Warm feeling in foot

Emck

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162
Type of diabetes
Type 1
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Hi all,

I was wondering if there were any folk out there with experience of neuropathy that could share their experiences?

Last week, I was sitting at my desk at work and my right foot started to feel quite warm. I did't think much of it, it lasted maybe 30mins. I removed my shoe and my foot wasn't warm to the touch, just pretty normal temp.

Yesterday the feeling returned, the same kind of thing, foot feels really warm but isn't...

My sugars are pretty well-controlled now, but I had struggled with swings and dawn phenomenon before I found the combo of fiasp and levemir (hba1c in the 40s, following DAFNE rules) and I haven't had any diabetes-related foot problems before. I have sensation in all areas of my feet and good circulation.

It so happens that I have an appointment for a foot check next week so will be asking the nurse then.

Sometimes it's good to hear the experience of other diabetics too.

Can neuropathy come on suddenly, or how did it start for you?

It might be worth noting that I have had a few sciatic nerve issues following a heavy gym session a few weeks ago and this leg has suffered a running injury, so this may all be non-diabetic.

But in case it is, I'd like to be prepared.
 

Languagelearner

Well-Known Member
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143
Type of diabetes
Type 2
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Diet only
Well, someone else will give you a more informed reply, but one of my problems at the moment is what I thought was a long and stubborn sprained ankle - although there was no sprain incident, I hadn't even knocked it. After testing at 48 on blood sugar (results of the 2nd test are due tomorrow or wednesday), I thought it might be neuropathy. then I noticed the pain stopped in the ankle, and then it was toes, and then it was the side of the foot, and then it was the other side of the foot, and then it was the shin, and now back to the ankle. So this foot pain has been ongoing two or three weeks so far. At one point, I could only move around the house (eg go into the kitchen, or get up out of bed) with a walking stick. And I had a high-carb day as an experiment, and sure enough my ankle started hurting much worse, and now I've done keto for a few days, the ankle pain is much less. I've put an ankle support from Boots on the ankle, to try to avoid pooling of fluid there. The ankle support can be put on in two ways - either with the long bit covering most of the foot, or with the long bit up the shin, and as the pain moves around I've changed the way the ankle support is on. Ibuprofen makes no difference at all. Icing the foot also makes no difference at all - as I think it is not fundamentally a sprained ankle. Maybe you should get an ankle support and keep it on most of the time? Or a compression sock (only not too tight, but with some compression). I think my ankle will remind me not to have carbohydrates, as I really don't want to crawl everywhere. I should add that the doctor prescribed me Folic Acid for a B9 deficiency.
 
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Emck

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162
Type of diabetes
Type 1
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Thanks for your input @Languagelearner ! I hope you are getting on ok this week.

I went to the nurse and she said that my feet were fine. She didn’t really want to listen about the feeling that I’ve been experiencing, just brushed it off and sent me on my way.

The feeling seems to come and go (went away completely for a few days) but was pretty intense last night. I want to follow up but realise that the NHS probably doesn’t have time to deal with me at the moment.

Could it be a completely different thing? Sciatica? Pinched nerve? B12 deficiency from metformin? Everything I google says neuropathy!!!
 

Languagelearner

Well-Known Member
Messages
143
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Well, it could easily be neuropathy and you don't need a foot amputation because the nurse wasn't interested. If I were you, I'd cut back on all carbs, and go for a high fat diet. My foot has played up for more than a month, and I am often unable to walk, but I find that overeating protein can also make things worse. I had four slices of cooked beef and then an hour later I couldn't walk. So although the keto diet is protein and fat, protein can also turn into glucose and fat has to be the main thing in the diet. After being unable to walk yesterday, I ate nothing but several spoonfuls of peanut butter yesterday (some protein, some carbs, but mainly fat) as well as some strawberries to add fibre to ward off constipation - and today my foot isn't perfect, but it's a lot better. As you can see, I'm not living on gourmet cuisine. If anyone comes to visit, I'll offer them a spoonful of peanut butter for lunch. I've also ordered Swanson Ultra Double Strength R-Fraction Alpha Lipoic Acid from Health Monthly - other forum members say this is good for neuropathy. The link is: https://www.healthmonthly.co.uk/swanson_ultra_double_strength_r-fraction_alpha_lipoic_acid
 
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Languagelearner

Well-Known Member
Messages
143
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I've taken some metformin - not prescribed to me, but purchased by a relative from India - and I now think this has made my feet feel bad. Google metformin and neuropathy. I have stopped having it and my feet are improving.
 
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Emck

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162
Type of diabetes
Type 1
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I have been advised against LCHF by by diabetes team, I'm on DAFNE and pretty well controlled with that.
I do take metformin though, as I have quite bad insulin resistence (the doctors don't know why).

My feet seem outwardly fine, there is no numbness and a really strong pulse.

I have booked in with my physio today (potentially my last contact with the outside world before we lock down for 12 weeks), so will see if she notices anything. I have also had nerve tingles right down my leg with this.

It was totally fine yesterday after I did a lot of stretching of my lower back on Monday but back with a vengeance today!
 

Languagelearner

Well-Known Member
Messages
143
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I have been advised against LCHF by by diabetes team, I'm on DAFNE and pretty well controlled with that.
I do take metformin though, as I have quite bad insulin resistence (the doctors don't know why).

My feet seem outwardly fine, there is no numbness and a really strong pulse.

I have booked in with my physio today (potentially my last contact with the outside world before we lock down for 12 weeks), so will see if she notices anything. I have also had nerve tingles right down my leg with this.

It was totally fine yesterday after I did a lot of stretching of my lower back on Monday but back with a vengeance today!

If i were you I'd rather know your doctor's reasoning for dissuading you from cutting out carbohydrates. He may be able to tell you. But my trust in the medical industry is pretty low and I like to find out myself what the reasons for things are.
 
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Emck

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162
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
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Talking to my dietician, she advised that being in a permanent state of ketosis just isn’t advisable from a health perspective.

I don’t think that I need to cut carbs out as I can manage my diabetes with insulin, using the DAFNE rules.

Regarding my foot, it ended up being related to a trapped sciatic nerve. I got to see a physio just before lockdown and she was able to release it through massage! So glad I saw her before the physios we’re stopped!
 
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Languagelearner

Well-Known Member
Messages
143
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Talking to my dietician, she advised that being in a permanent state of ketosis just isn’t advisable from a health perspective.

I don’t think that I need to cut carbs out as I can manage my diabetes with insulin, using the DAFNE rules.

Regarding my foot, it ended up being related to a trapped sciatic nerve. I got to see a physio just before lockdown and she was able to release it through massage! So glad I saw her before the physios we’re stopped!

It sounds like you've sorted it out. And you are happy managing diabetes with insulin. That's all fine, but from what I've read it is NOT an expert opinion for her to tell you there is a problem being in ketosis permanently. What were our cave men ancestors adapted to? Sugar and chocolate? Or meat and fat? But in any case, you seem fine, and Type1 is something different, so you know best what you're to do.