Exercising with Neuropathy.

[musique913]

Hi there,

I was wondering if any of you have had trouble with diabetic neuropathy, and might have suggestions of other things that are doable, and can make me stronger.

I do biking mostly now, stationary and regular because when I walk my legs get really tingly and sometimes really painful, where the bike riding makes my legs feel warmer.

I'm relatively bored with the same workout every day, but I don't want to stop. I also do weights 2-3 times per week, but overall I'm frustrated with my lack of ability to do walking, which I always found so relaxing.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Angela

[RobertIA]

There may be others that have suggestions, but what you are doing works for me. Until recently I was unable to ride a bike for several months and was able to walk only. So when shopping I would park as far as I reasonably could from the store entrance and thus force myself to walk. Pain - Yes - but knowing I had to do it make a difference. Now I can ride again, and shortly with the change in seasons, I will have to do the riding in place again. Fortunately, my riding out doors is more interesting.

Good luck and keep a positive attitude.

Bob

[Moonglo]

Refresh my memory, if you don't mind. How long have you been diagnosed as diabetic with neuropathy? I only ask because I have heard that most neuropathy symptoms are reversable with long term bg control. Maybe use that as some motivation to keep going?

What about indoor swimming? If there's a community pool nearby or one at a gym that is indoors, you may want to try laps in the pool.

Also, where is your bike? Is it somewhere where you have access to a TV? If you can't watch TV while biking, do you listen to music? A friend of mine even reads while she runs on a treadmill... maybe you could apply that to biking.

[Gordonm]

The best thing you can do is get your A1C down. Looking at your signature you have an A1C of 10! That is your biggest worry right now. Exercise will help bring the A1C down but if you continue with a 10 your tingling sensation will not get better only worse.

[Subby]

A few years ago, when at one stage I went from worse control (A1cs in 8s, up and down all day) to relatively better control (A1cs in lower 7s, slightly less up and downs) it took my body and particularly arms, fingers, feet and toes a good few months (6?) of constant better control, to stop aching, hurting, feeling numb, frozen, raw, especially when I exercised. Very upsetting to deal with at the time, and it felt like things would never get better, although since the docs did not think I really had neuropathy, I had deduced it probably was regeneration effects. Then, at some stage, they had faded to the point they were not an issue.

This was not neuropathy, not in the sense of neuropathy that comes and pretty much stays. It was my nerves and blood vessels regenerating and waking up from some years of worse BGs. I am not saying it is what is going on with you: I cannot know that. But I think you should be aware that people do find that occurs going from worse to better control, and that it may be part of what is going on for you.

[musique913]

My A1C's were not 10 until the last one, my other ones were in good control, but after some serious stress, and a bunch of weight loss, it went up! I don't know much about neuropathy, but the podiatrist said I had it, so I guess that is what I go on.

I've always been active, but I'm much more constant about it now, because I'm behaving as if my life depends on it.:)

To answer the question about using music, I do all the time, it's right in my living room with the tv, and I have my ipod..it helps somewhat, but I get bored easily..lol. I also have a dvd from Prevention that I really love that I can do, and dancing with the stars the workout..lol

Subby, I find it interesting that some people have pain as they get into better control. I noticed that when my blood sugars get lower, my legs ache like you wouldn't believe.

Right now they have dull ache pretty much constantly unless I am exercising. Yes, frustrating as can be.:(

Thanks for the comments, any other suggestions, I'd love it.:)

Angela

[sumi]

Hi Angela,
I'm not sure if what I had was the early stages of neuropathy, but I definitely had the dull aches ranging to pain in my legs before diagnosis. This hurt worse after walking, pretty much for the rest of the day-and I walked almost every day. I found that putting a pillow under my feet while sleeping helped a lot. I no longer do this, had forgotten about it until your post, so its one more way in which getting control of bg levels has helped me.

[Caravaggio]

Have you tried yoga? It may help in dealing with the pain. As for walking, have you tried thicker shoes? If you have access to a pool, water walking?

[jer.lawrence]

This was not neuropathy, not in the sense of neuropathy that comes and pretty much stays. It was my nerves and blood vessels regenerating and waking up from some years of worse BGs. I am not saying it is what is going on with you: I cannot know that. But I think you should be aware that people do find that occurs going from worse to better control, and that it may be part of what is going on for you.

Out of curiosity, how is that not neuropathy? Isn't it sort of regenerating FROM neuropathy?

I actually ask because I've noticed (since I got my numbers in control -- never before) that when I move a certain way or take a long hot shower or something like that, I get a sort of numbness / tingling in the outside of my right thigh. It has SLIGHTLY worried me, but it goes away on it's own pretty quickly and doesn't bother me unless "aggravated." I'd been getting a little worried that it may BE neuropathy, but if it's not, that would make me feel a lot better.

I haven't seen a doctor about it yet, because it's very minor and I don't see it as a detriment to my health. My numbers are pretty consistently within the regular range now as well (usually 80-130).

I apologize to the OP, I'm not trying to jack this thread. I just saw your response and you made me very curious.

[diabetic_z]

Hi, Angela. I'm in a similar situation. I have been dieting and exercising since the beginning of September '09. My exercises started out with simple walking and eventually progressed to 1 hour on the treadmill at 4 mph. Unfortunately, this past weekend my outer thighs started going numb after about 30 minutes on the treadmill. When I tried to push through it, the numbness turned into a burning sensation and eventually progressed to pain. I thought I might have just over exerted myself but when I use the stationary bike and/or the elliptical machine, the pain goes away and I am able to get my hour of cardio done. I consulted with my doc and he said it sounded like neuropathy but without testing he couldn't be absolutely sure. We decided that I would just change up my exercise routine for now and revisit the issue in 5 weeks when I next see him for blood work. My personal trainer has given me other alternatives to the treadmill. The strange thing is that if I jog/run, my thighs don't bother me. But, at the moment my weight puts a lot of stress on my joints so I can only jog/run for short periods. I now have access to a rec center with a pool and plan on doing some aqua exercises. When I do my weight training and strength exercises, they usually entail low weights and high reps. This was something my dietitian and personal trainer came to an agreement about since my main goal is weight loss. Eventually, when I get down to under 200 lbs, my regimen will shift to more muscle building to bulk up. If you would like, I can give you a detailed list of the routines I follow with my personal trainer. I can also try and see if there are videos of the exercises. Most of the strength routines can be done at home with little to no equipment. Keep doing what you're doing. You're not alone in this and we are all rooting for you.

[Subby]

Out of curiosity, how is that not neuropathy? Isn't it sort of regenerating FROM neuropathy?


Jeremy, what I was clumsily trying to get at was that it gained no medical diagnosis of neuropathy despite getting it looked at, nor was it of a permanent nature. Yes, the doc might have been sloppy that day, and I can definitely agree that could likely be called reversible neuropathy - and I have called it my own name "transient neuropathy" in the past, but I want to be clear that I simply do not know where the lines are drawn here. Bottom line: I have no backing that it was officially neuropathy, although there were many reasons and indications to suggest it was.


I actually ask because I've noticed (since I got my numbers in control -- never before) that when I move a certain way or take a long hot shower or something like that, I get a sort of numbness / tingling in the outside of my right thigh. It has SLIGHTLY worried me, but it goes away on it's own pretty quickly and doesn't bother me unless "aggravated." I'd been getting a little worried that it may BE neuropathy, but if it's not, that would make me feel a lot better.

Neuropathy typically start in peripheral areas simply because that is where circulation is weakest. That and your control makes me personally think it's unlikely to be neuropathy. If it plays on your mind, I'd run it by the doc just to get a medical opinion to set your mind at ease, maybe there is another thing going on that should be looked at.

[musique913]

I am totally familiar with that numbness in the legs when walking..god..my quads actually feel numb, and I massage them to get feeling in them.

I got some lotion for my feet with capsaicin in it that seems to help with the tingling and pain in my feet..they feel warm, which is nice.

It's such a journey this diabetes..