Toes feeling strange

[dani1989]

Hi everyone,

I am new to the website but finding it very helpful so far.
Bit of background:
I have had type 2 diabetes for about 2 years now and I'm a 30 year old female. Onset was from PCOS and weight gain / bad eating habits. Also have a very strong history of this in my family. I am now on Trulicity (injections) and metformin and have been for about 5 months. I believe my sugar levels are now well controlled and I am eating well and exercising regularly.

About 4 weeks ago I started getting this strange feeling under my foot at the top end right under my 2nd toe. Kind of felt like something was under there. It came and went but now its become constant. 2nd toe feels very strange like its almost dead / limp. I also get weird sensations thru the 2nd and 3rd toe now as well but not all the time. When I'm walking it just feels very strange / odd almost like its asleep while I walk on it. Its not swollen or numb or tender. I still feel like there's a strange spot under the 2nd toe as well. My balance has started to get worse as well on this foot.
I wear good shoes and orthotics from my podiatrist.

Can anyone else relate to this or have had any other similar experiences and can shed some light? I thought maybe it could be related to my Diabetes but I am not sure. I am seeing my GP in 2 weeks and also my podiatrist again in 2 weeks time but just wanted to see if anyone else has had this issue? It is extremely irritating and making it hard for me to stand at work all day.

 

[Geordie_P]

Before my first diagnosis, I had quite severe neuropathy in my toes, the balls of my feet and my right thumb.
My middle toes on my right foot had no feeling, the balls of my feet just hurt all the time, and my right thumb had permanent pins and needles. In my case, it was related to a combination of diabetes/ pre-diabetes, hyperlipedemia and extremely high triglycerides. It gradually but completely disappeared when I got my weight and blood sugar levels back down to normal levels.
Although it could be different for you, I would not be surprised if your foot pains are related to diabetes, or related circulatory issues. The plus side is that once you identify the issue, there is a lot you can do to make it better- good luck!

 

[Crocodile]

It sounds like early stages of peripheral neuropathy. Get it checked out, as although suspicious given your diabetes it could turn out to be unrelated. I have a similar story to yours. Numbness and diminished sensation in my toes and ball of the feet. Once I got my glucose under control it improved to the point that it is not very noticeable now. Supplements of Alpha Lipoic Acid helped in the early stages.

https://dmsjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1758-5996-6-139

I've linked the above article for you to read. It is quite compelling. The gist of the article is that neuropathy can still occur with well controlled HbA1c if they also have short duration spikes in glucose levels. Since HbA1c is only an average of the last three months, short duration spikes are not detected. If it indeed turns out to be neuropathy you need to do both glycemic control strategies. Keep HbA1c low AND prevent short term spikes. This of course means drastic reductions in carbohydrates. This is where a blood glucose meter is essential, despite the reluctance of many diabetic carers insisting that T2s don't require them. You will only be able to achieve the type of tight control required by measuring your before meal levels and 2 hours post meal and making sure that you record what foods cause spikes. It's tough at first but pretty easy when you get used to it. For the record, I keep my HbA1c between 5.4 and 5.8 ( 36 to 40 in mmol units ) and try to keep the spikes below 2.

Good luck,
Glenn

 

[MollieB]

It could be early stages of peripheral neuropathy. Do ask your doctor if they could check a Vitamin B12 and folate. Metformin can lead to deficiency in these vitamins and deficiency, in B12 at least, can lead to peripheral neuropathy. (Just to be clear, not all peripheral neuropathy is because of vitamin B12 deficiency. The diabetes itself can lead to the neuropathy but low B12 can contribute to it too.

 

[dani1989]

Thank you all so much! i am off to the GP today and the podiatrist friday so will hopefully get some answers then!

 

[Caprock94]

Before my first diagnosis, I had quite severe neuropathy in my toes, the balls of my feet and my right thumb.
My middle toes on my right foot had no feeling, the balls of my feet just hurt all the time, and my right thumb had permanent pins and needles. In my case, it was related to a combination of diabetes/ pre-diabetes, hyperlipedemia and extremely high triglycerides. It gradually but completely disappeared when I got my weight and blood sugar levels back down to normal levels.
Although it could be different for you, I would not be surprised if your foot pains are related to diabetes, or related circulatory issues. The plus side is that once you identify the issue, there is a lot you can do to make it better- good luck!

Glad to hear you overcame it! How long did it take?

 

[Geordie_P]

Glad to hear you overcame it! How long did it take?

Not that long: only as long as it took to get my sugars and triglycerides back to normal. Really about 6 months, but with the caveat that that was 6 months of very strict diet and rapid weight-loss. I had also been drinking quite heavily up until diagnosis, and went tee-total afterwards, so I think that accelerated things. Apart from that, I just slept with my feet raised and no pillow under my head. I think because mine was based mainly on hyperlipidemia, it was quicker to pass, but I'm pretty sure consistent sugar control will help most neuropathy at least improve. Dr Bernstein has a youtube lecture on how nerve damage can be repaired: it was quite good, IIRC