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Hello

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V

Verona 88

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
I have just joined this forum and I am looking forward to learning even more from you all. I have had type 2 for about 10 years and been ok ish but recently I have been a bit more concerned.
To be honest I am not sticking strictly to what I should be doing - I'm not doing things properly.
I recently retired (late retirement) I owned a small childcare nursery and was very active in all areas of the setting. Now, I am not doing the 'running around' and not walking, moving anywhere near as much as I was.
I have a phone appointment with the diabetic nurse next week.
I would like to speak to her about the symptoms of diabetic neuropathy. Has anyone suffered from this - what are the symptoms? I have looked it up online but it would be better, I feel, if someone that has experience of this can comment.

I hope its OK to ask questions on my first posting?

Thankyou

V
 
Welcome @Verona. Good to hear from you. There will be many experienced people happy to answer any queries you have 🙂
 
I had neuropathy a few years ago when my diabetes was extremely badly controlled and I was living a pretty unhealthy lifestyle (lots of alcohol).

I dont think I had it badly but I would feel quite sudden and painful 'twinges' in my feet. Usually shooting up the sole of the foot or along the base. They would come and go within a matter of seconds, usually intermittent bouts.

After improving control my neuropathy has eased and I'm lucky if I have a random twinge once ir twice a year now. I havent lost any sensation in my feet despite my hba1c running a bit high.

Definitely speak to the nurse about it though - and maybe just take extra precautions to take care of your legs and feet during lockdown.
 
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Hi @Verona, welcome to the forum!

Feel free to ask as many questions as you like! We're here to help and offer our experiences whilst supporting you along your journey.

There has been a few mentions of neuropathy so hopefully someone with experience will be along soon.
 
Hi and welcome from me too.
My only experience of neuropathy was tingly feelings and really bad pins and needles in my lower legs when I hunkered down even for short periods. What symptoms are you experiencing?
Controlling your BG levels should help if it is related to diabetes.
How are you managing your diabetes? Medication or diet and exercise? If medication, what are you taking? Are you happy to share your most recent HbA1c result?
Do you self test your BG (Blood Glucose) levels? That can be really helpful in getting better control of your diabetes.
 
Hi thanks for replying
My symptoms are in my legs from my knees to my feet. I get a slight burning tingling sensation and it wakes me up quite a few times in the night. No pain though.
I have metformin tablets slow release 2x1000 g a morning.
I have a finger prick test but I ran out of test strips and my doctor said they are not prescribing them anymore!! So I can’t test my sugar levels. I have mentioned that at times I feel dizzy and faint but only when I’ve been doing a bit of gardening and not eaten for a while. He said just make sure you eat regularly and it shouldn’t happen.
I have had blood tests for quite a few things recently. The doc thinks I may have restless leg syndrome but when I looked it up online, I don’t have those symptoms!!
strange - but will talk to the nurse soon
Thanks for your replies and sorry for the long post - reading it back it sounds a bit whingy.
thanks again. Will let you know the outcome
 
It's not at all whingy! In any case, we encourage people to come on here and tell us the things that are bothering them, cos someone else has probably experienced things similar to you so if they found something that helped them, they can tell you about that and then you can decide if you'd like to try it or not.
 
If you GP is no longer prescribing test strips for you then you might be best investing in a new meter which has cheaper test strips to self fund. The SD Gluco Navii or the Spirit Healthcare Tee2 are the ones most frequently recommended by members here who self fund ... the meters are approx £15 and the test strips are £8 for a pot of 50 and are available to buy online... be sure to tick the box which confirms you are diabetic as then VAT is not charged. It may well be significantly cheaper to do this that to self fund test strips for the meter you already have but do some research yourself to figure out the best option for you.
Being able to test your own BG is invaluable in managing your diabetes (particularly in the current pandemic) and good management is really important in preventing or managing complications of diabetes like neuropathy, so even if you can't afford it yourself, perhaps family or friends would club together and fund it as an Easter present..... far better than a chocolate egg which will only make things worse. You might also want to try some vitamin B complex supplement as Metformin can affect your ability to absorb Vitamin B from your diet I believe and leave you deficient and this can cause issues with your nerves. I believe some people end up getting Vitamin B injections to get their levels back up so this might be something to discuss with your GP, to at least check your levels and rule out a vit B deficiency.

As Jenny says, part of the role of the forum is to provide a place where we can have a rant or a moan about the frustrations of diabetes and it's complications with people who face the same challenges, so feel free to winge when you need to although I didn't particularly detect it in your post and never apologise for long posts as they contain more info and that means we stand a better chance of understanding your situation and being able to give more appropriate suggestions Nothing more frustrating than people who type just one sentence and tell you no information but expect help.
 
Welcome to the forum @Verona 88

Sorry to hear that your test strips have been stopped by your Dr :(

Hopefully you will be able to self fund either the SD Gluco Navii or Spirit Tee2 - and keep the flow of information going.

The sensations in your legs do sound consistent with neuropathy from what you describe. My consultant told me that it usually appears on both sides of the body at once, and from the feet up.

Have you been attending your annual reviews? Do you usually get a ‘toe tickle’ to check your sensations, and your pulses checked? This should happen every year - but obviously thigns are a bit weird at the moment!

I’m tagging-in @KARNAK who has experience of neuropathy and may have some tips to share.
 
An update - after speaking to a triage doctor last week and a diabetic nurse yesterday.
The doctor said my blood count was 7.3 so not concerned about diabetes. He thinks I’m dehydrated as my blood test showed I was slightly dehydrated and has given me a prescription for cream for my legs and told me to drink more. I actually drink 2 litres plus, a day. To be honest I’m not so sure about his diagnosis. My legs aren’t dry, they don’t itch either but he said to give it two weeks. The nurse said she had no idea what it could be and agreed that I should give the cream for my legs a go!!
Surely if I was dehydrated then other areas would feel the same as my legs????
I think I will have to wait two weeks and contact the doctor. I will try to get an appointment as he will be able to see my legs aren’t dry etc.
Thank you for replying.
 
It’s me again!
ive been looking for a different starter kit. I have had One Touch Ultra 2 kit but my doctor won’t give more testing strips. Others on here suggested buying a new kit which proves cheaper to buy the test strips etc
I’ve looked at a couple online and I know you get good and bad reviews on everything so I wondered if anyone can recommend one that they are pleased with. That’s if it’s ok for you to do so.
Mamy thanks
 
The two which are most frequently recommended by people on the forum who self fund, for reliability and economy are the Gluco Navii and the Spirit Healthcare Tee2
 
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