My friend has recently been diagnosed with type 2 and also diabetic neuropathy. he is in so much pain that he cannot have anything touch his feet or legs, he screams in pain if even a thin bed sheet touches him. he is also freezing cold all the time yet cannot wear trousers due to the leg pain. so far no pain medication has worked and he is so miserable. does anyone have any advice or any meds that worked for you?
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Neuropathy - please help
- Thread starter GregSky
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rebrascora
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Hi and welcome.
Oh goodness! So sorry to hear of the agony your friend is suffering. I am however really pleased that you have found the forum in order to help him. There is a wealth of experience here which hopefully can provide some suggestions for your friend to try.
Firstly, do you know what yoyr friend's HbA1c result was. This is the blood test result used to diagnose diabetes and monitor our management of it. It is usually a number in excess of 47 if we have a formal diagnosis but can be up into 3 figures if things have gone badly astray with our in built blood glucose management system. Bringing levels slowly and steadily back down into range is important and once into range, doing our best to stabilize it without too many spikes after meals helps to reduce nerve pain .
High BG levels, particularly long term, cause damage to the small blood vessels and nerves in our body, particularly vulnerable are our feet, eyes and kidneys. If your friend has only recently been diagnosed I wonder if he has perhaps had diabetes much longer and it has only just been discovered or perhaps he has attempted to reduce his levels too quickly if the neuropathy has just started since his diagnosis and he started on medication and/or dietary changes.
Do you know what if any diabetes medication he has been prescribed and what if any dietary changes he has made to help manage his diabetes?
The two medications that I have heard mentioned by others for neuropathy are Gabapentin and Pregabalin. Has he tried either of these medications to treat the pain. Getting his BG levels in range and more stable will also be a key factor though most likeluy through medication and dietary changes and exercise if he is able. He may also benefit from a vitamin B12 supplement which is important for nerve health.
I believe @Pattidevans has a recipe for a supplement cocktail which is I believe prescribed by some doctors in Europe and has proved effective in managing neuropathic pain but is not prescribed in the UK. The supplements can however be bought and combined as a treatment by a patient themselves.
The more information about your friends current treatment and what drugs he has tried will help others relate to his situation and make other recommendations.
Oh goodness! So sorry to hear of the agony your friend is suffering. I am however really pleased that you have found the forum in order to help him. There is a wealth of experience here which hopefully can provide some suggestions for your friend to try.
Firstly, do you know what yoyr friend's HbA1c result was. This is the blood test result used to diagnose diabetes and monitor our management of it. It is usually a number in excess of 47 if we have a formal diagnosis but can be up into 3 figures if things have gone badly astray with our in built blood glucose management system. Bringing levels slowly and steadily back down into range is important and once into range, doing our best to stabilize it without too many spikes after meals helps to reduce nerve pain .
High BG levels, particularly long term, cause damage to the small blood vessels and nerves in our body, particularly vulnerable are our feet, eyes and kidneys. If your friend has only recently been diagnosed I wonder if he has perhaps had diabetes much longer and it has only just been discovered or perhaps he has attempted to reduce his levels too quickly if the neuropathy has just started since his diagnosis and he started on medication and/or dietary changes.
Do you know what if any diabetes medication he has been prescribed and what if any dietary changes he has made to help manage his diabetes?
The two medications that I have heard mentioned by others for neuropathy are Gabapentin and Pregabalin. Has he tried either of these medications to treat the pain. Getting his BG levels in range and more stable will also be a key factor though most likeluy through medication and dietary changes and exercise if he is able. He may also benefit from a vitamin B12 supplement which is important for nerve health.
I believe @Pattidevans has a recipe for a supplement cocktail which is I believe prescribed by some doctors in Europe and has proved effective in managing neuropathic pain but is not prescribed in the UK. The supplements can however be bought and combined as a treatment by a patient themselves.
The more information about your friends current treatment and what drugs he has tried will help others relate to his situation and make other recommendations.
Inka
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Sometimes neuropathy can temporarily worsen if blood glucose improves (as it’s probably done since his diagnosis). Can you give a few more details eg what was his HbA1C at diagnosis, is he on any diabetes meds, has he changed his diet?
Alpha Lipoic Acid is prescribed in Europe for neuropathy. The R form is best but more expensive. A relative of mine had non-diabetic neuropathy and had excellent results with the normal form of ALA at a dose of 600mg per day, along with Benfotiamine, a Vit B complex tablet, sub-lingual Vit B12 and a couple of other things (I’d have to check what). But the ALA plus B vits is a good place to start. Obviously if no contraindications, etc. You can get ALA on Amazon. Choose a reputable make. In order to take 600mg daily, it will be pricey to start with, but after 3 months or so, the dose can often be lowered to a maintenance dose. If your friend is on insulin, caution them that ALA can sometimes cause a reduction in insulin needs so they’d need to watch their blood sugar wasn’t going too low.
i have been suffering with neuropathy for close to 3 years now in my legs and feet and know the pain is unbearable especially seems to be worse on the nights different things work differently for people from what have been finding on the net and my gp has tried me on lots of different medications over the past 2 years ive found that codeine phosphate 30mg x 2 help me but the down siide is the longer you take them the shorter the relief cycle personally im trying to reduce the amount i take as its not an addiction i want in the future so i just suffer at one point i was taking 360mg to 420mg per day more recently i am down to 60mg to 180mg per day but along side that i have reduced my hb1c from nearly 80 to 39 i have started taking alot of vitamins including the lipoic acid i seen above also i foudn on the web that l-carntine can help some people these are natural things found in foods
along side this which i have had no help with from my doctors i have found waring compression sleves on my legs and socks with a flece like material inside help also waring sketchers really soft soled trainers have helped me more recenlty i have moved on to some diabetic socks i found on amazon that are £10 a pair but worth the money they have padding in the palces that your feet hurt and compression i also bought some propper nike compression sleves for when i exorsise and just some cheap one that are £1 form £1 shop to whare the rest of the day
if your friend drinks alchol they may want to redcue that to i used to drink to much which took the pain away at the time but the enxt day it comes back worse and its a bad cycle
also what my doctor did not recommended which i would if your friend has not yet get refreed to see a podiatrist also diabetic neuropathy is not a thing nueropath is the problem which is caused by diabetes amongst other things and i am in the proces now of having my doctor refering me to a specialist to determine which of the 4 types of neuropathy i have i would recoomned your friend does the same
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