• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

foot drop please help !!!

ryan1990

ryan1990

Well-Known Member
Messages
73
Location
Tarvin, Cheshire
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
anyone on these boards suffer with foot drop or CMT ? as in Charcot tooth marie sydromne i need some help with it as i have been having weakness in my knee and foot but my foot drop is so annoying its episodic and dosent seem to be getting better at all
 
Sorry to hear this ryan1990, I don't know about your area of the country but in my area, people with diabetes can refer themselves to the podiatry clinic directly. Might be worth calling them ? If you don't know where they are, the clinic should be listed on the NHS Choices website. www.nhs.uk/
Hope that helps !
 
I'm in Liverpool but can't seem to find a clinic only registered private ones I didn't know I could refer myself is there no fee involved ?
 
I was a bit confused as to whether you have CMT (a genetic condition that causes nerve damage http://cmt.org.uk/about-cmt/what-is-cmt/ ) or you have Charcot's foot caused by diabetic neuropathy.

I looked back at your thread here) http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/help-with-sugar-roller-coaster.85270/ where you ask if there is such a thing as diabetic foot drop so think that it's perhaps not diagnosed CMT and that you are worried it could be Charcot's foot.

If it is diagnosed CMT then there is a CMT forum here. They would be more help. https://healthunlocked.com/cmtuk

If you have diabetes related foot problems then you really should see someone. You can't diagnose yourself .
If you can't get to see a podiatrist quickly then go in and see your GP; show him and ask for some specialist help.
Go back over the rollercoaster thread, there is some really good advice there about managing your glucose levels but controlling them does take time and you need to be consistent.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
ryan1990 said:
anyone on these boards suffer with foot drop or CMT ? as in Charcot tooth marie sydromne i need some help with it as i have been having weakness in my knee and foot but my foot drop is so annoying its episodic and dosent seem to be getting better at all
Click to expand...
Hi Ryan. I also have CMT and suffer from drop foot. I've had CMT for between ten to fifteen years now. My mother and two brothers also suffer from it. Do you know much about this condition? CMT is a heredity disease which affects the nerves and signals being sent to your brain, making it a progressive disease. I have no balance, my walking is very bad and have to use a wheelchair, foot drop, weakness in hands, fingers,wrists and ankles. I am under my local hosputal and have been seeing my consultant annually for many years now. There is not much that can be done for CMT but he writes down any changes from the previous year and tests my grip and pulling. I have also over the years been referred to the physiotherapist when needed for help with my walking and balance. I've also been referred to the occupational therapists, they are fantastic. They have been to my home and watch me doing day to day things and anything I struggle with they can give you AIDS to help you, ie key turners, a grabber, even chunky cutlery. They have also made me wrist splints. A few years back I had two made to measure leg/foot splints made for me for the drop foot. They are quite big and cumbersome but they do help.
You say you are in Liverpool and can only find private clinics. Have you actually been diagnosed with CMT? Have you tried going to your GP and asking for a referral to the neurologist dept at your local hospital. This may be better for your first step towards getting any help or advice you need.
If you need any more help or advise I'm happy to do so.
Best wishes Nicola
 
Hi. I have just been diagnosed with Charcot foot. Previously had no pain but suddenly got excruciating pain in my leg/foot and hip. Then I had a silly fall and broke bone under foot. Didn't show on xray but had nuclear imaging photos which showed fracture. Been in a cast for 5 weeks which has helped with pain but keep getting told to rest. Very frustrating for me as I am a restless person.
Is there a Diabetic Foot Clinic at the hospital you attend for your Diabetes? If so, get yourself there immediately as the foot clinic I attend has been brilliant
And couldn't have done more for me.
Good luck and best wishes.
 
is any of your problems episodic though like after alot of walking will your foot just drop and turn inwards ? this is what happens with mine and when my blood sugar is high my muscles go extremely stiff and my legs hardly work which is really strange i am being checked for a genetic muscle disease at the moment but i am trying to figure out if it is the muscle disease causing it or the diabetes my latest HbA1c was 4.4 which is extremely love for a diabetic so im abit confused how it could be a neuropathic problem but stranger things have happened i guess i also suffer with extreme cramping in every muscle when my blood sugar fluctuates even 3 units does anyone have this ?
 
ryan1990 said:
is any of your problems episodic though like after alot of walking will your foot just drop and turn inwards ? this is what happens with mine and when my blood sugar is high my muscles go extremely stiff and my legs hardly work which is really strange i am being checked for a genetic muscle disease at the moment but i am trying to figure out if it is the muscle disease causing it or the diabetes my latest HbA1c was 4.4 which is extremely love for a diabetic so im abit confused how it could be a neuropathic problem but stranger things have happened i guess i also suffer with extreme cramping in every muscle when my blood sugar fluctuates even 3 units does anyone have this ?
Click to expand...
No, CMT (Charcot Marie tooth) has nothing whatsoever to do with diabetes, I've had CMT a lot lot longer then diabetes. Drop foot, which is there permsntly and cramping are just two of the many symptoms that come with CMT.
You might find this helpful to read. It is the CMT UK website and the 'About CMT' is very informative.
http://cmt.org.uk
 
Interesting I wonder if I am suffering some kind of motor neuropathic defect then which is causing these problems but I am not sure
 
Maybe a good idea to attend the diabetic clinic and ask to be referred to an appropriate clinic?
 
Have you had your thyroid levels checked? I'm not sure if that would relate to the foot problem, but thyroid deficiency certainly causes cramp.
 
I'm going to see if they will check my thyroid and my testosterone levels as I don't feel right at all I have no sex drive either like nothing no interest in it and I hardly sleep at all which is making controlling my diabities so much harder
 
ryan1990 said:
I'm going to see if they will check my thyroid and my testosterone levels as I don't feel right at all I have no sex drive either like nothing no interest in it and I hardly sleep at all which is making controlling my diabities so much harder
Click to expand...
Hi Ryan,
we have spoken before :) I honestly believe that 99.9% of all your problems are due to living in hypo land all day long. Your body has no fuel for it to function hence all of your problems.
 
That could be a potential i guess but its so difficult to stop having a hypo everyday my blood was 2.1 4 times today and it was high 3 times today and thats a good day :( my current dosage is 10 units morning , 8 units dinner , 15 dinner and 16 levimir at night :( feel like the doctors cant help me and neurology are at a loss
 
ryan1990 said:
That could be a potential i guess but its so difficult to stop having a hypo everyday my blood was 2.1 4 times today and it was high 3 times today and thats a good day :( my current dosage is 10 units morning , 8 units dinner , 15 dinner and 16 levimir at night :( feel like the doctors cant help me and neurology are at a loss
Click to expand...
Then you need to help yourself. :) Start by doing some basal testing and then check your insulin to carb ratio. For most people a starting point is 10 carbs per 1 unit of bolus insulin. So if that's what you are using then you are eating well over 300 carbs a day.
What do you call a high reading and what was your last A1c?
 
CarbsRok said:
Then you need to help yourself. :) Start by doing some basal testing and then check your insulin to carb ratio. For most people a starting point is 10 carbs per 1 unit of bolus insulin. So if that's what you are using then you are eating well over 300 carbs a day.
What do you call a high reading and what was your last A1c?
Click to expand...

Stated last hba1c was 4.4..
 
An hba1c of 4.4% is very very low for a type 1 and I would be horizontal in the morgue or glucose drip iv cannula. Why are you controlling yr bg levels with so many hypos and not doing anything to stop them like bg test a bit more to catch the lows before they happen? I cant believe that a hospital consultant wouldnt be worried sick about you and sould want you to see a dsn and learn some DAFNE carb counting skills. I've given you a good idea on how to go about adjusting your bolus to achieve a target. Have another read and print out the thread.

Does this spastic type of stiffness happen when you go low or does it happen at random?
 
@ryan1990 , as you have been advised multiple times:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/help-with-sugar-roller-coaster.85270/#post-961218
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/help-with-sugar-roller-coaster.85270/#post-961784
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/help-with-sugar-roller-coaster.85270/#post-962113

Please basal test: https://mysugr.com/basal-rate-testing/

and do the BDEC on-line learning course to learn about carb counting. http://www.bdec-e-learning.com/

An Hba1C of 4.4% equates to an average glucose level of 4.4mmol/l, which you already know is too low. Given the massive lows you keep having, you are taking too much insulin somewhere.

Whilst you may continue to have foot drop and it may be totally unrelated to your diabetes, at the rate you are going and the blood glucose levels you are seeing consistently, you are running the risk of damage to your brain and potentially death. In addition, the oxidative stress you put on your system by swinging up and down due to these hypos will not be doing any good.

The DCCT long term study showed that the risk of complications is no more with an Hba1C at 6% than it is at 4.5%, while the risk of death is increased the lower the Hba1C goes. At 6% the average blood glucose reading would be 7mmol/l, so if you are concerned about complications, you have plenty of room to increase your average blood glucose level safely.

I'll say it again. Please basal test: https://mysugr.com/basal-rate-testing/ and do the BDEC on-line learning course to learn about carb counting. http://www.bdec-e-learning.com/

If you can't do this, at the very least ask your GP for a referral to a new Diabetic clinic and explain all your concerns to them so that they can start to give you the assistance that you appear to desperately need.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Back
Top