Type 1 Pains And Reducing Hba1c

[benack1992]

Hi There,

I have been having some problems recently and wanted to see if anyone is in a similar position/ may be able to give me any advice.

I have had type 1 diabetes for 18 years (since 7), the last few years i haven't been well controlled. February my HBa1c was at 100 and last month was at 80. the last few weeks i have been carb counting everything and really keeping an eye on everything i eat and my sugars, sometimes testing 10-15 times a day to ensure i get a good idea of patterns after eating certain foods etc.

This has obviously meant my blood sugars have gone from being too high on average to being pretty stabilized between 4 and 8 very quickly.

Last week i had some pain in my heart and have had a tight chest, some gut pain (assumed it could be GERD), blocked nose and cold symptoms. My calves also get very tight and hurt when i walk too fast, there is no swelling and no unusual marks on them. I also find my legs and arms can get warm and uncomfortable when resting them at certain angles. I havent lost any feeling on my feet, arms, fingers or anywhere as i check regularly.

I went to the doctors about my heart and they checked my blood pressure, bpm, heart beat pattern and ran an ECG and all came back normal, said it could be down to stress.

I guess my thinking is could it be neuropathy, or could the pains be my sugars being controlled in a short space of time and not gradually. Has anyone done this and had any of these problems?

Thank you very much!

 

[kitedoc]

Hi @benack1992 and welcome. It sounds to me like perhaps you have had a viral infection of some sort.
That is a guess, not professional advice or opinion.
As they say, if pain (and other things persist or worsen) see your doctor again.
Great to see you really paying attention to you BSLs. Would some form of glucose monitoring device ease the
trauma on your fingers from so many pinpricks.?
There are threads on site about Libre, and the pump CGMs which might be read off a mobile phone (? Android mostly) without need for the pump.
Hope you are feeling better soon.

 

[Jo_the_boat]

Hi @benack1992 and welcome. It sounds to me like perhaps you have had a viral infection of some sort.
That is a guess, not professional advice or opinion.
As they say, if pain (and other things persist or worsen) see your doctor again.
Great to see you really paying attention to you BSLs. Would some form of glucose monitoring device ease the
trauma on your fingers from so many pinpricks.?
There are threads on site about Libre, and the pump CGMs which might be read off a mobile phone (? Android mostly) without need for the pump.
Hope you are feeling better soon.

@kitedoc . For a person who dislikes black jelly beans you don't half come up with some sensible suggestions!
Here's another guess - guess only mind. Bear in mind we are not medics!!
Presumably all your tests, BP etc.were done at rest? Sore calves while exercising is a sign of possible circulation issues. I have some problems with circulation and sore calves (and hips and lower back and bum) when walking uphill but my BP etc. is all fine at rest. The pain goes when I rest for a minute.
Stress is a funny one too, it can cause all sorts of problems.
Well done getting you blood sugars under better control.

 

[jnk001]

Hi There,

I have been having some problems recently and wanted to see if anyone is in a similar position/ may be able to give me any advice.

I have had type 1 diabetes for 18 years (since 7), the last few years i haven't been well controlled. February my HBa1c was at 100 and last month was at 80. the last few weeks i have been carb counting everything and really keeping an eye on everything i eat and my sugars, sometimes testing 10-15 times a day to ensure i get a good idea of patterns after eating certain foods etc.

This has obviously meant my blood sugars have gone from being too high on average to being pretty stabilized between 4 and 8 very quickly.

Last week i had some pain in my heart and have had a tight chest, some gut pain (assumed it could be GERD), blocked nose and cold symptoms. My calves also get very tight and hurt when i walk too fast, there is no swelling and no unusual marks on them. I also find my legs and arms can get warm and uncomfortable when resting them at certain angles. I havent lost any feeling on my feet, arms, fingers or anywhere as i check regularly.

I went to the doctors about my heart and they checked my blood pressure, bpm, heart beat pattern and ran an ECG and all came back normal, said it could be down to stress.

I guess my thinking is could it be neuropathy, or could the pains be my sugars being controlled in a short space of time and not gradually. Has anyone done this and had any of these problems?

Thank you very much!

If you are on statins then it could be them causing these muscle aches - it can come on even if you have been taking the same statin for years ,

 

[ickihun]

Hi There,

I have been having some problems recently and wanted to see if anyone is in a similar position/ may be able to give me any advice.

I have had type 1 diabetes for 18 years (since 7), the last few years i haven't been well controlled. February my HBa1c was at 100 and last month was at 80. the last few weeks i have been carb counting everything and really keeping an eye on everything i eat and my sugars, sometimes testing 10-15 times a day to ensure i get a good idea of patterns after eating certain foods etc.

This has obviously meant my blood sugars have gone from being too high on average to being pretty stabilized between 4 and 8 very quickly.

Last week i had some pain in my heart and have had a tight chest, some gut pain (assumed it could be GERD), blocked nose and cold symptoms. My calves also get very tight and hurt when i walk too fast, there is no swelling and no unusual marks on them. I also find my legs and arms can get warm and uncomfortable when resting them at certain angles. I havent lost any feeling on my feet, arms, fingers or anywhere as i check regularly.

I went to the doctors about my heart and they checked my blood pressure, bpm, heart beat pattern and ran an ECG and all came back normal, said it could be down to stress.

I guess my thinking is could it be neuropathy, or could the pains be my sugars being controlled in a short space of time and not gradually. Has anyone done this and had any of these problems?

Thank you very much!

Do you get palpitations with the chest pains?
Are you eating a low carb diet?

 

[ickihun]

I had same symptoms after starting low carb diet. I discovered my insulins were expecting more carbs. They're even tested that way before signed off as being safe.
After speaking to a bariatric dietician she advised me not to go too low carb. Hence less muscular cramps and aches. By the way I don't take statins so they weren't guilty.
I found I am often low in iron and at times iron deficient. When was your full bloods tested? I had a full blood count done recently too.
Best to get gp to investigate. They will if you return with same complaint.

Let me know how you get on. Get well soon!

Ps. My MSK advisor says diabetes effects everything including ligaments, muscles, joints and circulation.
Keep up with excellent bgs and I've heard if it's neuropathy it can improve, if given the chance.

 

[Alison54321]

The pain in your calves could be an early sign of intermittent claudication. You are now getting your blood sugars under control, which is the most important thing to do, and are treating this as an early warning sign, which is right. That's the best thing you can do.

As well as controlling blood sugar, it's worth looking at your diet, a quick google will find you foods that are good for arterial health, mostly mediterranean diet type foods, and obviously keep exercising. Getting into better habits now will serve you well in the longer term.

The doctor is probably right about stress, so try not to worry too much, just eat as well as you can, exercise, and keep those blood sugars under control, all that will help.

 

[NigelStevens]

I dont want to alarm you but the symptoms of pains in the extremities tightness in the chest were the first symptoms i had to diagnose diabetes by. However there was more at play than just diabetes. I had the full range of blood tests. Blood pressure etc and was told for months there wad nothing wrong. A couple of hospital trips found nothing but chest pains kept popping up. Eventually after i almost collapsed whilst walking to the doctors i was taken back into hospital and test done showed i had had a heart attack whilst walking into the doctors. All those chest pains had been Angina attacks. Which they hadnt caught whilst happening. I ended up with 2 stents in my heart. However theres an item known as a GTN spray that can help relieve the pain of Angina attacks. Its full name is Glyceryl Trinitrate. It might be worth discussing this with your doctor to see if they will prescribe you one if the chest pains are regular. That way you can see if that helps.

 

[benack1992]

Hi @benack1992 and welcome. It sounds to me like perhaps you have had a viral infection of some sort.
That is a guess, not professional advice or opinion.
As they say, if pain (and other things persist or worsen) see your doctor again.
Great to see you really paying attention to you BSLs. Would some form of glucose monitoring device ease the
trauma on your fingers from so many pinpricks.?
There are threads on site about Libre, and the pump CGMs which might be read off a mobile phone (? Android mostly) without need for the pump.
Hope you are feeling better soon.

I dont want to alarm you but the symptoms of pains in the extremities tightness in the chest were the first symptoms i had to diagnose diabetes by. However there was more at play than just diabetes. I had the full range of blood tests. Blood pressure etc and was told for months there wad nothing wrong. A couple of hospital trips found nothing but chest pains kept popping up. Eventually after i almost collapsed whilst walking to the doctors i was taken back into hospital and test done showed i had had a heart attack whilst walking into the doctors. All those chest pains had been Angina attacks. Which they hadnt caught whilst happening. I ended up with 2 stents in my heart. However theres an item known as a GTN spray that can help relieve the pain of Angina attacks. Its full name is Glyceryl Trinitrate. It might be worth discussing this with your doctor to see if they will prescribe you one if the chest pains are regular. That way you can see if that helps.

Hi Nigel,
Thanks very much for replying and alarming is fine with me i just want to make sure i look after myself and find out if anythings wrong. I did look at most heart problems online to see if they could match up and angina seems to say the chest pains come on when doing physical activity and goes away on resting, whereas i seem to have the opposite it will come about when sitting down but never when going on a run or a long walk.
Did you get the pains just when doing activity or was it similar?
Thanks very much for your help.

 

[kitedoc]

Hi @benack1992, A goof friend of mine used to message me with a query: Welfare cheque ? After a double take I realised he was checking up on my welfare. So I enquire the same of you: Welfare cheque? How are you travelling ?

 

[NigelStevens]

Hi Nigel,
Thanks very much for replying and alarming is fine with me i just want to make sure i look after myself and find out if anythings wrong. I did look at most heart problems online to see if they could match up and angina seems to say the chest pains come on when doing physical activity and goes away on resting, whereas i seem to have the opposite it will come about when sitting down but never when going on a run or a long walk.
Did you get the pains just when doing activity or was it similar?
Thanks very much for your help.

My first unrecognised attack came on whilst i was having a bath. I was bending over rinsing my hair. That made getting out of the bath very difficult. Pain disappeared when i lay down. Called an ambulance but by the time it had got to me everything appeared back to normal. 6 months later i started getting pains in my legs when walking my dog on her twice a day 2km walk. Roughly 6 months after that i started getting chest pains about 1km into the walk. Around about this point i was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes but told i was young there was nothing wrong with my heart. After a couple of weeks of pain whilst walking i started to get pains come on at night whilst i was lying down or sleeping. At this point a GTN spray would have eased the pain. But i kept being told there was nothing wrong. The pain was that intense i put enough pressure on my teeth that i broke multiples. Hairline fractures at or below gum level. One of these occasions i went to hospital but the found nothing. That was a sunday. I had a doctors appointment already booked for the monday. It was on the way into that appointment that i had my heart attack. Whilst i was almost collapsed in the doctors office she didnt do any checks but asked if i wanted an ambulance called. I said yes,they took me back to hospital and doing the same tests that had been done the day day before resulted in antibodies showing i had suffered a heart attack. i was transferred into a ward there and the Angina attacks started again, which is when i was introduced to the GTN spray. 2 sprays under the tongue and the chest pains subsided almost instantly. Less than 24hrs later i was in surgery getting 2 stents in my heart via keyhole surgery in my right wrist.

I still get tightness in my chest every so often and if it doesnt clear i have a GTN spray to hand. If a couple of doses of that doesnt help its time to call an ambulance, but thats not been needed since the heart attack.

TLR

The Angina chest pains could come on randomly even whilst lying down and sleeping, so when there was no exertion involved.

 

[benack1992]

Hi @benack1992, A goof friend of mine used to message me with a query: Welfare cheque ? After a double take I realised he was checking up on my welfare. So I enquire the same of you: Welfare cheque? How are you travelling ?

Hi Kitedoc,
Appreciate the message!
Most of the symptoms are now gone so think it's possible it could have been a stomach virus or chest infection. Had also put on a bit of weight so could of explained some pains.
Keeping well controlled and got my resting heart rate down to 62.
Going to write everything down and let my doctor know at my next appointment.
My next hba1c is the end of November so will post results when I get them!

 

[kitedoc]

Hi Kitedoc,
Appreciate the message!
Most of the symptoms are now gone so think it's possible it could have been a stomach virus or chest infection. Had also put on a bit of weight so could of explained some pains.
Keeping well controlled and got my resting heart rate down to 62.
Going to write everything down and let my doctor know at my next appointment.
My next hba1c is the end of November so will post results when I get them!

Good to hear. I hope you stay well and that all continues swimmingly with a great result come November.