Hi Mary Rachel
I cannot believe your doc said that, you're only 41, not ready for the knackers yard!
I'm your age and been type-1 for 21 years. I had all the probs you describe and more, plus lousy BG control, too many ups and downs. When I was at my worst I was a zombie, in constant pain and misdiagnosed with Fibromyalgia, depression and IBS
Getting off analogue insulin and changing to animal insulin changed my life for the better.
There coud be lots of reasons for the probs your suffering, but don't rule out analogue insulin as a cause. It's not only Lantus that causes side-effects similar to those you describe, there's a woman on this forum who's pain was caused by Humalog. A significant number of patients cannot tolerate these insulins, and you may be one of those people.
Have you tried animal insulin? Might be worth it for a trial period to see if your symptoms decrease.
You should give the IDDT a ring for further info.
Hope that helps
Jus