Newbie seeking help.

[J.F]

Hi All
I’m type 2 and doing quite well after suffering a heart attack and 1 stent fitted back in April. It gave me a kick up the backside to exercise, eat well and constantly monitor sugar levels. Aged 58 I have now reversed my type 2 and no longer take metformin. In all I have lost 10kg and are now right weight for my height (BMI 23).
My main concern was experiencing peripheral neuropathy in my feet for the first time ever and the pain has been excruciating for months. I thought it may be due to over exercising. Doctor thought it was new nerves regenerating in my feet due to having lowered my sugars to a normal range? I refused further medication and bought a cream called “Topricin” which I can highly recommend. This helped tremendously but is not a cure.
I have researched online what medication could possibly cause my foot pain and to cut a long story short I think it’s due to me having to take Atorvastatin following my heart attack.
I’ve never had high cholesterol and I think the statins are reducing it too low and in turn affecting my peripheral nerves. I have joined this forum to see if others have experienced anything similar. I have halved my daily tablet to see what happens. Only 3 days in and I feel something is working in my favour. I will update in a few weeks to notify if this has helped with my pain and hopefully somehow help others. If this fails, my next plan of action is to try acupuncture. Again, if others have tried this procedure please advise on any good or bad outcomes. Thank you in advance.
Regards
J.F

 

[Lily123]

Welcome to the forum @J.F

 

[J.F]

Thank you Lily123

 

[ianf0ster]

Hi All
I’m type 2 and doing quite well after suffering a heart attack and 1 stent fitted back in April. It gave me a kick up the backside to exercise, eat well and constantly monitor sugar levels. Aged 58 I have now reversed my type 2 and no longer take metformin. In all I have lost 10kg and are now right weight for my height (BMI 23).
My main concern was experiencing peripheral neuropathy in my feet for the first time ever and the pain has been excruciating for months. I thought it may be due to over exercising. Doctor thought it was new nerves regenerating in my feet due to having lowered my sugars to a normal range? I refused further medication and bought a cream called “Topricin” which I can highly recommend. This helped tremendously but is not a cure.
I have researched online what medication could possibly cause my foot pain and to cut a long story short I think it’s due to me having to take Atorvastatin following my heart attack.
I’ve never had high cholesterol and I think the statins are reducing it too low and in turn affecting my peripheral nerves. I have joined this forum to see if others have experienced anything similar. I have halved my daily tablet to see what happens. Only 3 days in and I feel something is working in my favour. I will update in a few weeks to notify if this has helped with my pain and hopefully somehow help others. If this fails, my next plan of action is to try acupuncture. Again, if others have tried this procedure please advise on any good or bad outcomes. Thank you in advance.
Regards
J.F

Your pain may be due to Atorvastatin which can cause muscular pains, though it is more usual with Simvastatin.
Alternatively even if you have reduced your HbA1C down to pre-diabetic or even 'normal' levels it is still possible to get diabetic neuropathy due to prior nerve damage. Though some report that this is sometimes reversible if Blood Glucose levels are kept low for a few years.

 

[J.F]

Hi Ian
Thank you very much for your reply and your comforting words. I appreciate the pain may be due to prior nerve damage but I never once experienced this before normalising my sugar levels. Could possibly be coincidence? Back in July (3 months after heart attack) I had my annual diabetic eye test and the guy testing me was a marathon runner and I told him about the foot pain and he said sometimes the nerves can regenerate when sugars are controlled. He said the re-growing process is very painful and he sympathised as he had experienced similar pain from damaging his feet whilst running. The mystery continues….although I hope I don’t have to wait years for it to subside.
Best regards.

 

[trophywench]

Nerves regenerating is ruddy painful - so I sincerely hope it is that! - that sounds horrible, but I mean maybe it could be easier to bear being as it's something good?

 

[Eddy Edson]

Why do you think it might have something to do with the statin?

Anyway, I'm years into "reversal" and still get annoying foot neuropathy - maybe a bit better than at time of T2D diagnosis.

It seems to get triggered sometimes when I push the walking. I suspect also that blood flow probs contribute - I have a blocked artery in one leg & the neuropathy is more of a prob in that foot.

Kind of resigned to it at this point ...

EDIT: Should say that for me, amount of sleep seems to have a big impact. YMMV!

 

[J.F]

Nerves regenerating is ruddy painful - so I sincerely hope it is that! - that sounds horrible, but I mean maybe it could be easier to bear being as it's something good?

Hi trophywench
Thank you for your comments and sympathy. I fully understand your reasoning about it leading to something good. Fingers crossed (and legs)!

 

[J.F]

Why do you think it might have something to do with the statin?

Anyway, I'm years into "reversal" and still get annoying foot neuropathy - maybe a bit better than at time of T2D diagnosis.

It seems to get triggered sometimes when I push the walking. I suspect also that blood flow probs contribute - I have a blocked artery in one leg & the neuropathy is more of a prob in that foot.

Kind of resigned to it at this point ...

EDIT: Should say that for me, amount of sleep seems to have a big impact. YMMV!

Hi Eddy
I’m purely clutching at straws and experimenting due to the pain involved. I have read some papers online that link statins with peripheral neuropathy, so thought I would halve my tablet for a few weeks to see if helps in anyway? Glad to hear your years into reversal but not so glad about your condition. I wish you well and take on board your comments re the amount of sleep. Something else for me to monitor!

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @J.F

Did the improvement in your BG levels happen over a fairly short time frame?

There is a fairly well studied (and temporary) form of neuropathy which can be triggered by rapid improvements in BG levels, sometimes called Transient Treatment-Induced Neuropathy. Generally this resolves in a few months / year or so.

Hopefully if that’s the case for you, it will resolve before too long.

 

[J.F]

Welcome to the forum @J.F

Did the improvement in your BG levels happen over a fairly short time frame?

There is a fairly well studied (and temporary) form of neuropathy which can be triggered by rapid improvements in BG levels, sometimes called Transient Treatment-Induced Neuropathy. Generally this resolves in a few months / year or so.

Hopefully if that’s the case for you, it will resolve before too long.

Hi everydayupsanddowns
Thank you for your reply. This is exactly the reason why I joined this forum. What you have communicated has given me great hope and I will be sure to research Transient Treatment-Induced Neuropathy. Yes my BG levels dropped almost instantly. The day I left hospital following my heart attack and fitted stent was the day I took my diabetes seriously and I walk, run, weight train most days and eat sensibly. Up until that day I never once experienced any nerve pain whatsoever so what you are suggesting may very well be the case. I hope with my limited knowledge I can help others in a similar way.
Regards
J.F

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Hi everydayupsanddowns
Thank you for your reply. This is exactly the reason why I joined this forum. What you have communicated has given me great hope and I will be sure to research Transient Treatment-Induced Neuropathy. Yes my BG levels dropped almost instantly. The day I left hospital following my heart attack and fitted stent was the day I took my diabetes seriously and I walk, run, weight train most days and eat sensibly. Up until that day I never once experienced any nerve pain whatsoever so what you are suggesting may very well be the case. I hope with my limited knowledge I can help others in a similar way.
Regards
J.F

This is a basic overview

Treatment induced diabetic neuropathy– a reversible painful autonomic neuropathy - PMC

To describe the natural history, clinical, neurophysiological and histological features and outcomes of diabetic patients presenting with acute painful neuropathy associated with glycemic control, also referred to as ‘insulin neuritis’. Sixteen ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Also once called insulin neuritis I think

 

[J.F]

Thank you once again……I’ve just spent the last hour researching your thread and other info online and I’m 100% confident it is TIDN. I’m surprised I haven’t come across this before during my research. Just for information my HbA1c went from 8.7% down to 5.4% very quickly. I did notice my eyesight went a bit blurry for a weeks but got better soon after. This again seems to a symptom of TIDN. Also, as you suggest my foot pain should subside in time. Knowing this makes the current pain a bit more bearable.
All the best
J.F

PS. I’m extremely impressed with how this forum has helped so quickly. As a thank you to all I have just bought a book from the shop and made an additional donation.