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Worried to death
- Thread starter teresa
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Northerner
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- Type 1
Hi Teresa, welcome to the forum 🙂 I'm very sorry to hear about your son's diagnosis. Has he been diagnosed long? Has he been given any medication for the problem? We do have members here with neuropathy, so hopefully they will be along to share their experiences. I'll put this in the General Messageboard so that more people may see it.
Hi Teresa. How does the neuropathy effect your son. What sort of pains is he getting. My neuropathy was diagnosed a couple of years ago and at that stage was very painful. It is unusual as the pain can manifest itself in different ways it is normally a constant dull pain which can be oversensitive to touch but the bit I found hardest to cope with was the shooting pains which came frequently and without warning. At times it almost felt like an electric shock!
I was initially prescribed Amitriptyline which had very little effect but now am on Gabapentin three times a day and must say that the difference is amazing. I do still have the constant dull pain and numbness but the shooting pains are almost non existent.
If you son is in pain hopefully they will find some medication which helps him. The main thing is that he will need to really look after his feet. The condistion will also improve if he keeps his sugars under control. Have his doctors given any advice or care instructions?
I appreciate that you are probably very concerned for your son but my experiences and improvement in the condition have been great and I am sure he can achieve the same.
I was initially prescribed Amitriptyline which had very little effect but now am on Gabapentin three times a day and must say that the difference is amazing. I do still have the constant dull pain and numbness but the shooting pains are almost non existent.
If you son is in pain hopefully they will find some medication which helps him. The main thing is that he will need to really look after his feet. The condistion will also improve if he keeps his sugars under control. Have his doctors given any advice or care instructions?
I appreciate that you are probably very concerned for your son but my experiences and improvement in the condition have been great and I am sure he can achieve the same.
My neuropathy was diagnosed a few years ago in the feet, with the symptoms of pins and needles, also the feeling of the feet being hot and cold at will.
Once its set in its a permanent condition, if caught very early on and BS levels brought back down quickly it may be eased to a less noticeable level. Treatment is by relieving the symptoms, which was at first for me the use of an epileptic medication, then more recently which I believe is the general treatment now is by an antidepressant amitriptyline.
He may will still get the feelings of pins / needles and hot / cold feelings but the meds do help. When my BS levels go high the pain rises so alerts me that if not already recognised levels are rising and need to double check my BS.
Once its set in its a permanent condition, if caught very early on and BS levels brought back down quickly it may be eased to a less noticeable level. Treatment is by relieving the symptoms, which was at first for me the use of an epileptic medication, then more recently which I believe is the general treatment now is by an antidepressant amitriptyline.
He may will still get the feelings of pins / needles and hot / cold feelings but the meds do help. When my BS levels go high the pain rises so alerts me that if not already recognised levels are rising and need to double check my BS.
PattiEvans
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In my own experience the neuropathy has been reversible. I had it badly in my feet when my BGs were in the 30s+ at diagnosis, but with good control I now have perfect feeling in my feet and no pain. I also used the Diabetic Neuropathy cocktail - see http://www.diabetes-support.org.uk/info/?page_id=597. I do hope this helps because I totally understand your worry.
what about No pain.But Itching severly
I need someone to talk to i hear about pain,
but my feet on top ankles and legs up to knee is Itching Im going insane.Does anyone have this.Im type 1 metforum.and the pill i cant stand it do you think my kidneys are gone. why am i scratching so bad
I need someone to talk to i hear about pain,
but my feet on top ankles and legs up to knee is Itching Im going insane.Does anyone have this.Im type 1 metforum.and the pill i cant stand it do you think my kidneys are gone. why am i scratching so bad
Northerner
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I need someone to talk to i hear about pain,
but my feet on top ankles and legs up to knee is Itching Im going insane.Does anyone have this.Im type 1 metforum.and the pill i cant stand it do you think my kidneys are gone. why am i scratching so bad
Hi poopsie, welcome to the forum 🙂 What does your doctor have to say about it? It may not be related to your diabetes.
Hello poopsie, have you legs/ankles swollen in the heat? Mine used to do that a lot, and I got cellulitis (a skin infection) several times each summer. Dreadful itching, only stopped after antibiotics, Flucloxacillin, and when the weather cooled down. I don't get it any more since losing weight.
Hi there. My son Elliot was diagnosed a couple of weeks ago by his GP following the symptoms that he was given. Elliot has been put on Duloxetine, the side effects are awful but GP said to persevere. The pain has been present for at least a year!! When he complained to me of numbness and swelling of his feet a few months ago I told him he needed to see GP urgently. He didn't so I finally told the Doc myself and he called Elliot in to see him.
Elliot has never accepted his Diabetes, his HbA1c has nearly always been high. At present it's 10.5!! Liver function tests are abnormal and doc says liver is enlarged. E is very difficult to deal with at times and uses cannabis to blot everything out! I and my husband have tried a million ways to help him but nothing has worked. E has had Diabetes since he was 8yrs old. Thank you so much for your reply. Am I answering your message in the right place?
Thank you LeeLee, I really appreciate it. xxx
Hi Brendan. My son's pain sounds just like what you describe including the electric shock! He has only told me about it in the last week or two and I was horrified to hear that he's had these problems for at least a year. Elliot has been put on Duloxetene for the pain and it's also a major antidepressant. The side effects he's getting are awful but doc said to persevere.
Elliot has had lots of good advice consistently over the years and I and my husband have almost given our right arms to help him take care of himself....blood glucose control, feet, eyes, etc. He has been in hospital many many times with DKA. He smokes cannabis and has done for years, he misses hospital and Gp appointments. I sometimes think he should be admitted to a Psychiatric unit to prevent him from this self harming and self neglect. But as the saying goes...you can take a horse to water but you can't make it drink! Thanks so much for your reply. I'm so glad I joined the forum.
Thanks Caroline. My son is seeing the Podiatrist next week and I'm taking him myself to make sure he goes! 🙂
Hi Pav. Thanks a lot for your reply. It's interesting to hear you say that your pain increases when BS rises. I'll pass that on to my son Elliot. I'm wondering how long you had symptoms of Neuropathy before it was diagnosed? Elliot has had symptoms for at least a year. He has abused and neglected himself for many years and now his GP has said he has an enlarged liver. GP has set up appointments with/for Endoscopy, Abdo ultrasound, Podiatrist, Dietician etc. I keep on hoping that Elliot will see sense and I can't understand what he's thinking to neglect himself so much. Thanks for listening. Teresa
Gosh thank you Pattidevans, that's very reassuring. Up to now my son's diagnosis feels like a death sentence to me and I keep thinking about amputations!! He's just had his eyes checked and has mild (level 1) Retinopathy with quite a lot of Microaneurysms. That was a relief because I was scared it would be a lot worse. He isn't nearly as upset about the neuropathy in his feet and legs as I am and several days after his diagnosis his BS was 33+ !! I get so angry at times. I will check out the links you sent me and thanks a lot for your help. 🙂
megga
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Sorry to here about all the problems, it can be hard to come to terms with it all and denile is common with diabetes. I just did not bother about it a few years back, i used to go out drinking and drop into a coma, it was a regular thing. I could go for two to three days without taking any insulin. No matter what any one says or does, untill he comes to terms your fighting a battle.
I wish o could give you some magic advice, but theres nothing i could say to help much. This aint much but does he still live at home?? is so you can do a little (and its not much but its a start) try only getting food that has a lower GI and carbs, it will help a little, but tell its because you or some one else in the family is either on a diet or want to get a bit more healthy, as if he knows its for him he may just rebel against that.
the food part on this site has loads of advice, the chicken in coke sounds awful, but its very very nice and very low carbs and has now become a family fav in our house.
I wish o could give you some magic advice, but theres nothing i could say to help much. This aint much but does he still live at home?? is so you can do a little (and its not much but its a start) try only getting food that has a lower GI and carbs, it will help a little, but tell its because you or some one else in the family is either on a diet or want to get a bit more healthy, as if he knows its for him he may just rebel against that.
the food part on this site has loads of advice, the chicken in coke sounds awful, but its very very nice and very low carbs and has now become a family fav in our house.
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