GAD & NEUROLOGICAL ISSUES/ STIFF PERSON SYNDROME?

[Christus Blake]

Hi there,



I was diagnosed with type 1 Diabetes in 2019.



I had a GAD test recently which showed that it is over 2000 IU/ml



I have also been getting excruciating CRAMP with stiff legs in bed in the early morning often, which includes a different sort of pain to simple cramp, I think, and sometimes involves very painful feet as well. This also often happen in the early hours when I need to go to the loo.... It is worst when my feet are at a certain angle, sitting down...



I have read about SPS (Stiff Person Syndrome) which is associated with high GAD levels and of course this kind of CRAMP also. So I am concerned that the CRAMP is the beginning of SPS.



When I saw the consultant at the hospital, he checked my legs, wobbled them on the couch and concluded at that time there seemed to be no indication of SPS which apparently is very rare.



However , this was before the GAD test result was known, and also no doctors so far have been able to diagnose what is going on with my legs and feet which to me, is not quite the same as a problem with simple CRAMP.



I am definitely Type 1 Diabetic as my C-Peptide is 41 pmol/L

My A1c is usually around 41 mmol and so bg is well managed. I live in the UK.



Does anyone on this site and any insight into my condition? or know anyone else who has experienced similar phenomena in their lower legs and feet?

 

[rebrascora]

Hi and welcome.

Really sorry to hear that you are experiencing frequent cramps and that you are worried about it possibly being SPS, of which I know nothing, I am afraid, nor read any mention of it here on the forum, so I imagine it must be pretty rare. I think my approach would be to treat this as cramp because at the moment that is all that you can do, so my questions to you would be ...

Have you altered your diet in any way, perhaps since your diabetes diagnosis?

What have you done to alleviate or prevent the cramps? Things like taking a supplement or perhaps tonic water or more salt in your diet or one of the gels which I believe contain magnesium, especially for cramp?

 

[Leadinglights]

If you are dehydrated that can cause cramps but using an electrolyte hydration fluid can help rather than plain water.
As mentioned I have found magnesium gel rubbed on helps to alleviate it. I am more likely to get cramp if my feet are cold.
Sometimes the only thing that helps is walking (hobbling) about until it passes off.
It may be worth having a chat with your pharmacist as there may be some supplement you could take.
I remember when I was pregnant many many years ago, I got terrible cramps and was prescribed a magnesium and vit C supplement.

 

[Christus Blake]

Hi and welcome.

Really sorry to hear that you are experiencing frequent cramps and that you are worried about it possibly being SPS, of which I know nothing, I am afraid, nor read any mention of it here on the forum, so I imagine it must be pretty rare. I think my approach would be to treat this as cramp because at the moment that is all that you can do, so my questions to you would be ...

Have you altered your diet in any way, perhaps since your diabetes diagnosis?

What have you done to alleviate or prevent the cramps? Things like taking a supplement or perhaps tonic water or more salt in your diet or one of the gels which I believe contain magnesium, especially for cramp?

Thank you for your response. Well yes, I did alter my diet to very low carb after I was diagnosed as Type 1 diabetic, and this change has helped enormously to enable me to keep blood glucose levels steady so that my A1cs tend to be around 40. I have tried tonic water but that did not seem to make any difference to the cramps or other pain type, and I already take magnesium but am not clear how much magnesium would be appropriate for this? When I get this problem it is usually in the early hours when I am in bed, and what I have to do is simply get up and put all my weight on the leg or legs, and this is it seems the only thing that controls it so far....

 

[Christus Blake]

If you are dehydrated that can cause cramps but using an electrolyte hydration fluid can help rather than plain water.
As mentioned I have found magnesium gel rubbed on helps to alleviate it. I am more likely to get cramp if my feet are cold.
Sometimes the only thing that helps is walking (hobbling) about until it passes off.
It may be worth having a chat with your pharmacist as there may be some supplement you could take.
I remember when I was pregnant many many years ago, I got terrible cramps and was prescribed a magnesium and vit C supplement.

Thank you. that is interesting - the suggestion that electrolyte hydration would be better than plain water...I will see about that. And the idea that magnesium can be rubbed in my leg might be worth trying as being better than a tablet..yes... I know that I also have poor circulation and wear socks in bed which seems to help a bit...

 

[Leadinglights]

Thank you. that is interesting - the suggestion that electrolyte hydration would be better than plain water...I will see about that. And the idea that magnesium can be rubbed in my leg might be worth trying as being better than a tablet..yes... I know that I also have poor circulation and wear socks in bed which seems to help a bit...

This is the one I have from Amazon

High Absorption Magnesium Gel for Leg Cramps - Muscle Recovery Gel from The Dead Sea for Sore Muscles - Less Itch & Less Sting Than Magnesium Oil by MGSport.​

There may be cheaper ones though.

 

[Inka]

Thank you for your response. Well yes, I did alter my diet to very low carb after I was diagnosed as Type 1 diabetic, and this change has helped enormously to enable me to keep blood glucose levels steady so that my A1cs tend to be around 40. I have tried tonic water but that did not seem to make any difference to the cramps or other pain type, and I already take magnesium but am not clear how much magnesium would be appropriate for this? When I get this problem it is usually in the early hours when I am in bed, and what I have to do is simply get up and put all my weight on the leg or legs, and this is it seems the only thing that controls it so far....

For cramps the gel is much better @Christus Blake Try this one:

Better You Magnesium Gel

I had awful cramps last Summer and it worked almost immediately. Brilliant stuff.

 

[rebrascora]

Do you guys use the gel as a preventative or as a treatment when the cramp strikes?

I very occasionally get cramps in a leg like that and as you say, the only thing to do is to put it on the floor and stand on it which also hurts like stink but does alleviate it. It happened a couple of weeks back for me just after I got Covid. I think I was drinking a lot more than usual and had perhaps flushed salts out of my system and was depleted of something. As you say, it usually happens whist you are in bed asleep. Really painful and scary, because the muscle goes rock hard. Thankfully I very rarely get it and haven't had another episode since.

 

[Inka]

@rebrascora It can be either. I rub a (fat) pea-sized amount on the back of each calf muscle just before bed. I’ve been ok for months so I’ve stopped using it, but when I had the most awful cramps I used it every night for some weeks. It absolutely cured mine and I always keep a tube in the house. If I even start to feel a twinge of something, I use it.

 

[trophywench]

er, rather than ordinary cramp, since you mention poor circulation in legs, which I have IF THEY GET TOO COLD since I certainly have PAD myself I MUST keep my feet and legs warm in the evening and keep wiggling my toes and moving my feet whilst sitting about relaxing - otherwise terrible cramp in my insteps in bed.

 

[Eddy Edson]

Me too. I get woken up about one night in two by calf cramps, certainly due to my peripheral artery disease (PAD), a condition which is way under-diagnosed & which is certainly worht investigating for anybody with circulation problems, leg cramps, etc.

Magnesium has been completely useles and while it may work for a few people in general there is no evidence to support it. See eg the Cochrane review: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD009402.pub3/full

Cardiologist Rohin Francis gets really bad night cramps. He produced this video:

a few months ago which you may or may not find entertaining as well as informative. (I'd ignore the part at the end where he goes on about some coaching app.) He found no good evidence, as against anecdotes, for any treatment, but as his own anecdote he finds some relief from stretching exercises.