Numbness left leg § left hand

[outdoordave]

I am 22 years old.  Diabetes runs in my family.  I have had a problem with sitting down for the past 2 years.  My left leg falls asleep within a few minutes of sitting down.  Over the period of a year and a half, I was checked out for neurological problems by both a neurologist and a neurosurgeon (resulting in NO additional information as to causes for my symptoms of my leg falling asleep).  For the past two weeks, my left hand (primarily my pinky finger) has been having a similar numb/asleep sensation.  It appears that my left pinky finger's fingernail on the far-corner seems to be dying/getting no circulation, as it is a different color than the rest of my fingernail.  The discolored part isn't necrotic by any means, just a noticibly lighter shade than the rest of my fingernail and the discoloration is where I feel most of the numbness (it isn't a huge portion of the nail - maybe a tenth to a fifth of the fingernail).  I wondered if these could be symptoms of diabetes.  Thank you in advance for any suggestions/comments.

-David.

[JDRF-Team-cd]

David, I recently spoke with a lady who had similar problems and, after numerous tests like the ones you had, was finally diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. She already exhibited the symptoms of peripheral neuropathy (a complication of diabetes).  You didn't mention which type of diabetes you have in your family but my guess is it is Type 2. One of the most common complications of diabetes is diabetic neuropathy.  Neuropathy means damage to the nerves that run throughout the body, connecting the spinal cord to muscles, skin, blood vessels, and other organs.

I think you are kind of young though to have already developed neuropathy.  People who have had diabetes for a long time before they even realize it may already have complications upon diagnosis.  And those with diabetes that is out of control may develop neuropathy.

Since you have family members with diabetes, can you use their blood sugar monitor to check your blood sugar.  If your fasting blood sugar is 126 mg/dl or over you should call your doctor.  Or visit your doctor and have him/her check for you. It is a simple test and may give you a little peace of mind if you have it done.

It is better to be safe than sorry.

I hope this helps.  Have a wonderful holiday season.

[JDRF-Team-LRS]

CD gives you great advice.  I'd also suggest that you look into things that might've thrown off your musculo-skeletal system such that perhaps some nerves get pinched when you're in certain positions.

I know that chiropractic work receives mixed reviews from the medical community, but perhaps your doc can suggest someone who's reputable and can help you learn about posture, stretching and other ways to ensure that you keep good circulation & nerve messaging.

Good luck -- do let us know what you find out, okay?

[sanosteam]

Some relief at last.  I have been having a num hand and leg for the past 2 weeks.  I first went to the emergency room thinking that this might be a stroke or a brain tumor.  In my case my face was not num so its not a stroke then my cat scan showed no presser on the brain so that rolled out the tumor. I had no fever so that rules out lime disease. Then I went to a chiropractor and we discussed the bad economy and I left his office without real results or an answer to why my left hand and leg getting num knowing the hand nerves are not linked to the leg in any way.
I tested everything.
my family doctor referred me to do EMG test (nerve conducting test) so he can narrow down the search.  But I could not wait 3 weeks for an answer. I was at least going to one appointment a day along my search on the internet. Changed my caved mattress, start sleeping on my back, changed my exercise and start walking the other side of the sloped rd.  yes the road I was walking every day was uneven. I also change my shoes, changed the way I sit when I drive…..start sleeping on the floor to keep my back straight.  I start to see some improvement in the numbness a week later But I could not get any one to say why is this happening.   I called a neurologist overseas to speech freely.  He asked if the cat scan was ok, if my face was num and if the numbness wake me up during sleep.  He didn’t think that it was too bad for my case and it can be easily determine if this is a pinched nerve.  
Chiropractic
I was referred to a young chiropractor who is just beginning his practice and had a system in place that take signposting very serious.   I was impressed by the equipment he used on me on the spot. Look like a scanner that is hooked up to his laptop and showed a diagram of my spinal cord temperatures.  It was very obvious that the screen showed exactly the areas that pinched around my left hand and another one that pinched the lower back specially L2 and L3 in my case.  now I’m hoping to get my back aligned and I will be careful this time on how I live.  The bottom line is this.  If you have num face, lost sight, or favor. Go to the emergency room and get checked.  If you have a num leg or num hand or combination of more than one, it could be a pinched nerve.  My advice is to search and find a good chiropractor, not the kid interested in accident injures.  Ask if they can do the thermo imaging test on your spine, it could be stress area that causing the numbness.  
Week three
I’m feeling some improvement after my 3ed visit.  But I’m still sleeping on my back on the floor until I get my firm mattress.