Dodgy hands

[Wuz]

Hi everyone
I was diagnosed 3rd May and after a chat with people on here I'm trying to do the low carb diet a bit of trial and error going but I will get there. My tests came back as 90 for my blood sugar and 6.5 cholesterol ..

My concerns are the pain, cramping and twitching I am getting in my hands legs and feet! I was having pain and cramping in my legs and feet before I was diagnosed but since being on the medication this has got worse.

I'm on metformin slow release 500mg x 3 and I was on Atorvastatin 40 mg after a discussion with the doctor he lowered that to 10mg and said I wouldnt get any side effects. I took one after a two day break without any and the twitching in my hand got worse and has been getting worse every day since I have now stopped taking them..

I can pretty much live with the feet and leg pain as I have had it so long but hand is really bothering me.. is this something that I'm stuck with or will it get better?

Thank you

 

[AM1874]

Hi @Wuz ..
I think that your Doc is the only one who can give you a definitive answer about your hand ..

Having said that, I note that you have been advised by a number of folk here to go low carb and, at the risk of repetition, I think it's worth saying again that managing and controlling your diabetes through exercise, diet and testing your Blood Glucose seems to be the best way forward for many people. For me, committing to an LCHF (Low Carb High Fat) lifestyle and testing 3-5 times a day seems to be working and you'll find that there is a wealth of info, relevant advice and positive support about LCHF on the forum ..

I have tagged @daisy1 for you and I would suggest that you read up again on the information that you have already received from @ daisy1, particularly the Low Carb Program You might also find the discussion on the Low Carb Diet forum helpful .. and the following Diet Doctor websites ...
Low Carb Intro and Information
Low Carbs in 60 Seconds

If you have not already done so, I strongly recommend that you get yourself a meter for testing .. I suggest that you try the website at:
https://homehealth-uk.com/product-category/blood-glucose/
for the SD Codefree meter, which costs £12.98 (you don't pay VAT) or:
http://spirit-healthcare.co.uk/product/tee2-blood-glucose-meter/
who distribute the TEE 2 meter, which is free.
I have both for comparative purposes and I have never found any significant difference between them. Unless you are prescribed test strips by your doctor (unlikely), the costs of testing comes down to the ongoing charges for test strips and lancets. I'm testing 3-4 times a day which works out at around £10 to £12 per month for either of the two packages above but, more importantly, I now know what my BG levels are .. and I can now manage them
Hope this helps

 

[librarising]

My concerns are the pain, cramping and twitching I am getting in my hands legs and feet! I was having pain and cramping in my legs and feet before I was diagnosed but since being on the medication this has got worse.

My first thought is Magnesium deficiency. I use it to keep cramps away, and I've noticed others on this forum do too. I use the spray, since it's meant to be better absorbed transdermally.
"People with diabetes are more likely than those without to be low in magnesium."
https://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/blog/magnesium-the-forgotten-healer/
Magnesium is also good for the heart. Here's more on deficiency signs
http://www.ancient-minerals.com/magnesium-deficiency/symptoms-signs/
If your pains are more arthritis-like, and I've had some of those, as well as gout, all of which I cured myself of by using baking soda, then magnesium may not be right for non-cramp symptoms.
Good luck with resolving this.
Geoff

 

[Johnjoe13]

I would suggest having another word with your doctor about the discomfort. My blood sugars are relatively low I think but only earlier this year did I start with pins and needles in my hands which I thought could be neuropathy, after a visit to two GP's both ruled this out because apparently this is caused by high blood sugars over a period of years, i've since found out that this is not the case and you can get this even with relatively low levels. However there are many other things it could be, such as low vitamin D or your statin, also carpel tunnel problem were mentioned as well. I too have twitching and cramps in legs but not that painful, but after saying that my hands have got worse he's sending me for some tests to the nerves and other stuff to see if they can find out what may be causing my issues all of a sudden. Been on a statin and high blood pressure medication for a year now and just gone on the 3 metformin a day since I saw him. But dont just put up with it, go back and see your GP and tell him/her of your concerns and see what else they can look at and do.

 

[Wuz]

@AM1874 thank you for your advice that's exactly what I've been doing getting use to testing well remembering to do it and working out the carbs I'm taking no more than 100grams a day with the plan to lower each week until I get a good balance for me.. at the minute not seeing much change in the readings but I'm sure it will get there

 

[Wuz]

Hi @librarising thank you for your input I have looked at the papers you have pointed me to and I shall be mentioning this to my doctor.

 

[AM1874]

@AM1874 thank you for your advice that's exactly what I've been doing getting use to testing well remembering to do it and working out the carbs I'm taking no more than 100grams a day with the plan to lower each week until I get a good balance for me.. at the minute not seeing much change in the readings but I'm sure it will get there

Hi @Wuz ..
A daily routine of testing your fasting level, then pre-meal and 2 hours post-meal .. and recording all your BG readings on a spreadsheet (or an app) might help. I would also advise a spreadsheet for your "foods" and their carbs .. it then becomes a simple matter of totting them up after each meal (or at end of the day)

Have you also tried intermittent fasting .. this has worked wonders for me. My schedule is 16:8 which means a 16 hour fast and an 8 hour eating "window" .. I only eat between 11am and 7pm and I will have either 2 or 3 meals in this time. This will be either lunch and dinner or, sometimes, (depending upon how I feel), breakfast, light lunch or snack, then dinner - or some combination of these. I also keep my carbs to a maximum of 30 grams a day but usually 20 to 25 grams. For me, the key to LCHF is ..
# only eat real food
# only eat when you're hungry
# only eat until you're full

Hope this helps