Asking on behalf of Hubby- nerve pain ??

Sam50 · Jul 12, 2017

Hello everyone,

I've joined the forum in order to get some advice for my husband. About 2 months ago he went to his GP with a pain in his side which the GP thought might be liver/gallbladder related. Ultrasound proved completely clear but blood tests showed that his blood glucose was 'twice what we expect to see'. In spite of asking we still don't know what that was !

He was told to make an appointment to see the diabetic nurse (current waiting time 5 weeks) in meantime we have bought a blood sugar testing digital device which showed his fasting blood sugar was 17. He intends to go on a low carb/low sugar diet in order to lose weight and hopefully avoid having to take meds.

He still has the stabbing pain/burning, itching/crawling/numbness in his side and back and various consultants disagree as to whether this is nerve pain related to high blood sugar or shingles (!!) He also has high blood pressure.

Has anyone else had nerve pain related to diabetes in this area and did it improve ? Any advice would be gratefully received as our surgery hasn't been exactly forthcoming....

Sandra

noblehead · Jul 12, 2017

I've not suffered with nerve pain as a result of having diabetes, but people do experience it when their bg levels have been running high for some time, perhaps when his bg levels are under control the pain may disappear or reduce somewhat.

Regards to his bp, it's important to keep bp under control when you have diabetes so do tell him to keep an eye on things, you can buy the home bp monitors for around £20 and the best monitors (IMHO) are the Omron range.

Sam50 · Jul 12, 2017

thank you. We do have a blood pressure machine at home so can keep an eye on his BP. It has reduced somewhat since he got his blood test results. Hope you are right regarding the pain.....

Hammer1964 · Jul 12, 2017

Sam50 said:
Hello everyone,

I've joined the forum in order to get some advice for my husband. About 2 months ago he went to his GP with a pain in his side which the GP thought might be liver/gallbladder related. Ultrasound proved completely clear but blood tests showed that his blood glucose was 'twice what we expect to see'. In spite of asking we still don't know what that was !

He was told to make an appointment to see the diabetic nurse (current waiting time 5 weeks) in meantime we have bought a blood sugar testing digital device which showed his fasting blood sugar was 17. He intends to go on a low carb/low sugar diet in order to lose weight and hopefully avoid having to take meds.

He still has the stabbing pain/burning, itching/crawling/numbness in his side and back and various consultants disagree as to whether this is nerve pain related to high blood sugar or shingles (!!) He also has high blood pressure.

Has anyone else had nerve pain related to diabetes in this area and did it improve ? Any advice would be gratefully received as our surgery hasn't been exactly forthcoming....

Sandra

Hi Sam50, I was diagnosed with T2 three and a half months ago, my bg Reading was 22. I was put on 80mg of Gliclazide a day but that has now been reduced to 40mg and my readings are now between 5 and 7. The past two weeks I have been experiencing pain in my left hip, like a stabbing pain really painful and pain killers not touching it. I am back at the doctors on Friday so will ask about this, also I am not overweight and fairly active, walk around 6km a day. So will let you know what the outcome is, providing I have one of course.

Sam50 · Jul 12, 2017

Hammer1964 said:
Hi Sam50, I was diagnosed with T2 three and a half months ago, my bg Reading was 22. I was put on 80mg of Gliclazide a day but that has now been reduced to 40mg and my readings are now between 5 and 7. The past two weeks I have been experiencing pain in my left hip, like a stabbing pain really painful and pain killers not touching it. I am back at the doctors on Friday so will ask about this, also I am not overweight and fairly active, walk around 6km a day. So will let you know what the outcome is, providing I have one of course.

Hi Hammer1964- good luck for the Drs and I'd be very interested to hear what he/she says. Hubby has had the pain for two months now and his GP says that once he starts taking meds it should ease ( still no meds as still waiting for appointment at diabetic clinic) he takes codeine based painkillers Co-Codamol which is paracetamol with codeine which help somewhat. GP gave him anti-depressants which are supposed to work on nerve pain but you have to take them for 4-6 weeks before any effect. He isn't taking them at present. From what I've read about diabetic nerve pain it generally starts in the hands and feet then spreads to the limbs so starting in your hip (or hubby's side) isn't usual. But I guess you have nerves everywhere. .....

Sam50 · Jul 16, 2017

Hammer1964 said:
Hi Sam50, I was diagnosed with T2 three and a half months ago, my bg Reading was 22. I was put on 80mg of Gliclazide a day but that has now been reduced to 40mg and my readings are now between 5 and 7. The past two weeks I have been experiencing pain in my left hip, like a stabbing pain really painful and pain killers not touching it. I am back at the doctors on Friday so will ask about this, also I am not overweight and fairly active, walk around 6km a day. So will let you know what the outcome is, providing I have one of course.

How did you get on at the doctors ? Did they think that your hip pain might be connected with diabetes or not ? well done for getting your bg levels down.

Guzzler · Jul 16, 2017

Funnily enough, I have had the same pain. It started as a stinging sensation on the right lower rib area and then developed into what I can only describe as a stabbing pain that was very sore afterwards. This started not long before I was diagnosed but petered out slowly once I started on Metformin and the LCHF diet about six weeks ago. My skin is still quite dry.
I didn't mention it to the DN or GP because I had put it down to the normal aches and pains of getting older.
Thinking about it now, could it be a symptom of NAFLD? as my liver function test was dodgy. I will keep an eye on this post and I hope your hubby finds some answers and some relief soon.

Hammer1964 · Jul 16, 2017

Sam50 said:
Hi Hammer1964- good luck for the Drs and I'd be very interested to hear what he/she says. Hubby has had the pain for two months now and his GP says that once he starts taking meds it should ease ( still no meds as still waiting for appointment at diabetic clinic) he takes codeine based painkillers Co-Codamol which is paracetamol with codeine which help somewhat. GP gave him anti-depressants which are supposed to work on nerve pain but you have to take them for 4-6 weeks before any effect. He isn't taking them at present. From what I've read about diabetic nerve pain it generally starts in the hands and feet then spreads to the limbs so starting in your hip (or hubby's side) isn't usual. But I guess you have nerves everywhere. .....

Hi after sitting and waiting for an hour, I was seen and after the doctor moving and rotating my leg and hips into positions that I did not think were possible it appears I have bursitis so on co-codamol and Fenbid gel I hope it improves before my holiday.

Hammer1964 · Jul 16, 2017

Hammer1964 said:
Hi after sitting and waiting for an hour, I was seen and after the doctor moving and rotating my leg and hips into positions that I did not think were possible it appears I have bursitis so on co-codamol and Fenbid gel I hope it improves before my holiday.

To be honest the co-codamol is not taking away any of the pain and does not seem to effect me (drowsiness). I have read that a low dose age of antidepressants help to relax the nerves and produce happy feelings. Hot water bottles for 15 mins and then ice packs for 15 mins have helped and to keep moving, mine is easier now than it first was.

leslie10152 · Jul 17, 2017

Sam50 said:
Hello everyone,

I've joined the forum in order to get some advice for my husband. About 2 months ago he went to his GP with a pain in his side which the GP thought might be liver/gallbladder related. Ultrasound proved completely clear but blood tests showed that his blood glucose was 'twice what we expect to see'. In spite of asking we still don't know what that was !

He was told to make an appointment to see the diabetic nurse (current waiting time 5 weeks) in meantime we have bought a blood sugar testing digital device which showed his fasting blood sugar was 17. He intends to go on a low carb/low sugar diet in order to lose weight and hopefully avoid having to take meds.

He still has the stabbing pain/burning, itching/crawling/numbness in his side and back and various consultants disagree as to whether this is nerve pain related to high blood sugar or shingles (!!) He also has high blood pressure.

Has anyone else had nerve pain related to diabetes in this area and did it improve ? Any advice would be gratefully received as our surgery hasn't been exactly forthcoming....

Sandra

Welcome to the forum. A bgl <17 is way too high to continue, anything over 7.5 is reason for concern. Coupled with hypertension (high blood pressure) is not doing justice. It may or may not cause nerve pain but it is worth consideration.

Sam50 · Jul 17, 2017

Hammer1964 said:
To be honest the co-codamol is not taking away any of the pain and does not seem to effect me (drowsiness). I have read that a low dose age of antidepressants help to relax the nerves and produce happy feelings. Hot water bottles for 15 mins and then ice packs for 15 mins have helped and to keep moving, mine is easier now than it first was.

Glad that you Dr was able to give you something to help the pain. Bursitis is painful. Hubby finds that co-codamol takes the edge off his pain and being up and moving around. He sometimes uses hot water bottles too and noticed that as his BG started to come down, the pain lessened and more sensation returned. Low dose antidepressants have to be taken for at least a month to get into your system and as the dose is between 10mg and 200mg per day, it can take a while to find the correct level ! Mind you stress also aggravates the pain (probably why Drs suggest antidepressants !) so I think that is where exercise helps. Endorphins and all that x

Sam50 · Jul 17, 2017

leslie10152 said:
Welcome to the forum. A bgl <17 is way too high to continue, anything over 7.5 is reason for concern. Coupled with hypertension (high blood pressure) is not doing justice. It may or may not cause nerve pain but it is worth consideration.

well I'd have thought so too but the wait at our surgery for an appointment at the diabetic clinic is ridiculous. Five weeks so far, in meantime he has started on low carb diet and homeopathic support and BG is starting to come down. After 5 days fasting BG went from 17.8 to 14.9. Still too high I know but it's early days. I expected Dr to prescribe tablets for BP as 185/110 is very high but no.....fortunately that too has started to decrease. Thank goodness for forums like this one where you can ask for advice.

Sam50 · Jul 17, 2017

oh that is interesting as so far no one else has had pain in the same area (hence we thought it was shingles) there is nothing to see on the rib area but it has been really sore to touch. Most people's nerve pain seems to have affected their feet. Hubby went to the Dr because he thought he had a liver problem and T2 was picked up on routine blood tests. He had an ultrasound of his liver/gallbladder which showed some fatty areas in the liver. Nothing 'of any concern' but could have a bearing on the nerve pain. Hubby has started on the LCHF diet, only been on it for a week but already says that the pain is easing. He also takes Alpha Lipoic acid supplements which are said to help nerve pain. Seeing diabetic nurse on Monday so will let you know what she says.

Guzzler said:
Funnily enough, I have had the same pain. It started as a stinging sensation on the right lower rib area and then developed into what I can only describe as a stabbing pain that was very sore afterwards. This started not long before I was diagnosed but petered out slowly once I started on Metformin and the LCHF diet about six weeks ago. My skin is still quite dry.
I didn't mention it to the DN or GP because I had put it down to the normal aches and pains of getting older.
Thinking about it now, could it be a symptom of NAFLD? as my liver function test was dodgy. I will keep an eye on this post and I hope your hubby finds some answers and some relief soon.

Guzzler · Jul 17, 2017

Sam50 said:
oh that is interesting as so far no one else has had pain in the same area (hence we thought it was shingles) there is nothing to see on the rib area but it has been really sore to touch. Most people's nerve pain seems to have affected their feet. Hubby went to the Dr because he thought he had a liver problem and T2 was picked up on routine blood tests. He had an ultrasound of his liver/gallbladder which showed some fatty areas in the liver. Nothing 'of any concern' but could have a bearing on the nerve pain. Hubby has started on the LCHF diet, only been on it for a week but already says that the pain is easing. He also takes Alpha Lipoic acid supplements which are said to help nerve pain. Seeing diabetic nurse on Monday so will let you know what she says.

@Sam50
Good luck, fingers crossed.

Hammer1964 · Jul 21, 2017

Sam50 said:
oh that is interesting as so far no one else has had pain in the same area (hence we thought it was shingles) there is nothing to see on the rib area but it has been really sore to touch. Most people's nerve pain seems to have affected their feet. Hubby went to the Dr because he thought he had a liver problem and T2 was picked up on routine blood tests. He had an ultrasound of his liver/gallbladder which showed some fatty areas in the liver. Nothing 'of any concern' but could have a bearing on the nerve pain. Hubby has started on the LCHF diet, only been on it for a week but already says that the pain is easing. He also takes Alpha Lipoic acid supplements which are said to help nerve pain. Seeing diabetic nurse on Monday so will let you know what she says.

Hi Sam50, well it has been a week since I was diagnosed with bursitis and I have been applying the gel and taking the pain killers and it has eased a lot. Carbs do seem to aggravate it so I have been trying to have less of them.

luceeloo · Jul 22, 2017

Sam50 said:
oh that is interesting as so far no one else has had pain in the same area (hence we thought it was shingles) there is nothing to see on the rib area but it has been really sore to touch. Most people's nerve pain seems to have affected their feet. Hubby went to the Dr because he thought he had a liver problem and T2 was picked up on routine blood tests. He had an ultrasound of his liver/gallbladder which showed some fatty areas in the liver. Nothing 'of any concern' but could have a bearing on the nerve pain. Hubby has started on the LCHF diet, only been on it for a week but already says that the pain is easing. He also takes Alpha Lipoic acid supplements which are said to help nerve pain. Seeing diabetic nurse on Monday so will let you know what she says.

Before I was diagnosed, I had itchy sore skin, but it was on my feet and ankles mostly. The pain did subside a little after I'd gained better control, but "normal" sensation never returned. The only way that I can describe early neuropathy is to say that it feels like a cross between pins and needles and a scald!
The pain that your husband is experiencing could be due to many different things, so it's worth getting checked out if it doesn't get better. I had bad rib pains along with pains in my fingers and neck, and it turned out that I was extremely vitamin D deficient and it wasn't related at all to Diabetes.

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Asking on behalf of Hubby- nerve pain ??

Sam50

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noblehead

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Sam50

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Hammer1964

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Sam50

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Sam50

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Guzzler

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Hammer1964

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Hammer1964

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leslie10152

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Sam50

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Sam50

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Sam50

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Guzzler

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