[Tashia]

I was wondering how soon you can begin to feel nerve pain in your feet from diabetes? Occationally I get tingling in my feet but it's maybe once or twice a week, I've only been diagnosed as type 2 for about a year and a half. Could nerve damage be happening already? Or could it just be a fluke?

[slipperyelm]

Some people even have it before they are diagnosed and just attribute it to tired feet, old age, uncomfortable shoes, or whatever. I imagine that by the time a person feels the pain or numbness, the damage has been going on for some time. But many people who have only mild neuropathy in their feet find that it slowly, slowly heals after they consistently keep their blood glucose under control.

It is also common to feel increased pain after some time (weeks? months?) of getting the BGs down. Some people who only had a little bit of funny numbness or tingling in their feet find it blossoms into actual pain after the weeks or months of improved control. The popular explanation is that that pain is a signal that the damaged nerves are "coming alive again," healing in such a way that they are conducting random senseless pain signals.

So if you get your BGs down, you may feel some increased neuropathy symptoms in your feet, but then those symptoms might go away altogether if you stick to it.

[Hammer]

Thanks for the info slipperyelm! I had tingling in my toes before I started taking meds, and I knew it was from the high BG levels. The tingling wasn't there all the time, only every once in a while.(It only came on when I was in bed) I didn't take any meds for 6 years because my stomach couldn't handle them.(it still can't).

I started on Lantus and Prandin over a month ago, and I still get a slight tingling in my toes, but I now have pain in my toes. It's not a severe pain, just a mild pain....like I've been standing too long. It's not a continuous pain but it comes on from time to time. I was thinking that it might be that with the lowered BG levels, my nerves were healing themselves somewhat. Reading your reply makes me think my assessment was correct.

Thanks again for the info.

[shake_sugaree]

Originally Posted by slipperyelm

Some people even have it before they are diagnosed and just attribute it to tired feet, old age, uncomfortable shoes, or whatever. I imagine that by the time a person feels the pain or numbness, the damage has been going on for some time. But many people who have only mild neuropathy in their feet find that it slowly, slowly heals after they consistently keep their blood glucose under control.

It is also common to feel increased pain after some time (weeks? months?) of getting the BGs down. Some people who only had a little bit of funny numbness or tingling in their feet find it blossoms into actual pain after the weeks or months of improved control. The popular explanation is that that pain is a signal that the damaged nerves are "coming alive again," healing in such a way that they are conducting random senseless pain signals.

So if you get your BGs down, you may feel some increased neuropathy symptoms in your feet, but then those symptoms might go away altogether if you stick to it.

Great info to know, slipperyelm! Thanks for passing this along. I have been keeping a tight control on my BG since the dx two weeks ago and was actually starting to get a little miffed because my feet neuropathy symptoms were seemingly manifesting more instead of less?!

[Rebecca]

Diabetic Neuropathy RARELY if ever will go away once it sets in.
Type 2's are usually diagnosed several years after the high sugars and insulin resistance sets in. That is why 99% of all type 2's have complications either at diagnosis or within a couple of years (I have rarely seen or heard of a type 2 diabetic WITHOUT a complication or two (or more) 3 or more years past diagnosis). Usually what brings someone into either the hospital or the doctor is the complications that they have not a clue on what is causing them. The doctor will then possibly suspect diabetes and run a HbA1c (which measures your sugars for the last 60-90 days, but more accurate to be around 60-70 days). Hense the reason why the neuropathy in your feet not even 2 years post diagnosis. Only way to keep more complications from either occuring or delay them is to keep your sugars under control.
American Diabetes Association suggests a HbA1c UNDER 7% and
American Acadamy of Clinical Endorinology (AACE) suggests a HbA1c of UNDER 6.5%.
(btw, I am a type 1 and I practice what I preach to not only other diabetics, but my own patients.. my previous 3 years of HbA1c's have ranged from 5.1-5.8, which is alot of hard work, but it can be done.. oh and I preach this to my own mum who has type 2 and other type 2 family members.. in addition to the type 1's in my family).

[Kubilee]

Originally Posted by Hammer

Thanks for the info slipperyelm! I had tingling in my toes before I started taking meds, and I knew it was from the high BG levels. The tingling wasn't there all the time, only every once in a while.(It only came on when I was in bed) I didn't take any meds for 6 years because my stomach couldn't handle them.(it still can't).

I started on Lantus and Prandin over a month ago, and I still get a slight tingling in my toes, but I now have pain in my toes. It's not a severe pain, just a mild pain....like I've been standing too long. It's not a continuous pain but it comes on from time to time. I was thinking that it might be that with the lowered BG levels, my nerves were healing themselves somewhat. Reading your reply makes me think my assessment was correct.

Thanks again for the info.

wow, this is very helpful to me. I have been having some mad tingling in my feet for the past week or so, and I've had very good control for nearly a year now, but for about the last 6-8 weeks, not often, but sometimes, my feet will start tingling like they are asleep but not as intense as that.

I thought I was getting some problems, but maybe it's possible the problems I had are getting better.

Thank you very much for this post, it's helped me and made me not worry so b ad.

Seems like since they told me I have diabetes, I all but stay paranoid about my organs and other such things.

[Tashia]

Thank you for the wonderful info. As I work to get my BG's under control I'll keep an eye out for the increase of pain. If you had not said otherwise I think I would be freaking out!

Thanks again!

[Bevvie]

Thanks for the useful info - I too have tingling in soles of feet - almost like they're really hot (but they're not, if you know what I mean) and not painful. I've also always had a very sensitive middle toe, left foot - I had this years before I was diagnosed at a time pre pre-diabetes - goodness knows how long I've had it and I too am obsessed with my organs but am in control BG-wise

[jazzbo]

Tashia,

The tingling/numbness in my feet led to my diagnosis after two years of complaining to my doctor about it. He sent me to a neurologist who asked "how long have you been diabetic?"

A word of caution, all the prescription drugs they want you to take for this have some serious side effects. Lyrica, Cymbalta, Neurontin. I consider myself a well adjusted person and on a combination of those drugs, I started having suicidal thoughts. Very scary! They also made me feel lousy. My neuropathy is very bad some days. While I don't advocate the use of narcotics, I take a vicodin (very low dose) once or twice a week when the pain is very bad. No side effects, but then I don't have issues with dependency. I actually don't like the vicodin but it really beat the psychotropic effects of the other drugs.

The pain of neuropathy is stressful. It can be such a drag. I hope you can find some relief, somehow.

[Maya_Papaya]

Somethin' weird i noticed is, my pinky toe on either foot will like sting really bad for no reason and i just randomly started checkin my blood sugar then and it'll be really high and i wont notice it cept for that stupid toe....weird....but its not all the time it definatly comes an goes...and then i notice sometimes my feet get really sensitive to stuff like even sitting in a warm bath makes them burn and it'll take a good 15-20 minutes for them to get used to the water....its weird....

[Tashia]

I had an episode yesterday when it felt like I was having thousands of tiny pins or needles stuck in my feet around my arch. It lasted for about 30 minutes.

[jerryn]

Does the pain feel like your shoes should be a little wider?
pain in the middle of the arch on the inner side of the foot?

[Tashia]

Originally Posted by jerryn

Does the pain feel like your shoes should be a little wider?
pain in the middle of the arch on the inner side of the foot?

I was barefoot at the time it happened, in fact every time I've felt it I've been barefoot.

Here's where it happens, mostly where the red is but some tingling in my toes, not quite as bad or as painful. And it doesn't happened all the time maybe once or twice a week. Yesterday is probably the most painful it's ever been though.

[Petruchio]

Tashia,

How strong is your arch?

Years ago I had a pain like that. (pins & needles in the arches) It turned out that is when my arches collapsed. Now I have very flat feet. They don't hurt, but the arch is long gone.

[pokie]

Originally Posted by jazzbo

Tashia,

The tingling/numbness in my feet led to my diagnosis after two years of complaining to my doctor about it. He sent me to a neurologist who asked "how long have you been diabetic?"

A word of caution, all the prescription drugs they want you to take for this have some serious side effects. Lyrica, Cymbalta, Neurontin. I consider myself a well adjusted person and on a combination of those drugs, I started having suicidal thoughts. Very scary! They also made me feel lousy. My neuropathy is very bad some days. While I don't advocate the use of narcotics, I take a vicodin (very low dose) once or twice a week when the pain is very bad. No side effects, but then I don't have issues with dependency. I actually don't like the vicodin but it really beat the psychotropic effects of the other drugs.

The pain of neuropathy is stressful. It can be such a drag. I hope you can find some relief, somehow.

I have neuropathy pretty bad; I am on a combination of gabapentin (Neurontin) and tramadol. I have experienced tremendous relief from these drugs and no intolerable side effects. I would be miserable without them. Opiates like vicodin don't even touch the pain for me. So just remember that what works (or doesn't) for one person might not be the same for another. I was unable to get any kind of quality sleep before my doc added the gabapentin; it has been a godsend.

I remember when I first began noticing the pain in my toes. It hurt like heck to put shoes on. Anything that touched my feet sent pain shooting thru them. I couldn't tolerate the water from the shower even. Now with better BG control and medication, I can give myself a foot massage without jumping thru the ceiling, I can slip shoes on without grimacing, while there won't be any reversal of damage for me, at least I can live with it.