This is my first post on this forum, though I’ve followed it regularly since I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in January 2015. I only went to see my GP after I suddenly developed sore feet, with the warning signs (extra thirst and small loss in weight) having been largely disregarded as there was no history of the disease in my wider family. My blood test revealed a fasting glucose figure of 18 and an HbA1c of 119. I was 63 years old at the time, 6’4” tall and a little over 15 stone so I wasn’t even particularly overweight. I immediately started a LCHF diet and lost over 2 stone in 3 months. My HbA1c fell to 49 and has been 41 or less ever since.
I’ve found maintaining a weight of around 13 stone since then very easy and can’t have much visceral fat left! This year I’ve been even stricter with my diet, having scrambled eggs for breakfast instead of Greek yoghurt (which I tended to overindulge), smaller meat portions with loads of green vegetables, and walnuts and almonds for snacks instead of cashews. I regularly test my blood and have seen a further reduction in my waking/before meal/after meal figures during the last few months. Even my waking figures, which had seldom dropped under 6 - 7, are now routinely in the 5.2 - 5.9 range. My pre-meal figure is usually in the 5’s and post-meal rarely exceed 7.
Now all this seems great, but the problem of foot pain stays with me and is the reason I wanted to post these comments. I have some limited numbness on the outer edges of both big toes, together with fluctuating levels of soreness under both feet. This has limited my ability to walk the long distances I used to enjoy, and has made driving often uncomfortable. Although prevailing medical opinion is bleak regarding this condition, with one GP just telling me to get used to it, I thought I was beginning to manage slightly better by the end of last year. This year, however, I seem to be experiencing a real setback, with a marked increase in sensitivity in my toes, soles and heels. GP’s always tell me you can’t make the nerves worse through exercise, but I have repeatedly found this is not so in my case. About 3 weeks ago I walked 5 miles during the course of one morning- way more than I’ve done since my diagnosis- and this seems to have caused (I think) a worsening of the discomfort. At present I’m resting as much as possible and avoiding mowing the lawn, washing the car etc. Extremely frustrating.
I wonder about how others have found this condition to change over time. Even with tight blood control, is it a progressive condition that inevitably has a bleak outcome? Is some nerve regeneration over time just a myth? Do you just have to accept a future of steadily diminishing ability to get about and have an active life? I’m feeling particularly depressed about this at the moment, no doubt made worse by suddenly developing tinnitus last year after nursing my dying mother through cancer. I’m told, incidentally, that extreme stress and a “flight or fight” syndrome probably caused the tinnitus.
Anyway, enough of my moans and a big thankyou for anyone who has taken the time to read through these lengthy comments.
I’ve found maintaining a weight of around 13 stone since then very easy and can’t have much visceral fat left! This year I’ve been even stricter with my diet, having scrambled eggs for breakfast instead of Greek yoghurt (which I tended to overindulge), smaller meat portions with loads of green vegetables, and walnuts and almonds for snacks instead of cashews. I regularly test my blood and have seen a further reduction in my waking/before meal/after meal figures during the last few months. Even my waking figures, which had seldom dropped under 6 - 7, are now routinely in the 5.2 - 5.9 range. My pre-meal figure is usually in the 5’s and post-meal rarely exceed 7.
Now all this seems great, but the problem of foot pain stays with me and is the reason I wanted to post these comments. I have some limited numbness on the outer edges of both big toes, together with fluctuating levels of soreness under both feet. This has limited my ability to walk the long distances I used to enjoy, and has made driving often uncomfortable. Although prevailing medical opinion is bleak regarding this condition, with one GP just telling me to get used to it, I thought I was beginning to manage slightly better by the end of last year. This year, however, I seem to be experiencing a real setback, with a marked increase in sensitivity in my toes, soles and heels. GP’s always tell me you can’t make the nerves worse through exercise, but I have repeatedly found this is not so in my case. About 3 weeks ago I walked 5 miles during the course of one morning- way more than I’ve done since my diagnosis- and this seems to have caused (I think) a worsening of the discomfort. At present I’m resting as much as possible and avoiding mowing the lawn, washing the car etc. Extremely frustrating.
I wonder about how others have found this condition to change over time. Even with tight blood control, is it a progressive condition that inevitably has a bleak outcome? Is some nerve regeneration over time just a myth? Do you just have to accept a future of steadily diminishing ability to get about and have an active life? I’m feeling particularly depressed about this at the moment, no doubt made worse by suddenly developing tinnitus last year after nursing my dying mother through cancer. I’m told, incidentally, that extreme stress and a “flight or fight” syndrome probably caused the tinnitus.
Anyway, enough of my moans and a big thankyou for anyone who has taken the time to read through these lengthy comments.
