Nerve Pain

[jen551432]

Hello Everyone,

I have had type 1 diabetes for seven years. I was diagnosed when I was 15 and am 22 now. I wanted to ask if any feels any nerve pain in their feet or hands? I feel a wave of nerve pain, sometimes stabbing, jolting, constantly in my hands and feet. Its mostly when my sugars are high but when they are normal, I still feel it.

Thank you

[YvonneFerguson]

Hi, Jen.  I am a Certified Diabetes educator from Oregon.  When blood sugars are elevated, too much sugar gets into the nerves and irritates them.   In time, nerve damage occurs and neuropathies develop.  It is important to achieve good control for a period of time to help this problem.  Of course, when you have elevated blood sugars, the symptoms will be worse.  I have had a patient with these pains all the way up to her buttocks.  As time passed, the pains crept further and further up, and her feet became numb.  But she never got her blood sugars controlled.  It is important to know what your blood sugar is before meals, then 2 hours after the first bite.  THen you know just which foods affect your blood sugar the most.  Also, if you eat late in the evening, that food is not digested and used up prior to your going to sleep, and your body replaces what is needed in your muscle cells and other cells, then stores some and the rest turns into triglycerides, which will lower good cholesterol and then you don't have enough good to carry out the bad and you end up with narrowing vessels, including the kidney nephrons,  when sugar is high, the body pulls fluid from your body into your blood to thin it down, because the sugar molecule is big and makes your blood thicker, then your kidneys have to filter all your blood every 4-6 minutes and they get overworked with the extra volume, and they can tear and leak microalbumin, which is the beginning of kidney failure.  I know that you did not ask about this, but thought the info. might help you.  B vitamins can help with neuropathies, but many people can't use them properly, so there is an Rx on the market that is the form that your cells can use.  The name excapes me at the moment.  I am in NY without my resources at the moment.  However, it has helped some of my patients that were not helped by other Rx's for nerve pain.  You can reach me at ***@****, if you want further info.  Yvonne Ferguson, RN, BSN, CDE.

[YvonneFerguson]

Hi, Jen.  I am a Certified Diabetes educator from Oregon.  When blood sugars are elevated, too much sugar gets into the nerves and irritates them.   In time, nerve damage occurs and neuropathies develop.  It is important to achieve good control for a period of time to help this problem.  Of course, when you have elevated blood sugars, the symptoms will be worse.  I have had a patient with these pains all the way up to her buttocks.  As time passed, the pains crept further and further up, and her feet became numb.  But she never got her blood sugars controlled.  It is important to know what your blood sugar is before meals, then 2 hours after the first bite.  THen you know just which foods affect your blood sugar the most.  Also, if you eat late in the evening, that food is not digested and used up prior to your going to sleep, and your body replaces what is needed in your muscle cells and other cells, then stores some and the rest turns into triglycerides, which will lower good cholesterol and then you don't have enough good to carry out the bad and you end up with narrowing vessels, including the kidney nephrons,  when sugar is high, the body pulls fluid from your body into your blood to thin it down, because the sugar molecule is big and makes your blood thicker, then your kidneys have to filter all your blood every 4-6 minutes and they get overworked with the extra volume, and they can tear and leak microalbumin, which is the beginning of kidney failure.  I know that you did not ask about this, but thought the info. might help you.  B vitamins can help with neuropathies, but many people can't use them properly, so there is an Rx on the market that is the form that your cells can use.  The name excapes me at the moment.  I am in NY without my resources at the moment.  However, it has helped some of my patients that were not helped by other Rx's for nerve pain.  You can reach me at ***@****, if you want further info.  Yvonne Ferguson, RN, BSN, CDE.