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Any advice/help appreciated ? Treatment induced neuropathy

R

ridder

Active Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Hi.

I'm a newbie, but unfortunately not to being type 2 diabetic.
I have had diabetes for over 20 years

I rapidly reduced my hba1c from 80mmol in January to 50 mmol in July, everyone pleased about it (Including me) but then in September had sudden numbness/pain and weakness in legs and feet. This is pretty disabling. Seen neurologist but nothing confirmed after many test and scans. Just want some relief to get my life back.
Sorry for the long post
 
Hi @ridder and welcome to the forum.

Sorry I can't answer your question, but I'm sure someone will come along with some help or advice

Alan😉
 
Are you on Metformin? This can cause a B12 deficiency and one of the symptoms is numbness.

www.nhs.uk

Vitamin B12 or folate deficiency anaemia - Symptoms

Read about the symptoms of vitamin B12 or folate deficiency anaemia, which usually develop gradually, but can worsen if the condition goes untreated.
www.nhs.uk www.nhs.uk

You should get an annual test for B12 if you are on Metformin.
 
Yes ,checked B12 and folate recently. I'm on a few meds including metformin and insulin. Think I've had every blood test going! Thanks
 
welcome to the forum @ridder

Sorry to hear you might be experiencing treatment-induced neuropathy.

Excess of Vit B6 can also give rise to neuropathic symptoms. So if you are taking supplements, it can be worth checking your overall intake.

Treatment induced neuropathy is generally considered to be transient/temporary, and I believe commonly resolves in a few months (6-12??).

How long have you been experiencing symptoms?
 
Thank you

The worst symptoms started in the middle of September, I struggle to walk and cannot drive, it is pretty disabling. I'll ask my doc at my appt next week about B6. The only supplement I am taking is B12. I've just started on pregabalin but low dose to start so no improvement as yet.
Feeling low, I'll try anything!
 
ridder said:
Thank you

The worst symptoms started in the middle of September, I struggle to walk and cannot drive, it is pretty disabling. I'll ask my doc at my appt next week about B6. The only supplement I am taking is B12. I've just started on pregabalin but low dose to start so no improvement as yet.
Feeling low, I'll try anything!
Click to expand...
Are you having B12 injections as the problem with metformin is it inhibits the absorption of B12 from foods or oral supplements.
Have they checked your B12 with a recent blood test.
 
Hi.
I had my B12 checked on 11/12, it was 160ng so not quite deficient, Dr prescribed cyanocobalamin 100mcg a day orally.
All new to this as never had any of these problems before I got my hba1c to a good place.
 
Hi @ridder and welcome to the forum. There are a few on here with neuropathy of one sort or another - me being one of them.

Mine affects my face and so has no effect on my mobility but even so it is becoming a real nuisance as it is beginning to affect my speech and swallowing. Like you I have, over the years, had just about every test done, tried ail the medications both standard and off licence (all through the GP) and neither an underlying cause or effective relief has been found.

I post this only to suggest that you might be in for the long haul in sorting out your neuropathy. I think you can be reasonably assured that there is nothing sinister or blindingly obvious going on - that most likely would have shown up something in the tests. This leaves you with a management problem, basically figuring out how to live with it. Hopefully you will find a medication that gives you some relief before the side effects become a bigger problem that the thing they are meant to be treating.

I know i sound a bit downbeat on this subject but at heart I am a pragmatist and like to see things as they really are. Makes things easier to manage, I have found.

Good luck, and keep posting, especially if you make progress.
 
ridder said:
Hi.
I had my B12 checked on 11/12, it was 160ng so not quite deficient, Dr prescribed cyanocobalamin 100mcg a day orally.
All new to this as never had any of these problems before I got my hba1c to a good place.
Click to expand...
That does seem a little on the low side which is why you have been given the oral meds but as it can be absorption that is the problem you may need injections.
 
Thanks. Will speak to doc when I go next week, she did um and arr about injections but decided on tablets! Ive just worked out my hba1c was 80mmol in January and dropped to 53mmol in April, that is when all my problems started!! I just want a diagnosis and to know if this is TIND.
 
Hi @ridder.

Forgive me but I am getting a bit confused.

By TIND are you referring to Treatment INduced Diabetes? That is a known problem, and although I have no experience of it, I believe some steroid treatments can lead increased blood glucose and a diabetes diagnosis.

Your post seemed not to be asking about TIND but about neuropathy as a result of treatment for diabetes. Neuropathy is a possible side effect of prolonged high blood glucose levels and it is generally considered that, if anything, it is relieved not introduced or made worse, by treating the diabetes to get Hba1c reductions.

What treatment was used to get your HbA1c reduction?
 
ridder said:
I'll ask my doc at my appt next week about B6. The only supplement I am taking is B12.
Click to expand...

This was a recent post about the risks of too much VitB6 which might give you more details

Eddy Edson

Thread 'Vitamin B6 & peripheral neuropathy'

Story in the Guardian Oz edition today about supplementing Vitamin B6 causing peripheral neuropathy: https://www.theguardian.com/austral...eet-to-multivitamins-but-a-pathology-test-did

Never heard of that one before, and every reason to be cautious about what newspapers say on health matters, but apparently this is actually a thing.

I like the US Office of Dietary Supplements fact sheets for quick summaries of recommendations and evidence. Here's the Vit B6 one...
 
Thanks. Going to ask for a blood test for all vitamin and minerals when I see Dr next week, to see if all are OK. Hoping to either rule things out or deal with them. My Dr and neurologist have been good with tests, scans etc to see if there is other reasons for my symptoms but so far, it's been put down to my diabetes. I had never heard of treatment induced neuropathy until I started asking around and as my problems started after looking after myself and being more vigilant which led to a rapid reduction in my hba1c.
 
Well - if your HbA1c had been around the 80 mark for a while prior to your sorting it out and reducing it to something more sensible (ie the 53) it is quite possible that the fast reduction could have caused the neuropathy pain - but on the contrary the pain etc can be caused by the previously damaged (by too high BG) nerve endings actually healing rather than the opposite! Kind of like restoring the electricity that goes along the wires and now it's getting to all the really fine wires at the ends of all the main ones which unbeknown to you haven't been able to have electricity along them for a while, cos their deterioration was much more gradual over time, hence you never noticed it.
 
Hi. Thanks for the post. I am currently taking a low dose of pregabalin but not helped so far so need the dose increasing I think. Been looking for a foot cream for my painful feet. Any help or advice with this would much appreciated.
 
ridder said:
Hi. Thanks for the post. I am currently taking a low dose of pregabalin but not helped so far so need the dose increasing I think. Been looking for a foot cream for my painful feet. Any help or advice with this would much appreciated.
Click to expand...
Is it the skin or the joints that are painful as what may help will be different.
 
It's mainly underfoot, when I walk (or attempt to) its like painful pins and needles, bit like walking on glass with numbness added for good measure! Sorry hard to explain never had anything like this before.
 
ridder said:
It's mainly underfoot, when I walk (or attempt to) its like painful pins and needles, bit like walking on glass with numbness added for good measure! Sorry hard to explain never had anything like this before.
Click to expand...
Have you tried memory foam insoles in your shoes.
 
No I haven't but thanks I will look into it. To be honest I haven't tried much at all. Had to ask for pregabalin as my doc just seems to be doing any tests possible at the moment to try and rule everything out! Sooo fed up with it now.
 
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