this feeling in my legs , and I think it was low blood sugar related, but I really don’t know.
Anybody with neuropathy have it present like this or am I off base.? I apologize for being clueless about it, it seems like there are thousands of different presentations. But bilateral affliction is key, I know that much
I don’t have diabetic neuropathy but I do have neuropathy which was caused by a statin. What you are describing does not sound like neuropathy to me. Mine started in my feet and it causes a burning sensation. I still have full feeling in my feet, but from what I have read, most people with diabetes start losing feeling in their feet when they have neuropathy.
I really dislike the neuropathy that I do have. I get it in both of my feet and now my left leg up to about the knee. Many people with diabetic neuropathy also get it in their hands.
If you ever get neuropathy you will recognize the feeling almost immediately. It is very unpleasant and is felt most often at night.
Neuropathy can feel, and not feel like something. I noticed some numbness/tingling in my left foot after long walks since, on weekends, I can hammer them for 5 to 10 miles in low/no cushion shoes, or at least used to, and that was unusual. Since then, I decided to wear decent sneakers with some cushioning, and although the soles are not thick, that has avoided any tingling. In that same foot, I have noticed some lack of awareness when my endo does a sensory foot examination with a small filament. It is nothing terrible, but there is some minor loss of sensation.
Neuropathy is a progressive condition. For me it happened. For me It occurred as sudden sharp almost debilitating pain in my feet. it was quick and it came for no apparent reason and was over in a second. I still have this today and likely always will. I used to get these without rhyme or knowing what i did to cause it.
My mom experienced that, but then hers turned out to be so persistent she could not sleep. Jer only hope was to walk and put positive pressure on her feet until she collapsed in untreated pain.
Thanks for your responses, I’ll ask my doctor when I go to my regular check. I thought I had neuropathy once before when my toes on one foot went numb, but it turned out to be dupuytrens contractor in my feet. Which only hurts when I run or heavy hiking and there is nothing that can be done about it really without major surgery.
I just don’t want to be that patient who is getting symptoms from reading instead of what I’m actually feeling.
I have numbness in my feet. I compare it to playing with candle wax as a kid. If you dipped your finger in the molten wax and then cooled it off, it made the sensation of touching anything very muted. Peal off the candle wax and the sensation reverted to normal.
I was on an aggressive cholesterol lowering regimen for years. After becoming insulin dependent, I stumbled across an item that described numbness as a result of aggressively lowering cholesterol levels in conjunction with diabetes.
At the time I stopped the cholesterol medication stone cold and noted a rebound in my foot sensitivity. Now I take a very minimal dose of cholesterol meds and have not had any further progress in this form of neuropathy in years.
YMMV
There are different types of neuropathy, I experience two different varieties. I have neuropathy caused by nerve damage in my back. Impingement in my spinal column causes, at times, a burning from my hip to my foot, Its in a straight narrow line that feel like I have been sliced down the back of my left leg with a hot knife. With this I also notice a dead spot under the ball of my foot, giving the impression that something is in my shoe.
Diabetic neuropathy didn’t come along until years later. At first it only increased the neuropathy in my left foot and gradually caused it to be totally numb, today both feet are numb. Night time is the worse time for neuropathy, some people call it pins and needles and or burning pain all over. Have you ever laid on your side with your head propped up on your arm and hand until your hand falls asleep. When you finally straighten your wrist allowing blood to again rush into your hand, that sudden burning pins and needle sensation best describes how diabetic neuropathy feels.
My life is not total agony, if I keep blood glucose under control my neuropathy is manageable, but let things get out of control and all heck breaks loose.
Diabetic peripheral/distal neuropathy can run the gamut from itching through sharp electric pains to numbness. There are other kinds of diabetic neuropathy, like autonomic .
Some researchers believe that statins can reduce neuropathic pain, Status have been shown to indirctly interfere with nerve shesth healing. There are reports after two or more years of statin use of new neuropathy - and new onset diabetes (the order isn’t clear). So maybe the reduction in pain is not from reversing neuropathy, but by causing nerves to deteriorate further past the false signaling stage to numbness.
Statins caused my neuropathy. It is listed as a possible side effect.
If the neuropathy reversed to some degree after you stop taking statins then you are correct.
In my case I had very rapidly progressing neuropathy in all four limbs. After 6 month and a ridiculous amount of tests were done to confirm neuropsthy my doctors insisted it was either diabetic neuropathy or a “metabolic” issue.
Not being willing to drop the issue, and since my blood sugar control has been very good and consistent throughout the period where the neuropathy rapidly progressed, I researched every possible cause of neuropathy and by the process of elimination zeroed in on diet.
I compared my diet before I started with a CGM and pump and currently. When I replaced several of the faster carb foods in my diet with alternatives I lost their vitamin fortification. It is now niacin(B1) deficient, less than half the RDA.
When added to the other issues I’d developed I had most of the symptoms of beri beri. Taking a high dose B Complex supplement for a month has reversed about 90 percent of the neuropathy and the other issues.
First I took Zetia. I don’t remember the time frame now, but after a few weeks I noticed that my feet were burning. I got up in the night and looked up side effects for Zetia and read neuropathy. I immediately stopped taking it and the neuropathy went away pretty quickly. Next I tried the generic form of Crestor in a very small amount and had a repeat of the problem with neuropathy. When I stopped taking the statin, the neuropathy remained. I was extremely upset about it. This has happened to numerous people taking this drug. The company has been sued for this issue.
I haven’t had an A1c higher than 5.2 or 5.3 except for one 5.8 in almost 20 yrs, so I am 99% sure that my neuropathy was caused by the statin.
I am very happy to hear that you were able to get a lot of relief from neuropathy and other issues with high doses of a B complex. I take a high dose of B12, but will try a B complex next time my neuropathy gets bad. Thanks.
Zetia isn’t a statin. It reduces cholesterol absorption. Crestor is and it reduces the amount of cholesterol produced by the liver.
That they both produced the same symptom mean that they interacted with something else that impaired cholesterol utilization. Cholesterol is needed to maintain and repair nerves.
Getting a rapid reverse of a new problem that correlates with a known change by reversing that change is how technicians and engineers quickly, and doctors eventually confirm a factor in the problem. In a complex system, it could be a cause, a trigger or a catalyst.
I know that B1 is essential for repairing tissues including nerves, and metabolizing carbohydrates for energy. The body prioritizes using all sources of energy to stay alive over repair or storage.
The body can store a maximum of 3 weeks’ supply of B1 (based on the RDA). That stored B1 is what the body uses. It needs to be constantly replenished or it can become depleted.
According to the NIH Health Professional Fact Sheet for Thiamin , plasma blood tests of thiamine don’t measure tissue stores, and older people and those with diabetes are in the groups most at risk for having thiamine deficiency.
Since it causes you pain, rather than wait for it to get worse because of a chronically inadequate supply or absorption of a vitamin, it would be better to start taking a B complex supplement now. It’s very inexpensive, like $2/month, easily available, and you spill any excess through urine. Multiple studies in Europe have shown benfothiamine, a precursor that the body can convert to B1, to be helpful for neuropathy.
You might find these articles interesting:
Thiamine deficiency and burning feet: