Early signs of neuropathy

[itsallgood]

A very well put story posted by toongirl555 today (sorry for barging in on that one) made me think about my own habits and issues of denial about diabetes. I was particularly interested in the aspects of neuropathy because that's a big worry for me.

I was wondering what the early signs of neuropathy actually feel like, particularly in the feet. Reason is I get some shocking transient pains in mine that are absolutely excruciating. I do have full sensation with no numbness at all and the circulation is good but sometimes when I'm relaxing or at my desk at work my whole body jerks with the pain. Feels like someone stabbing them with a skewer. Haven't particularly noticed if it's whenever my BG is high or low and I do measure this often.

I did talk to my GP about it and he said it was probably a combination of the diabetes and drinking - I'm quite a heavy drinker/functioning alcoholic (lager or dry wine) but I'm very strict with myself about what I eat. Never touch sugary things and very conscious about carbs, starch etc. My weight is 13.5 stone so I am overweight by about 1 to 2 stone (i think) but I do try to exercise regularly.

Can anybody tell me what early neuropathy feels like, if indeed you feel any difference, or have a similar experience?

 

[Northerner]

I also experience similar stabbing pains to you, although rarely and usually after a period of poorer than usual control (both BG and booze! 🙄 ). I also have full sensation and can feel the tiniest stone in my shoe and most of the time I don't have a problem. I also occasionally get numb toes, particularly the big ones.

As it is a nerve problem I believe it can manifest itself in many ways and in all parts of the body, so you can lose sensation or you can require painkillers to treat the pain. I'm sure others will be able to offer more information of how it affects them.

 

[Brendan]

I had exactly the same but it started with what felt like muscular pains so I thought it was just a sign of getting older. Then the sharp stabbing pains started, I like your analogy that it is like being stabbed with a skewer 🙂 Sometimes it felt like a an electric shock it was so sudden a debilitating. These would hit random spots on my feet and ankles. I also found that the pains were worse at night so was finding it hard to sleep. It difficult to get forty winks when you have gremlins stabbing you with skewers.
After some determined nagging by my then girlfriend (who was also losing sleep ) and a few sharp pains which were impacting my driving and to be honest making it dangerous as they were so random you could not tell when they would hit. The doctor diagnosed Neuropathic pains and prescribed Amitryptiline. These had little effect and the pains got worse. I was the sent for a ElectroMyoGraph (EMG) where they test your nerve and muscle reaction to electric shocks. I knew the prognosis was bad as I did not even the final test where they inserted a camera (on a needle) into my muscle to see the reaction. The test results showed significant sensory neuropathy consistent with diabetes.
The good news is that after the diagnosis my medication was changed to Gabapentin which is working very well. I still have the constant numbness and on my right foot my big toe seems to want to live under the others (it cramps into this position every night) but no stabbing pains and I can definitely live with it currently. The biggest issue is that it makes exercise painful and difficult. Rather than play footbal with my 9 year old he now runs round me and I throw a rugby ball to him 🙂
Go back to your doctors and see if they can provide you with something to help because the situation could well get worse. And believe me life is so much better without the stabbing pains

 

[Northerner]

Yes, I should add that, for me, I only get the pains at night in bed. Because I was a slow-onset Type 1 it's quite possible that this developed prior to diagnosis and my control since diagnosis has helped keep it at bay.

Brendan, glad to hear that you found some pain relief that works for you.

 

[itsallgood]

Well I can certainly relate to these descriptions of the pain, except it does seem to ease off at night for me then returns in the morning (if it's going to) and a hot water bottle at the end of the bed helps as well. Strange thing also is if one of my feet happens to become uncovered during the night and gets a bit cold the pain will wake me up.

I'm finding that paracetamol or tramacet helps a lot but tramacet makes me very thirsty in the morning and a bit 'slow' when I get to work. I won't be taking amitryptaline at all, ever. Very bad stuff, made me feel like my brain had been scooped out and replaced with treacle.

Thanks for the feedback anyway, I'm thinking it's probably the start of some form of neuropathy that I'll just have to live with as a consequence of my penchant for alcohol 😱