am I the only one?

[laollis]

My feet sting and burn so much. My Dr. has me on Lyrica 75 mg twice a day and my concentration is off, my memory is not working and my feet still sting. I also take metformin 500 mg twice a day and irbesartan 300 mg and to sleep I take an Ambien.

[diabetes86]

The only way to tell what works for YOU is with a BG meter.  Everybody is different.  what we do know is ALL carbs raise BG  how much YOUR BG goes up depends on YOU and the type and quantity of carbs.   . a good books "think like a pancreas" and google "eat to your meter"   . There is no"diet" Diabetes is a hands on disease, YOU have to work it.  BG chainges to fast and for too many reasons to have an MD control it with any kind of regularity in BG.  

[laollis]

I thought the sugar free stuff was made for diabetics. So, I need to quit eating food high in carbs? This is driving me crazy. I quit taking that Lyrica. Is doing one of those Atkins or Nutrisystem diets the safest way to go?

[diabetes86]

That rite there is probably some of your problem,  sugar is a carbohydrate its carbohydrates that raise BG.  Not just sugar, in fact most of the "sugar free" foods have more carbs than the same food that has the sugar those sugar free foods will raise your BG more than the sugar original food with sugar.  IE pudding the sugar free pudding has more carbs than the reg pudding and will raise your BG more than the orig pudding....... Its CARBOHYDRATES that raise BG ALL carbs raise BG, rise,pasta, bread, most fruit all contain significant amounts of carbs and carbs will raise BG.

I have been using Gabapentin myself. Blood sugar levels need to be controlled. I am injecting insulin (U-500).  But please ease off Lyrica. It is a bad drug, and highly addictive.  Too many side effects.

[laollis]

Just found this, below, so...does that mean I would have to ask my doctor for a B12 shot cuz the oral supps dom't work?

cyanocobalamin (vitamin b-12) oral and metformin oral

cyanocobalamin (vitamin b-12) oral decreases levels of metformin oral by unspecified interaction mechanism. It may take several years of metformin therapy to develop vitamin B12 deficiency.

[laollis]

Hi!
I am trying to make sure everything I eat doesn't have any sugar. It's tough. The ALA is helping. So is the Citracal. Bvits must be B vitamins? I have B5, B6 and B12, but heard only B12 shots, not supplements are good.

[Super_sally888]

Hello,

the best way to improve diabetic neuropathy is to normalize blood sugars and keep them in the 80-120 range.

When blood sugar is first controlled, the pain may get worse for a few months.  This is due to the nerves recovering.  After this it should improve.  

ALA and Bvits can also be helpful.

[laollis]

Hi tooter212,  I also tried gabapentin 1100 mg a day and it didn't help at all. Made my head a little foggy, but, nothing like the way that Lyrica did. For the last couple days I've been using the ALA twice a day and Citracal twice a day, and vitamins B5, B6 and B12 (all once a day). I don't have the brain fog any longer, but I do have a tickle in the back of my throat that makes me cough once in awhile, but, the best part is, my feet are about 30% better. The feet still have a tingling/burning, but, not as bad, and the stabbing has almost gone away. Now if my backache would leave, I'd be doing the happy dance!  BP at 147/86 and BG 121.  Hope this helps.  ;-)

[tooter212]

Laollis, I'm taking Gabapentin 100 3 to 4 times a day and my feet still kill me. The burning is horrible. I don't need to tell you and like you I've tired every cream on the market. I'm going to try the ALA also. Good luck

[laollis]

Thanks for the reply. What I meant to say. that didn't quite get typed, was,am I the only one taking the horrible Lyrica drug? I am so tired of taking pills and trying creams, and NONE of them work. BG is 118. BP is 166/100, and I think it's staying that high cuz of the pain. I'll try the alpha-lopaic acid. Thank You.

[diabetes86]

No your not the only one.  Many find ALA (alpha-lopaic acid) helps and many find having BG near normal 65 - 140 (USA)  helps too.