Clogging of Arteries

Louisc said:

Hello Everyone,
I am 64 years old, and have had Type 1 diabetic for 49 years. Up until last year i had experienced most of the trials and tribulations that you would expect with T1 over this length of time. However, during the pandemic i started to experience pains in my calf muscles during walking. To add to this i have also got flat feet. Recently i was diagnosed with clogged arteries in both legs, and regular leg exercise was to be the prime treatment. Has anyone come across any other reliable methods to declog the arteries naturally - or is it just a myth. My quality of life is not good at the moment, and any help or advice would be appreciated.

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Sorry to hear you are suffering with this issue (peripheral arterial disease ). Not a medic but am aware as a type 1 of 40 years+ that arterial disease is a common side effect of long duration diabetes.
If you have had abnormal blood sugars for some time, as do all type 1s, then you end up damaging the lining of your arteries. Some people believe that Ldl cholesterol then builds up as part of the repair process but all agree that clots can break free and cause damage to the heart, brain or in your case arterial plaque bui;ds up and reduces circulation to your lower limbs.
The Accord Study in 2008 (I think) said that the damage associated with this was mroe likely once your hba1c went above 7% .
Not sure about reversal of the damage but I think stabilising it by keeping blood sugars as low as you can will stop further damage.
Also be very careful with looking after your feet e.g. regularly checking for any small damage
A lower carb diet may help you achieve better bgs . Going to the other extreme the Ornish diet was reported to reverse some damage (very low fat vegan).
You can improve your circulation to your lower limbs with some exercises. Apologies if you've already been assigned most of these.
1 Walk - you may get cramps but see if you can build up the time before you have to stop and turn back.
2 Bodyweight squats - get blood to the major muscles (bum, thighs and lower legs). 10-15 repetitions. If you have Swiss ball, lean into this against a wall to allow greater depth and protect the knees.
3 Heel raises and toe raises (hold onto a work top if your balance is poor!)
4 Get a foam roller to increase blood supply to the muscles (it is the lack of this which causes your cramps)
5 Lie on your back with your legs up on a high cushion (calves and feet ) as high as possible. You can circle the ankles and flex the feet.
6 Stationary cycle reclined if you can't walk very much at the gym or see below:
8 Use a yoga strap or band to stretch the calves and legs (hanmstrngs and quads) - done seated or lying down.


Best of luck and I do hope you are able to feel a bit better.

Louisc said:

Hello NicholeC1971,

Thank you, for getting back to me so quickly. I will definitely take a deeper look at these 'lower limb' exercises and try them out, but i am still intrigued about the 'declogging' aspect as well. I am very aware that you have to be extremely careful about what is posted on social media sites, but it it is an area that i will look at in further detail.

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I do think it is going to be about keeping the calcification stable and not incurring further damage perhaps? Have your coronary arteries also been assessed for this disease btw?

Hi
I have P.A.D. plus a blockage diagnosed with an angiogram.
Not sure if you have actual blockages or narrowing.
IMO NicoleC1971 offers some good advice.
My vascular specialist said the three things that will help, even improve things, which they have in my case: don't smoke, keep blood sugars low (for me low carb diet) and exercise. (I also lost 2 + stone excess body weight). Claudication is indeed a symptom, particularly when walking uphill. I was told to try and push through it a bit. Of course, the pain subsides quickly with rest. (I also cycle as you can see from my avatar - but often it's quicker walking! )
I can now walk further than I could when diagnosed, first with T2 (I do note you are T1), then blood vessel problems.
In my case it's about making collateral blood vessels, not sure if that is awakening 'dormant' vessels or actually making new ones, literally creating vessels to get round a blockage. But things have improved for me.

Just out of interest, during a bit of recent research, I discovered we have 60,000 + miles of blood vessels in our bodies, so it's worth doing your best with them!

Please note that I'm not T1, I know that management of T1 is a different ball-game to T2,
Best of luck

DONT SMOKE !!!

The more exercise you can tolerate the better to keep circulation in good condition to your legs. Do note that if you take vit D3 supplements you may wish to add vit K2 to avoid additional arterial wall calcification.