Part2 of my prediabetis and neuropathy misdiagnostic history
I am a 48 year old French guy so my English is not perfect.
I started posting my "prediabetes and neuropathy misdiagnosis" history on this diabetes forum because there is to my knowledge not such a forum available in French.
In previous post part1 I explained how in 2019 I suddenly started feeling mild numbness and tingling in a foot, symptoms that where not diagnosed - neither by my GP nor by a neurologist - as being related to any diabetic condition (possible too tight shoe according to neuro). Surprisingly diabetes was never even raised as a possible cause by any pratician. I had then zero knowledge of what peripheral neuropathy is.
I also explained how some additional annoying symptoms (appetite and weight loss, anxiety, night sweats, etc.) could not find an answer despite many tests and specialist visits.
Most importantly I explained some issues never understood by my GP nor neurologist :
- the metabolic syndrome and the usually associated "silent" prediabetes (if BG is not regularly checked). My GP - it seems - does not believe in prediabetes neuropathy symptomes, only in long uncontrolled "diagnosed diabetes" neuropathy pathologies like diabetic foot.
- the irrelevence - after a 2 month appetite and weight loss - of a "no diabetic issue" diagnosis based on a fasting BG test "normal results" (though close to the prediabetic level) and a HbA1C unique test (only one done in 5 or more years) normal result. "Good" results that hide a highly probable past (and present) (pre)diabetes.
Finally I explained how after being given a "convenient" general and final diagnostic of "burn out" I progressively felt better, stupidely regaining my metabolic syndrome appetite, then only keeping a very slight occasional tingling and numbness in foot.
So lets start this part2.
At the end of 2019 I was feeling well, though gaining progressively too much weight. I went back to my 97kg for 1m86 but I felt OK, I simply ignored the "pot-belly" remarks from friends.
In 2020 the Covid epidemy and lockdown made me even more sendentary, though I would occasionally do my long urban footings. I was working from home so not that physically active.
In the second part of 2021 I noticed that the tingling and numbness in left foot became a bit more accentuated when walking or jogging but I did not pay too much attention. I was vaguely thinking of some benign age related oversensibility, or maybe was it related to my knee artritis induced by too much urban jogging and overweight. Anyway it was felt mainly when I would start walking with not so comfy shoes. Up to that point in my history I still had no clue what peripheral neuropathy was and how it is closely related to (pre)diabetis and metabolic syndrome.
I never at this point considered visiting my GP or having a BG test done. One activity I surely kept doing was overeating: white bred, butter, white rice, charcuterie, cheese, etc.
The first really slightly upsetting symptom was felt on a couple of occasions around the 2022 new year's eve: walking with not so comfy shoes became really unconfortable: burning and tingling in both feet. I found it annoying just to make a one kilometer walk with those not so comfy shoes. I thought it was temporary, that being sitted too long had maybe impaired temporarily the bloodstream in my feet.
Maybe my overweight and my overused knees were starting playing me tricks? Walking with comfy running shoes though was OK.
In March and April 2022 I started feeling a lack of energy. I had been working from home for quite some time and making long hours, even working at night to meet the deadlines, my sleeping hours were erratic and too short, but I could not make any real association with my lack of energy. Also I felt at times bloated with a vague burning sensation in my stomach/bowels.
Early May I decided that spending 10 days making a hiking roundtrip in Britanny would make me regain my former energy and a bit of my old good shape: long walks, fresh air, sunbathing, seawater, loosing weight, sound eating, etc.
But it happened that during my long walks with my comfy running shoes I never gained energy,
my walking was not like it used to be, not so pleasant, my legs not strong and reactive enough, a general vague fatigue and heaviness had installed. My appetite was never big like before, I started being annoyed of not feeling any real spontaneous appetite, though I still would be eating.
In the evening I would only fancy lying on the bed of my hotel room. My feet felt a bit hot and lacked energy. Especially one toe that had seemed for quite some time now to be a bit less reactive and sensitive, in the left foot just like in 2019. While lying in bed I would almost unconsciously keep flexing and touching my toes to feel their reactivity and strength, as if to reactivate them.
Also quite often very early night sweats would wake me up around 4 or 5 in the morning followed by a vague nausea. Was I having some sort of hypoglycemia ? was it anxiety ? I started asking myself health questions.
I only made my planned long walks and had not the energy for other activities like visiting museums or landmarks.
Maybe my digestive system was at fault?
Digestion had been slow before and during my trip, with a couple of sporadic sudden diarreas, I put it down to stomach irritation or a bug (bad mayonnaise in sandwich).
Coming back home I noticed that I had only lost 2 kilos during my trip: something had to be changed in order to feel better.
I started eating less. Addressing my health troubles took priority over work, I was wanting to have all the good health needed before getting on a new job contract.
One day in May, after having a beer on a street terrace with a friend, I felt a strong tingling in both of my feet while walking, it was a new sensation since the symptoms were vivid, seemed permanent and not restricted to one foot. I kelpt walking and it would not subside in any way. Someting had changed, not in a good way, I became seriously anxious.
I ate very little and lost even more weight, within a couple of weeks I went down from 95 kilos to 88 kilos. Too easy since my appetite was totally gone. My feet had become painful, while walking and even more so after a walk: burning, sporadic pins and needle, pinching, numbness, tingling. Really unpleasant, especially when in standing position or slow walking: I noticed that by walking fast or running my sense of balance was less affected. The motor effect.
I did some jogging, as a vain test to test my feet: I could only run shorter distances than usual. Whenever walking, even a few steps, I had to force on my legs, it took it's toll in physical and mental energy. Fatigue and anxiety was almost constant: for not eating but also induced by my feet constant symptomes. I was waking up in the morning without energy, a bit nauseous. I decided it was time to visit my GP.
Beforehand I had had searched in the net for some possible reason to my symptoms (feet pains, fatigue, night sweats, appetite loss): diabetes mostly came up.
I was not confident that she (my GP) would have the answer to my symptoms (my 2019 experience was not the best) but I needed her for all the blood tests needed. I had an appointment 10 days later. I gave her an account of my symptoms and in return she prescribed a long list of blood tests : glycemia, triglycerides, proteins, vitamins, enzymes, blood formula, hormones, HIV, etc. Like in 2019 she insisted anxiety.
The blood test showed those out of normal range results:
- fasting glycemia: within the low prediabetic "French" range with 6.16 (1.11gr)
- triglycerides : 2.36, normal max level being 1.71, not that surprised, my trygliciderides had been high for many years.
- HDL cholesterol: 0.35gr, norm is >0.40gr.
Consistant with my previous metabolic syndrom.
HbA1C though was normal: 37, I was not surpised knowing that my appetite was gone for almost 2 months now.
Another symptom that showed up regurlarly was excessive and sporadic sweating, especially on the forehead and in the neck pit. An unusual symptom for me who would usually be sweating in the armpits or in the back when too hot or overactive. I was sweating while others were not sweating, it would even happen in air-contionned places. A friend of mine told me it was due to my lack of food intake, I was not sure of that, thinking that something was wrong with my sweating system. Maybe a virus ? Something else ? The autonomic system ? My feet ?
My weight was now 84 kg (for 1.86m), BMI 24, I did not want it to go further down, I had now to overcome my appetite loss and forced myself eating.
A few days after I had a second visit with my GP to give her the results (lab had not transmitted her the results) and to decide on what next had to be done.
Unsurprisingly she vocally rejected the prediabetic issue that I tempted to discuss with her, telling me that what only mattered now was that I had started having healthy eating habits, good sleep, making sport, not being anxious, etc.
I had tried to link my present symptoms with a past long silent prediabetic/metabolic syndrome (or even past diabetic) condition but she brushed it aside while refering to my present HbA1c good level. I tried to explain to her that my recent extreme diet made that good level much irrelevant for a diagnostic of my symptoms, she would get none of my arguments. Anyhow she prescribed an EMG test and some other BG tests to be done in July and September.
In June my symptoms in feet kept progressing not for the good, my prediabetic peripheral neuropathy became even more obvious in my mind.
So that's the end of part2, see coming next part3 for following part of this history of misdiagnosis.
I am a 48 year old French guy so my English is not perfect.
I started posting my "prediabetes and neuropathy misdiagnosis" history on this diabetes forum because there is to my knowledge not such a forum available in French.
In previous post part1 I explained how in 2019 I suddenly started feeling mild numbness and tingling in a foot, symptoms that where not diagnosed - neither by my GP nor by a neurologist - as being related to any diabetic condition (possible too tight shoe according to neuro). Surprisingly diabetes was never even raised as a possible cause by any pratician. I had then zero knowledge of what peripheral neuropathy is.
I also explained how some additional annoying symptoms (appetite and weight loss, anxiety, night sweats, etc.) could not find an answer despite many tests and specialist visits.
Most importantly I explained some issues never understood by my GP nor neurologist :
- the metabolic syndrome and the usually associated "silent" prediabetes (if BG is not regularly checked). My GP - it seems - does not believe in prediabetes neuropathy symptomes, only in long uncontrolled "diagnosed diabetes" neuropathy pathologies like diabetic foot.
- the irrelevence - after a 2 month appetite and weight loss - of a "no diabetic issue" diagnosis based on a fasting BG test "normal results" (though close to the prediabetic level) and a HbA1C unique test (only one done in 5 or more years) normal result. "Good" results that hide a highly probable past (and present) (pre)diabetes.
Finally I explained how after being given a "convenient" general and final diagnostic of "burn out" I progressively felt better, stupidely regaining my metabolic syndrome appetite, then only keeping a very slight occasional tingling and numbness in foot.
So lets start this part2.
At the end of 2019 I was feeling well, though gaining progressively too much weight. I went back to my 97kg for 1m86 but I felt OK, I simply ignored the "pot-belly" remarks from friends.
In 2020 the Covid epidemy and lockdown made me even more sendentary, though I would occasionally do my long urban footings. I was working from home so not that physically active.
In the second part of 2021 I noticed that the tingling and numbness in left foot became a bit more accentuated when walking or jogging but I did not pay too much attention. I was vaguely thinking of some benign age related oversensibility, or maybe was it related to my knee artritis induced by too much urban jogging and overweight. Anyway it was felt mainly when I would start walking with not so comfy shoes. Up to that point in my history I still had no clue what peripheral neuropathy was and how it is closely related to (pre)diabetis and metabolic syndrome.
I never at this point considered visiting my GP or having a BG test done. One activity I surely kept doing was overeating: white bred, butter, white rice, charcuterie, cheese, etc.
The first really slightly upsetting symptom was felt on a couple of occasions around the 2022 new year's eve: walking with not so comfy shoes became really unconfortable: burning and tingling in both feet. I found it annoying just to make a one kilometer walk with those not so comfy shoes. I thought it was temporary, that being sitted too long had maybe impaired temporarily the bloodstream in my feet.
Maybe my overweight and my overused knees were starting playing me tricks? Walking with comfy running shoes though was OK.
In March and April 2022 I started feeling a lack of energy. I had been working from home for quite some time and making long hours, even working at night to meet the deadlines, my sleeping hours were erratic and too short, but I could not make any real association with my lack of energy. Also I felt at times bloated with a vague burning sensation in my stomach/bowels.
Early May I decided that spending 10 days making a hiking roundtrip in Britanny would make me regain my former energy and a bit of my old good shape: long walks, fresh air, sunbathing, seawater, loosing weight, sound eating, etc.
But it happened that during my long walks with my comfy running shoes I never gained energy,
my walking was not like it used to be, not so pleasant, my legs not strong and reactive enough, a general vague fatigue and heaviness had installed. My appetite was never big like before, I started being annoyed of not feeling any real spontaneous appetite, though I still would be eating.
In the evening I would only fancy lying on the bed of my hotel room. My feet felt a bit hot and lacked energy. Especially one toe that had seemed for quite some time now to be a bit less reactive and sensitive, in the left foot just like in 2019. While lying in bed I would almost unconsciously keep flexing and touching my toes to feel their reactivity and strength, as if to reactivate them.
Also quite often very early night sweats would wake me up around 4 or 5 in the morning followed by a vague nausea. Was I having some sort of hypoglycemia ? was it anxiety ? I started asking myself health questions.
I only made my planned long walks and had not the energy for other activities like visiting museums or landmarks.
Maybe my digestive system was at fault?
Digestion had been slow before and during my trip, with a couple of sporadic sudden diarreas, I put it down to stomach irritation or a bug (bad mayonnaise in sandwich).
Coming back home I noticed that I had only lost 2 kilos during my trip: something had to be changed in order to feel better.
I started eating less. Addressing my health troubles took priority over work, I was wanting to have all the good health needed before getting on a new job contract.
One day in May, after having a beer on a street terrace with a friend, I felt a strong tingling in both of my feet while walking, it was a new sensation since the symptoms were vivid, seemed permanent and not restricted to one foot. I kelpt walking and it would not subside in any way. Someting had changed, not in a good way, I became seriously anxious.
I ate very little and lost even more weight, within a couple of weeks I went down from 95 kilos to 88 kilos. Too easy since my appetite was totally gone. My feet had become painful, while walking and even more so after a walk: burning, sporadic pins and needle, pinching, numbness, tingling. Really unpleasant, especially when in standing position or slow walking: I noticed that by walking fast or running my sense of balance was less affected. The motor effect.
I did some jogging, as a vain test to test my feet: I could only run shorter distances than usual. Whenever walking, even a few steps, I had to force on my legs, it took it's toll in physical and mental energy. Fatigue and anxiety was almost constant: for not eating but also induced by my feet constant symptomes. I was waking up in the morning without energy, a bit nauseous. I decided it was time to visit my GP.
Beforehand I had had searched in the net for some possible reason to my symptoms (feet pains, fatigue, night sweats, appetite loss): diabetes mostly came up.
I was not confident that she (my GP) would have the answer to my symptoms (my 2019 experience was not the best) but I needed her for all the blood tests needed. I had an appointment 10 days later. I gave her an account of my symptoms and in return she prescribed a long list of blood tests : glycemia, triglycerides, proteins, vitamins, enzymes, blood formula, hormones, HIV, etc. Like in 2019 she insisted anxiety.
The blood test showed those out of normal range results:
- fasting glycemia: within the low prediabetic "French" range with 6.16 (1.11gr)
- triglycerides : 2.36, normal max level being 1.71, not that surprised, my trygliciderides had been high for many years.
- HDL cholesterol: 0.35gr, norm is >0.40gr.
Consistant with my previous metabolic syndrom.
HbA1C though was normal: 37, I was not surpised knowing that my appetite was gone for almost 2 months now.
Another symptom that showed up regurlarly was excessive and sporadic sweating, especially on the forehead and in the neck pit. An unusual symptom for me who would usually be sweating in the armpits or in the back when too hot or overactive. I was sweating while others were not sweating, it would even happen in air-contionned places. A friend of mine told me it was due to my lack of food intake, I was not sure of that, thinking that something was wrong with my sweating system. Maybe a virus ? Something else ? The autonomic system ? My feet ?
My weight was now 84 kg (for 1.86m), BMI 24, I did not want it to go further down, I had now to overcome my appetite loss and forced myself eating.
A few days after I had a second visit with my GP to give her the results (lab had not transmitted her the results) and to decide on what next had to be done.
Unsurprisingly she vocally rejected the prediabetic issue that I tempted to discuss with her, telling me that what only mattered now was that I had started having healthy eating habits, good sleep, making sport, not being anxious, etc.
I had tried to link my present symptoms with a past long silent prediabetic/metabolic syndrome (or even past diabetic) condition but she brushed it aside while refering to my present HbA1c good level. I tried to explain to her that my recent extreme diet made that good level much irrelevant for a diagnostic of my symptoms, she would get none of my arguments. Anyhow she prescribed an EMG test and some other BG tests to be done in July and September.
In June my symptoms in feet kept progressing not for the good, my prediabetic peripheral neuropathy became even more obvious in my mind.
So that's the end of part2, see coming next part3 for following part of this history of misdiagnosis.
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