Is neuropathy reversible?

[NineToTheSky_]

I am a 65 year old male and I have had type 2 diabetes for many years, with blood sugars consistently over 20 mmol/l. Over the past year I have turned my life and diabetes around, through exercising very hard daily, controlling my diet and giving up alcohol. I have lost ten stone and made all my measurements positive. For example, my blood sugars are now consistently in the 4-6 mmol/l range and my resting heart rate is in the 48-52 bpm range, I am off all my diabetic medicines (following my doctor's advice).

The only problem I still have is neuropathy in my feet. They are insensitive to external pain and internally very painful. I don't think I can do anything more to improve my lifestyle or health, though I am always open to any improvements I could still make. I have consulted my doctor and have been to a pain relief clinic, and I take gabapentin which gives some relief by distancing the pain.

I know the pain is caused by nerve damage. Is it possible for the nerves to repair themselves in any way, thereby reducing the pain, or is this something I will have to live with for the rest of my life? Is it likely to get worse? I have googled this as best as I can, but I can't find anything very definite about this.

 

[NineToTheSky_]

if you don´t get your number much lower like around under 6 mmol , I don´t think you can reverse your neuropathy... but if you change to a low carb diet, really low carb diet , I think you can get your blood glucose much lower actually in a short while...

you should avoid carbs then all bread, potatoes, corn and cake, and sugar and fruits..

eat all you can of meat, cheese fish fullfat yoghurt nuts and all pnants grown over the ground except from corn
you can eat avocado too and olives .
try to get a breakfast totally without carbs like bacon and eggs and only doubble cream in your coffee ..

I think you must have mis-read me! As I said, my mmol/l is always between 4-6. It never goes above 6.5, even after meals. Going lower than 4 is quite dangerous. I am very conscious of my diet and what I eat. I think I eat very healthily.

 

[NoCrbs4Me]

I have peripheral neuropathy in my feet. It used to be quite painful with "pins & needles", but now there is just loss of feeling after a couple of years of normal blood glucose levels. Still annoying, but no where near as bad as before. If you keep your blood glucose in the normal range you may be able to improve your foot symptoms, but likely not completely.

 

[Freema]

oh see you already have gotten your numbers down Sorry

hmmm then I don´t know about your neuropathy... some use the R-alpha-lipoic-acid 600mg a day it helps some but not all

@daisy1

 

[NineToTheSky_]

I have peripheral neuropathy in my feet. It used to be quite painful with "pins & needles", but now there is just loss of feeling after a couple of years of normal blood glucose levels. Still annoying, but no where near as bad as before. If you keep your blood glucose in the normal range you may be able to improve your foot symptoms, but likely not completely.

Thanks! That's good to hear. Yes, I am committed to sustaining my healthy lifestyle.

 

[NineToTheSky_]

oh see you already have gotten your numbers down Sorry

hmmm then I don´t know about your neuropathy... some use the R-alpha-lipoic-acid 600mg a day it helps some but not all

I have tried alpha lipoic acid and acupuncture, but neither has made any difference.

 

[Freema]

I have tried alpha lipoic acid and acupuncture, but neither has made any difference.

It seems you are doing everything right already... wish I could suggest anything new.. but keep on your good work...
low blood glucose is under 3.5 to some, others can be a little lower before it becomes dangerous to them... but of cause you should not aim for too low blood glucose ever..

 

[sally and james]

@NineToTheSky_ The human body has an amazing ability to heal itself, once we humans stop damaging it! Sometimes things get a bit worse before they get better and healing nerves can get a bit overexcited and tingly, but improvements, if not a complete cure and very likely.
Sally

 

[Dairygrade]

Hi nine to the sky your blood sugars are great don't go any lower then 4 or you will probably start getting hypo symptoms sadly there's no cure for neuropathy keeping your sugars where they are will certainly help with the problem hope this may help all the best.

 

[sally and james]

@NineToTheSky_ You may find this video from Dr Richard K Bernstein,

It's all about neuropathy and is fairly positive, though reversal of some types takes quite a long time.
Sally

 

[Art Of Flowers]

@NineToTheSky_ You may find this video from Dr Richard K Bernstein,

It's all about neuropathy and is fairly positive, though reversal of some types takes quite a long time.
Sally

Dr Bernstein seems to be saying that if you get your blood sugars back to "normal" levels then the damaged nerves will slowly start to repair themselves, but this can take up to three years. He also says that where there was no sensation in the feet, as the nerves begin to resprout there can be a lot of "lancinating" pain experienced, but this pain eventually goes away in a few months providing you keep your sugars in a normal range. I presume the normal range for blood sugars is 4-7.

I don't know if this tallies with people's experience on the forums. Quite often you hear that neuropathy can't be fixed, but its progression can be slowed down. I also wonder what the impact intermediate fasting has on the repair of the nerves.

 

[Squire Fulwood]

I am the sort of person that likes to prove something that concerns me from my own investigation. I can't claim that I am healing but I think that I am not getting any worse. The claims that nerves can heal but take years to do so are claims that I don't find convincing. It's a bit like saying that Metformin has benefits down the line but you never reach there.
I think that Dr. Bernstein is the best thing that happened to diabetes since he is a great educator but the neuropathy advice is something that no-one else has given an opinion on yet and no-one has confirmed.

 

[Brunneria]

Dr Bernstein seems to be saying that if you get your blood sugars back to "normal" levels then the damaged nerves will slowly start to repair themselves, but this can take up to three years. He also says that where there was no sensation in the feet, as the nerves begin to resprout there can be a lot of "lancinating" pain experienced, but this pain eventually goes away in a few months providing you keep your sugars in a normal range. I presume the normal range for blood sugars is 4-7.

I don't know if this tallies with people's experience on the forums. Quite often you hear that neuropathy can't be fixed, but its progression can be slowed down. I also wonder what the impact intermediate fasting has on the repair of the nerves.

From what I have read, Bernstein likes his patients to achieve HbA1cs in the 20s (UK units) and the 4s (American units), which I think is the equivalent of an average home prick test of 4.6 mmol/l (or thereabouts). He would definitely see a reading of 7mmol/l s too high.

And from my understanding of Intermittent Fasting, missing meals can trigger autophagy, a process that I do NOT fully understand, but which 'switches on' the body's own healing in a way that doesn't happen when we eat regularly. It can be achieved through starvation and various variations on that theme, as well as other metabolic stresses.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autophagy
So intermittent fasting may help with nerve repair, if it is done for long enough periods to trigger autophagy.

My own experience is that I get stabbing pains in my feet if I experience swings in blood glucose (e.g. 4-12mmol/l) over a few days (like on holiday, last Autumn), but these pains take several days to disappear and do not return, when I keep my blood glucose steady and don't let it vary more than 2-3mmol/l across the day (like the rest of my life when I am not on holiday and not eating carby stuff ).

 

[Brunneria]

I have heard that 1mm a day figure quoted for nerve regrowth before... for a friend who had nerve damage from an accident. He was told it by his consultant. So I think it may be generally quoted.

That whole video of Bernstein's made me very sad. Sad because it made me realise just how little knowledge most docs have about diabetes, in comparison with Bernstein's expertise.

Thank goodness Bernstein is making these videos and passing this information on, based on 40+ years of specialist practice and untold 1000s of patients and their case studies. A very valuable resource, freely available on the internet. Such a pity that doctors don't seem to watch them...

 

[THEOLDMAN]

Hi so far my feet are OK, my main problem is the numb, stinging pain just above my left knee, I have tried to keep my levels down to 4.4. Has anyone else had this ,and is this reversible do you think.

 

[NineToTheSky_]

I am no expert but stinging pain above your knee is probably not neuropathy, as that affects your extremities. I would investigate it further.