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Morning headaches in Type 1 Diabetes
by MonikaC2k7, Feb 26, 2008 08:08AM
Hello,
I am a 38 year old white female with Type 1 diabetes for 22 years. I also suffer from severe Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy in my feet and hands as well as retinopathy in both eyes. I am treated with Neurontin, 800 mg TID and Elavil, 150 mg at bedtime. I am also recovering from a broken ankle and use Tylenol for pain. My Diabetes is controlled with an insulin pump. I take two units per hour and cover carbohydrates with a 1:15 correction factor.
Each morning I awake with an excruciating headache and a stiff neck. In order to get out of bed, I must squeeze my head tightly and move slowly. Also, my hands and face are swollen. I have slso noticed the third and fourth fingers on my left hand have "drooped". In other words, they uncontrollably cross. This has been going on for over two weeks now. The headaches continue for a couple of hours. Do you think it could be medication related? My endocrinologist cannot offer any answers and feels I would be worse off to discontinue any of my current medications. However, the headaches have significantly worsened my quality of life. Can you offer any advice?
Thank you,
MonikaC2k7
I am a 38 year old white female with Type 1 diabetes for 22 years. I also suffer from severe Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy in my feet and hands as well as retinopathy in both eyes. I am treated with Neurontin, 800 mg TID and Elavil, 150 mg at bedtime. I am also recovering from a broken ankle and use Tylenol for pain. My Diabetes is controlled with an insulin pump. I take two units per hour and cover carbohydrates with a 1:15 correction factor.
Each morning I awake with an excruciating headache and a stiff neck. In order to get out of bed, I must squeeze my head tightly and move slowly. Also, my hands and face are swollen. I have slso noticed the third and fourth fingers on my left hand have "drooped". In other words, they uncontrollably cross. This has been going on for over two weeks now. The headaches continue for a couple of hours. Do you think it could be medication related? My endocrinologist cannot offer any answers and feels I would be worse off to discontinue any of my current medications. However, the headaches have significantly worsened my quality of life. Can you offer any advice?
Thank you,
MonikaC2k7
Post Comment
For how long have you experienced the headaches?
Have you always suffered from headaches before?
I suggest you undergo a complete assessment. You have mentioned of a stiff neck in the mornings. At this point, we may be thinking that the headaches may be due to the medications, however with diabetes, neuropathies or nerve related disorders ,these may present with headaches and other manifestaions.
A cervical spine CT scan may be able to help exclude any nerve impingement or arthritic causes of pain.A cardiac evaluation ( EKG and 2D Echo) , carotid duplex scan and an EMG of the extremities and duplex scans of peripheral blood vessels in the extremities may be able to help. Decreased blood flow and nerve related disorders which may be present in patients with diabetes may manifest as pain and numbness.
In addition, I suggest that you also have your kidney function assessed. A 24 urine collection for urine protein levels and serum protein albumin levels will be able to help.
Diabetes affects all organs of the body.It is important to continue maintenance medications and to keep a close follow up with your physicians. The eyes, the heart and kidneys should be periodically assessed.
Discuss with your physician pain management strategies that may help alleviate the pain while further evaluation is being done.