There is a natural supplement called "benfotiamine" that helped me (type 1 22 yrs, has neuropathy) a lot.
hi everyone
I seem to have pins and needles in my feet and hands.
im not diabetic, have had tests, but sometimes the pins and needles feel so hot its like someone is pouring boiling water on me. its very incapacitating, i just got between my bed and settee.
it happens every time i put anything in my mouth, i do hope there is someone out who understands what im talking about because none
of the doctors do. my quality of life is a big 0 pam
I want to thank you all for your answers. Thankfully, I have been to a chiropractor, and it was a pinched nerve, due to the way I had been sitting at my computer. I am very grateful that the feelings are returning to the soles of my feet. My gratitude and prayers are with each of you.
God bless
I am not a doctor, but am a long-time diabetic who works closely with the support team for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. The pins and needles sensation may be an early symptom of nerve damage. The natural way to help yourself is to acheive great glucose control, ideally keeping glucose between 70-126 before all meals and no higher than 180 after eating. If the nerve damage is just beginning, (and this could be the case since you are a newly diagnosed diabetic, for your glucose has probably been high for a longer period of time than you knew) then lowering the gluocse numbers will remove the CAUSE of damage and let your body heal itself. Neuropathy can get better if caught early and if damage is minimal, so lowering those glucose levels before serious damage has been done is the key.
Many diabetics who suffer from neuropathy claim that the pain or other uncomfortable sensations do improve when gluocse levels are tightly controlled. There is no other treatment that will actually heal the body, and if sensations get severe, then patients must go to their doctors for medications that mask the pain.
You need to not only get the glucose levels in good control, but also give your body enough time to improve after acheiving good glucose levels. Test often to see what is happening with your glucose levels and watch your diet carefully. It sounds as if your diet and exercise and weight are all in your favor.
Oops. this is JDRF team SGG again... I made a typo in the original answer. After eating a meal, the highest reading that doctors consider OK is 180, NOT 1800. Ideally, we like to see that after meal number at something in the 140's.
None of us here is a physician, so be sure to check things out with your diabetes doctor.
What you describe sounds like it could be diabetic neuropathy -- a complication of diabetes of all forms. Neurpathy can begin with tingling and some numbness. It is potentially very serious because if we cannot feel the bottoms of our feet and if (when?) we step on something sharp or cut ourselves, we won't know. Infections can set in and since we might also have compromised blood circulation to our feet, the infection can become very serious very quickly.
In the short run, do all that you can to achieve excellent blood sugar control and talk with your endo about tests and treatments for neuropathy. Be sure to visually check your feet daily and to avoid going barefoot -- even indoors. There are some pharmaceutical medications that can alleviate pain associated with neurpathy. I'm not certain about natural treatments.
There is good information on the JDRF website. Most of the info pertains to all of us (type 1 or 2), so I encourage you to check out their research reports. Visit JDRF at www.jdrf.org and click on the link to RESEARCH (top left just under the logo). On the research page, you can search using the word neuropathy and there are a few good, recent articles.
Tingling & numbness can also be caused by pinched nerves and/or carpal tunnel syndrome (in hands) or tarsal tunnel syndrome (in feet). Good luck and take good care of you & your feet.