Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Pat on April 30, 2013 at 3:24pm

Adding grated parmesan cheese to your soup will make it much more flavorful; some garlic will also help and it's good for you.... plus, it'll keep vampires at bay, lol.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Cosumne Jan on December 21, 2011 at 10:02pm

I have fairly severe peripheral neuropathy in my feet, as well as autonomic neuropathy, and three years ago I had amyotrophic neuropathy. I have never, however, had any pain. Reading everyone's stories, I almost feel guilty about that, and it makes me wonder because I've never read of anyone else who has no pain. My A1Cs have been 5.3 or less for 3 years. The muscle damage from the amyotrophic neuropathy has pretty much recovered, but I haven't noticed any improvement in my nerves, even with good blood sugar control. I take metformin, alpha lipoic acid, and benfotiamine, but nothing else. My gait is pretty stumbly and I have to watch my toes closely, but I'm upright and walking these days. My feet are actually pretty bony, if they swell something is up. Earlier this year I had Charcot in one foot. The podiatrist said it was because of the neuropathy. Some days it's like I woke up with someone else's feet at the end of my legs. They're certainly not the ones I grew up with.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Brian (bsc) on December 22, 2011 at 5:03am

I have come to beleive that there are two factors that contribute to complications with peripheral neuropathy. The first is obviously that high blood sugars cause nerve damage. But the second is that high blood sugars impair circulation and poor circulation contributes to nerve problems and most importantly impairs the healing process. Dr. B believes that you can heal from peripheral neuropathy although it may take years. It may be that your healing is just slow. Perhaps you could work on improving the circulation in your feet. Perhaps something you could discuss with your podiatrist? Activities such as swimming may be really good as they are safe and effective. And never give up, have faith that you can get better.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by debb on December 23, 2011 at 3:42am

unfortunately my neuropathy in my feet while being aggraveted by my diabetes comes from being partly flatfooted. i spent 18 years working in a convience store on cement floors. i was constantly pivoting and running from one end of the store to the other. because of it i had to make a big decision. my doctor finally told me if i didn't quit my job i would be in a wheelchair within two years. i was distroying the nerves in my feet around my toes and the top of my feet. i don't have a lot of pain but i do have a lot of tingling like when my foot fallls asleep and if i am on my feet for prolonged periods of time it feels like i am walking on a rock. it always feels like my toes are swollen to twice their size but when i check them out the are normal size, it's just the tingling. the gabapentin i take helps with the tingling, swollen feeling. i was hoping that with my quitting working on cement floors it would help reduce all of that but we think i waited too long to quit my job and the damage is too severe to reverese. other then not being able to be on my feet for long periods of time i am resigned to the fact that at least for me my neuropathy will always be with me. lol, i have one little exercise that i do whenever i don't have shoes on. it comes from my having restless leg syndrome. i am constantly wiggling my toes. it reallty helps. when i married my husband i had to stop rocking myself to sleep because he couldn't stand the bed moving when he was in it. at the time my rls wasn't so bad so i taught myself to just wiggle my toes so that i could go to sleep and he didn't have the bed moving. it worked for almost 30 years then my rls started getting bad and i finally had to go on meds to help me from going crazy and taking my husband with me. to our dismay, both of our kids also have early stages of rls. like me, my daughter is alreally taking ropinerole for it, my son just has the contant wiggling of his legs for now but it will also get to the point where he has to take medicine for it. if you saw me you would have to laugh because with having both the nerve damage and the rls i'm like a jack-in-the-box.up, down, up, down all day long. it can get aggravitng at times but at least in the evenings after i take my meds i can at least sit down and enjoy tv for an hour or so. the one thing i miss is being able to sleep in in the mornings. the neuropathy and rls have me up by 5 am everyday. i sure do miss my sleep ins.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Cathy Jacobson on December 25, 2011 at 10:21am

I agree get an appointment with a foot doc who knows something about diabetic foot problems. I had neuropathy for awhile, but it never hangs on, what I found I had was gout in my feet, and the neuropathy wasn't helped by that. Took some meds and for two weeks (they actually helped the pain immediately) and haven't had any problems since. But let's face it GP's, Family docs, can't know it all, so check with the specialist.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Pat on April 30, 2013 at 3:20pm

Hello, Kristy :-)
Did th swelling appear slowly, over an extended period of time? Is it just your feet or does it start in your lower legs? Do you have any shortness of breath? Has your urinary output changed? Are you on any new meds? Is the swelling always present or only at certain times of the day?
It may be due neuropathy; could also be due to nerve problems in your lower spine, or fluid overload.
P.S. Be wary of doctors who are only too happy to shut us up by prescribing more meds or advising some OTC meds. She should be investigating and take your complaints seriously!
Hope you will keep us posted.

• ▶ Reply

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next ›
• Page