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Anyone here recover from burning feet and/or hands?

C

Caprock94

Well-Known Member
Messages
337
I was diagnosed last April. Quickly lowered my levels to normal range with LCHF. Have managed to stay there. Started getting a burning type of pain in feet about 6 weeks AFTER diagnosis (as numbers lowered). Hands aren't as bad, but feel warm at times. I know it takes time, but I'm hoping some here have some success stories, tips, etc. I know Jim Lahey went through it and came out on the other side.
 
I am also interested if anyone has recovered.
 
I can recall a number of members posting to say that various neuropathy type pains have improved while getting their blood glucose under control. Sometimes the pain gets worse before it gets better which may be a sign that the nerves are regrowing.

Off the top of my head, I can remember @Jim Lahey experienced great improvements.

You may also find this video interesting.
The key component seems to be getting blood glucose under tight control and keeping it there so that the damage can heal.

I also suggest you do a forum search for threads on neuropathy and r-ALA since this is a fairly frequent discussion and there are lots of people giving their personal perspectives and experiences on those threads.

Edited to add: my personal experience is that if I let my blood glucose swing too high and then back again for even as short a time as a week (e.g. on holiday) I start to experience stabbing pains in my feet. Once I get back to my normal routine and my bgs return to more steady readings, with a much smaller variation, the pains fade and disappear. I find it incredibly motivating to keep to low steady blood glucose, since the alternative is experiencing someone stick a red hot needle up into the sole of my foot at random intervals throughout the day.
 
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Hi @Caprock94 sad to hear you're still in pain. My first post here was asking about this, and I remember your friendly reply hoping things would get better for both of us. I got lucky, after a couple of months of treatment-induced neuropathy things went back to normal. It was awful while it lasted though. Leg cramps and stabbing pains would wake me up in the middle of the night. Once I was walking to work when my whole leg suddenly went numb and I had to sit down. It made me feel like a very old woman.

What about you? It sounds like things are better than last year, which is a good thing.
 

Mine hasn't gone as extreme as yours, although I did have some stabbing pains. Those have largely gone. My feet just hurt/burn, especially after walking a significant distance. My hands feel hot. ALA, for some reason, seems to make it worse! It's like I'm getting too much blood flow to my hands and feet. They are very sensitive.
 
I have this - it's been a lot better since I started LCHF, now it's just a vague tingle. At only three months in I hope it might go away completely, eventually. At its worst a couple of years back I couldn't sleep - burning, tingling, you name it. Worst when I took the weight off my feet. Although it's a well-known diabetes symptom I was told it wasn't diabetes as my BG wasn't high enough (then).
 
Mine got better, but seems to be worse lately. I’m hoping it’s more nerves regenerating?? My blood sugar control remains good.
 
Mine have improved - although I had non diabetic neuropathy due to very low folic acid (B9) levels, that my GP failed to test for over a few years of my reporting symptoms. Once I was finally prescribed folic acid and my levels slowly crept up to normal there was an improvement.
In the year between, as the neuropathy partially resolved, the restless legs and the itching/tingling were worse.
 
Pura Vida said:
Since I take 150 mg of R.ALA and low carb.it has improved
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. Do you just have a burning pain, or other symptoms? I haven't had any numbness or tingling. Seems like when I take more R-ALA, it almost seems to intensify the feelings!
 

Interesting. Glad you found something that helped.
 
Caprock94 said:
Mine got better, but seems to be worse lately. I’m hoping it’s more nerves regenerating?? My blood sugar control remains good.
Click to expand...
You don't think it could be something in the LCHF diet? Like magnesium deficiency. It can cause burning hands, and is likely if you eat a lot of dairy and drink caffeinated beverages on top of low carb. Might be worth trying supplements for a few weeks to see if it makes any difference.
 

I am having the same issue. It’s going on now more than a year now, to me. Makes life and diabetes even harder
 

Interesting. I do drink a lot of diet sodas.
 
Reading all the posts it seems we are still in the dark with this condition and possible treatments.

I have had neuropathy in both feet/legs for 4 years and would say my sugar control has been good for the last 2 years at least. Lots of positive changes but the neuropathy just won't go.

I tried 300 Mg R-ALA a year ago for 3 months, with no change so I gave up on them. Then recently on here I read that a higher dose of 1200 Mg worked for a member. So as a compromise, just 2 weeks ago I started with the R-ALA taking 3 x 300 per day and something is defintely changing, but it's hard to describe.

As some have said, when you put your feet up, or try to sleep the burning gets worse, but in my case it was merely uncomfortable as opposed to painful. I never had a problem sleeping. This hasn't changed, but the sensation during the day has, a little. It's almost like it's gone during the day, but comes back at night. I will continue with the R-ALA for a few months and see what happens.

I am sure there msut be ongoing research in this field but I haven't found anything so far.
 

Interesting. Mine don't usually keep my from sleeping, but they hurt when I wake up in the morning. They hurt the worst after walking a lot.
 
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