Feet and A1C

[Penny]

I had a terrible night. I could not sleep for the pain in my foot. It really started last week, I talked to the doctor about it, but he did not seem much concerned, and it was not as bad as it is now. I push myself to walk, and always have pain in my hips and feet, for doing it. But I make myself do it every day. Yesterday, I had many jobs to do, so was walking extra and climbed our stairs many times, too. Last night the pain in my feet and especially the left one was so bad, I could not sit , stand or lie down to get any relief. I finally was able to sleep for about 2 hours after taking a large dose of Ibuprofen. Today it is letter, but the left foot still hurts.
Today was the time to call my doctor for the results of my A1C, and other things. It was 7.0, up from the last of 6.4. My fasting level the morning of the test was 193. All my fasting levels are high. Then from about noon on, they stay low (60 to 100). This morning it was 203, but considering the night I had endured, to be expected. The doctor again did not seem to want to deal with my foot problems, said to call again and he would refer me to a foot doctor. He wants to increase my before bedtime Lantus, keep the split, but increase the Lantus, 5 units at a time???
He kind of left it up to me. I don't think increasing the Lantus is going to help, but have no idea what to do.
I guess I don't have any questions, just need some sympathy for how bad I am feeling. OK, maybe one question. Does anyone else have this much foot pain? One more question...what do you do about it?

[valc3]

Penny, sorry to hear you are in pain. I don't suffer from foot pain, so I can't be of any help.

I hope you find out what it is and what to do about it.

[sofaraway]

can you give your feet a bit of a rest for a while? try other types of exercise, like cycling, that would take the pressure off your feet. or swimming that is suppossed to be the best thing for your joints.

I don't know what dose of lantus you are already on, but my nurse would only go up in 2 unit intervals every 3 days, to make sure it was safe. maybe she was over cautious i don't know. it might be that 5 units isn't a big % of your current dose.

hope your feet start feeling better soon

[Penny]

can you give your feet a bit of a rest for a while? try other types of exercise, like cycling, that would take the pressure off your feet. or swimming that is suppossed to be the best thing for your joints.

I don't know what dose of lantus you are already on, but my nurse would only go up in 2 unit intervals every 3 days, to make sure it was safe. maybe she was over cautious i don't know. it might be that 5 units isn't a big % of your current dose.

hope your feet start feeling better soon
I take 50 units at night, 20 in the morning. I will do 55 tonight, but the 20 will stay the same.

[duck]

Get the referral to the podiatrist. Your doc may be trying to tell you he doesn't know much about feet, and actually, they are very complicated, lots of bones and ligaments and tedons and other various soft tissues...and nerves. He might be saying "I don't want to say anything silly, so here, ask this guy..." You may want to ask when you call to set up your appointment if the podiatrist has any experience with treating diabetic-foot issues.

[4519]

If this pain is diabetic related then getting your blood glucose numbers down will help a lot. The most lax standards say that 7.0 is danger zone. You know this already though. If this terrible pain is not enough to convince any of us to shot for lower blood glucose numbers, lower the better. Pain and other complications are not just a normal progression of diabetes - they are a progression of maintaining too high glucose numbers.

Get to a good foot doctor, as is mentioned above. There are things that can be done.

[Keezheekoni]

Penny, where is the pain in your foot? I'm wondering because I had a similar type of problem and found out that I had a bone spur and a neuroma in between my toes on the ball of my foot. Once they removed both I felt immensely better. :) But, it did take an x-ray and a podiatrist to figure out what the problem was! I was seriously sleep deprived until they figured it out, gave me some pain meds, until the surgery... I do know what a killer foot pain is. It's almost like if your feet aren't happy, you can't be happy!

[Penny]

4519......From noon until about 4am, my numbers are really good. My morning numbers are way too high, and I can't seem to change that. I fasted 13 hours before seeing my doctor Friday, and I was 193. Last night, I fasted about 10 hours and was 203 this morning.

Duck......I am going to see the foot guy, I just have had one too many nights like this. But I am beginning to think it is something else as my legs and hips are hurting and I do not feel good at all.

Rikki.....The pain is all over my feet, if I had to say a place it is the worst, maybe the top joint area, close to my ankles. But my heels and toes hurt, and I feel like I am walking on gravel. Today, my feet burn in spots, yet feel cold.

[4519]

Penny, When I said your numbers had to be lower I did not mean that like it is something that you can just do by wishing it so. There is a direct relationship between the problems with legs and feet to blood sugars - you particular problems may not even be diabetic related - you don't know that as yet. An A1c of 7 says the averages(so to speak) are too high. I guess it all depends on what each of us thinks are really good numbers.

[Penny]

Penny, When I said your numbers had to be lower I did not mean that like it is something that you can just do by wishing it so. There is a direct relationship between the problems with legs and feet to blood sugars - you particular problems may not even be diabetic related - you don't know that as yet. An A1c of 7 says the averages(so to speak) are too high. I guess it all depends on what each of us thinks are really good numbers.
I hate calling you by a number, do you have a name?:) I did not take offense. But I work so hard to keep good control, and I still have high fasting numbers. I count my carbs and seldom cheat. I test a lot, and what I have to eat usually depends on my numbers. I exercise as much as I am capable of at this point, though I know it is not enough. I push myself even when I am in pain. I am not happy with the 7, but cannot seem to lower it. But less than a year ago, I was close to 10. Just wanted you to know, I am trying.

[4519]

4519 is an old address of mine.

I don't doubt that you are trying - I only think that when someone actually just comes out and says I am not trying.

Exercise with pain is really difficult - I have hard enough time with only the pain of doing it. Each pain is so individual to comment about it with any knowledge. My wife has arthritis and works through the pain - I cannot do that myself.

One of the problems with email or forums is that the short replies or statement we make can come across so more than we intend. This is a support forum and not a blame or 'get on your case' forum. It is difficult to suggest different diet suggestions because there are such differences in thinking on the basics - I am low carb/high good fat - not 100% of the time - what I say is not always what I do - I guess I am just normal in that way.

As far as counting carbs - I don't. I have learned what works for me and stick with it - I shoot for as low as I can get on the carbs and go with that. I lost 70 pounds doing that along with metformin/avandia. I follow the thinking of Bernstein without the real strict diet he teaches. He is so much more than just diet - he is a way of thinking about food, med's and exercise.

bob (don't tell anyone)

[Penny]

bob (don't tell anyone)

I promise I won't tell a soul.:call2: Thanks for trying to help. I do try, I could do better, but I have other health issues, heart and cancer (in remission). My husband gets mad at me for joking about it, but I figure if I got to have all this, why can't I have the good part of it like the weight loss, too!:)

[am1977]

Penny, I'm sorry that you are in so much pain... I would definitely seek a doctor's opinion if it dosen't go away or improve at least... In the meantime, try to put your feet up when you can and don't do anything too strenuous! Keep us posted :)

[Penny]

Penny, I'm sorry that you are in so much pain... I would definitely seek a doctor's opinion if it dosen't go away or improve at least... In the meantime, try to put your feet up when you can and don't do anything too strenuous! Keep us posted :)

Thanks Am. My feet(and legs and hips) still hurt, and I need sleep. I took some Ibuprofen and it hasn't helped. I sure hate to have another night like the last one. Just don't know what to do.

[gettingby]

Penny, I'm sorry that you are in so much pain. Hopefully you will be able to sleep better tonight. Keep us updated. I worry about my "family" members (my forums family, that is).

[Penny]

Even though my feet feel better, they feel like the pain could come back. I slept with the help of some PM pain medicine, and I think just being able to rest them helped. I am a little afraid to try walking today, so will just bounce on my exercise ball. My knuckles and wrist started hurting before I took the pain medicine last night, which made me wonder if this could be a weird arthritis flareup. I have them sometimes, but usually just in my hips, and a little Tylenol helps. I am crossing fingers and toes that it doesn't come back today. Now I have to fight the effects of the sleep aid all day.:boring:

[Just_Plain_John]

When I had a back injury and resultant sciatic nerve pain, I found that Tylenol and Ibuprophen performed differently. Tylenol acts as a pain blocker, but didn't reduce the inflammation causing the pain. Ibuprophen is an anti-inflammatory drug that worked on the cause, but didn't quite block the pain.

You may want to try (I know this sounds crazy) herbal teas that contain certain ingredients that help neuralgia (nerve pain) or inflammations. Bigelow teas are available in many stores, and they have a "Sweet Dreams" tea that may help. TAZO teas has one called "Calm" and Celestial Seasonings has "Sleepy Time". All of these (I'm not picky) helped me a great deal with nerve pain and inflammation so I could rest. Tylenol also makes an 8 hour Extra Strength version that was helpful.

Don't overlook good shoes for your exercise. New Balance offers fitting for people with problem foot issues, perhaps they can help you. I wear black NB crosstrainers in the office some days, and love their running shoes for my regular walking sessions.

[vgray77]

Penny, this may be off topic some but have you noticed that nights you do not get good sleep your morning numbers are higher?

I have Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) as well as type II diabetes. Even when I had an A1c of 5.8 I always have had high morning numbers. After starting to treat the OSA my morning numbers dropped to the 80’s.

[Penny]

Penny, this may be off topic some but have you noticed that nights you do not get good sleep your morning numbers are higher?

I have Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) as well as type II diabetes. Even when I had an A1c of 5.8 I always have had high morning numbers. After starting to treat the OSA my morning numbers dropped to the 80’s.

I do not think this is a problem for me. My husband has the problem, and he wakes during the night and I hear him. Scares me much more than it does him. I think he is not breathing, then he lets out a big snort and breathes normally. I will put it on my list of questions for the doctor though.

[Mich]

Hi Penny,
Sorry to hear about your foot pain. I deal with something similar, which they are calling fibromyalgia right now. Over the years, it has been diagnosed as different things, but when it's flaring up, it's tough to walk for any distance. Sometimes after walking, I have a tough night and the sleeplessness compounds the issue, both pain-wise and blood sugar-wise. I also have Dupuytren's contracture along the tendons of my palms and soles of my feet that makes padded, comfortable shoes a must for me or it feels like I am walking on ball bearings.

For pain and cramps, I usually use a heating pad to ease things so that I can sleep. Lately, I have tried the self-heating stick on pads sold in drug-stores. They sure are convienient to carry even when you are travelling and they help that front of the ankle pain for me. I also stick with aspirin or ibuprofen for about three doses 4-6 hours apart to reduce swelling and pain.

The most surprising thing was our (my endo and my) recent discovery that a small dose (30 mg at night) of Cymbalta has eased pain and returned me fairly normal sleep patterns. I also can stand up straight again immediately after being seated for a while. It had gotten to the point that it took about 60 seconds to get unkinked due to stiffness and pain. I am delighted with the success of the Cymbalta because after many other drug trials I hadn't found anything that worked.

Try those easier things, a course of anti-inflammatory ibu or aspirin and some heat to ease things a bit. I wish you all the best,

Mich (Michelle--in HOT S California)

[Penny]

Michelle, this is the closest description of what is going on with my feet that I have heard! I will try the things you suggest, and talk to my doctor about it as soon as I can. I know it hurts my "bottom" (trying to be polite here) when I sit. It also is hard to stand up, but I am fine after I stand up. Thank you.

[Elaine Gillis]

Penny, I'm sorry that your feet are causing you such pain. I know they do, I could hear your suffering as I read your thread. I have the pain you were discribed in my feet also. Sometimes it is so bad I can't let my feet touch the floor while sitting. I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 1998 and was told that there wasn't anything that I could take that would help fibromyalgia pain. So when my feet started hurting a couple of years ago I didn't mention it to my doctor. I remebered my mother telling me her feet hurt her all the time, she couldn't discribe the kind of pain she experienced but it hurt and burned so bad she wanted to scream to keep from crying. When I asked her if she knew why she said she didn't know and she has never associated it with her diabetes, she is type 2. Her feet hurt and my feet hurt, hmmm! I recently moved and had to see a new doctor and we were talking about this and that and my sleep problems and my feet problems came up in that conversation and with my a1c at 6.0 then 6.3 (not good) he told me that it is possible that I have diabetic induced neuropathy in my feet. At this time I am taking Tramodol 100mg every 6 hours for pain but it doesn't help for long. I have an appointment on the 30th and will get into more depth about my feet and I'll let you know what I learn. Until then I hope you get some relief knowing that someone knows how bad your feet hurt and you are not alone.

[KickStart101]

Hi Elaine, nice to meet you. Well, you may have solved a Big problem.
There have been several People complaining of sore and burning feet
since I arrived here. I suggested they get tested for RA since I know
I get bad pain in my feet when the joints are flaring. I've never had any
feeling of burning though.

My Sis has complained of sore and burning feet for many yrs., so I
suggested she get tested for RA and Diabetes. She was dxd. with RA
2 yrs. ago. She's on 3 different meds. for it and she said the burning is
less frequent but still happens on occasion. Well, I said drugs are just a
bandaid but at least they make you feel better if only for a while.. Never
thought of Fibro and maybe Lupus could be another reason for this complaint.
I sure hope that you and Penny :wavey: have found some relief from it.

[KickStart101]

Sorry, I meant to add perhaps my Sis has Fibro and RA.
I've heard of People having both(like one of those aren't
bad enough). :rolleyes: