Hi all,
Question for you, as I seem to have many doctors stumped and I cannot get two to agree on a diagnosis!!
I am late onset type 2, diagnosed approx 2 1/2 years ago. Never been too high as far as BG is concerned, check sugars daily and I average at approx 6.5 and my hba1c has come back at 6.6 for the last year. I take metformin (irregularly
) but control my levels mainly by diet. No high blood pressure or cholesterol (in fact I always get complimented about how good they are!).
However...
I have seriously excruciating 'attacks' of pain in my upper left back which seem to stem from a particular nerve (or end of a rib possibly). It's a pain like I have been shot in the back through to my chest, literally screaming rolling on the floor type of pain, and they last for 8 - 16 hours. These have been happening for approx 4 years, starting with once then about 5 months later another, then progressively moving to monthly, then weekly, then from last autumn, daily.
I have been diagnosed with, and treated for, almost everything under the sun! GI complaints like oesophagitis, acid reflux, etc (all with absolutely no success), musculo-skeletal treatments through osteopathy and physiotherapy for a 'floating rib' and trapped or pinched nerves. I have had x-rays, MRIs, ultrasounds, the works. I have taken pills and painkillers till they were coming out of my ears, even had diazepam (valium) which didn't touch the pain one iota!
I have seen about 15 specialists and eventually got SO fed up with no two of them agreeing, that I went to a pain clinic, where the doctor asked me a few questions, prodded my back using the monofilament test, and said "aha, diabetic neuropathy!".
Since May I have been taking a course of pregabalin, along with amitriptylene, daily, and a morphine based drug as my emergency pain relief (tramadol, up to 400mg). If I end up in Casualty (which happens when it gets so bad I think it's going to stop my heart, as it sometimes seems to effect the surrounding organs like the stomach and kidneys because of the spasm of the muscles around them) I am put on Morphine by mouth or on IV, as morphine is the only painkiller which seems to have any effect (or as one of my friends said last week, doesn't stop the pain but stops me from giving a ****! LOL)
Well, for the most part the latest round of treatment works, but when I've looked into it, this seems to be a drug therapy for the general treatment of pain, especially nerve pain, but not specifically diabetic neuropathy. I still have attacks, although far less frequent, but they tie in with spikes in hormones rather than blood sugars. But attacks still as bad as before.
And I STILL can't get any other doctor or specialist agree with his diagnosis of diabetic neuropathy, not even my diabetes doctors!
Your thoughts and experiences would be MOST welcome to hear as I am completely at a loss as to what is the cause and where to go from here!!
Question for you, as I seem to have many doctors stumped and I cannot get two to agree on a diagnosis!!
I am late onset type 2, diagnosed approx 2 1/2 years ago. Never been too high as far as BG is concerned, check sugars daily and I average at approx 6.5 and my hba1c has come back at 6.6 for the last year. I take metformin (irregularly
) but control my levels mainly by diet. No high blood pressure or cholesterol (in fact I always get complimented about how good they are!).However...
I have seriously excruciating 'attacks' of pain in my upper left back which seem to stem from a particular nerve (or end of a rib possibly). It's a pain like I have been shot in the back through to my chest, literally screaming rolling on the floor type of pain, and they last for 8 - 16 hours. These have been happening for approx 4 years, starting with once then about 5 months later another, then progressively moving to monthly, then weekly, then from last autumn, daily.
I have been diagnosed with, and treated for, almost everything under the sun! GI complaints like oesophagitis, acid reflux, etc (all with absolutely no success), musculo-skeletal treatments through osteopathy and physiotherapy for a 'floating rib' and trapped or pinched nerves. I have had x-rays, MRIs, ultrasounds, the works. I have taken pills and painkillers till they were coming out of my ears, even had diazepam (valium) which didn't touch the pain one iota!
I have seen about 15 specialists and eventually got SO fed up with no two of them agreeing, that I went to a pain clinic, where the doctor asked me a few questions, prodded my back using the monofilament test, and said "aha, diabetic neuropathy!".
Since May I have been taking a course of pregabalin, along with amitriptylene, daily, and a morphine based drug as my emergency pain relief (tramadol, up to 400mg). If I end up in Casualty (which happens when it gets so bad I think it's going to stop my heart, as it sometimes seems to effect the surrounding organs like the stomach and kidneys because of the spasm of the muscles around them) I am put on Morphine by mouth or on IV, as morphine is the only painkiller which seems to have any effect (or as one of my friends said last week, doesn't stop the pain but stops me from giving a ****! LOL)
Well, for the most part the latest round of treatment works, but when I've looked into it, this seems to be a drug therapy for the general treatment of pain, especially nerve pain, but not specifically diabetic neuropathy. I still have attacks, although far less frequent, but they tie in with spikes in hormones rather than blood sugars. But attacks still as bad as before.
And I STILL can't get any other doctor or specialist agree with his diagnosis of diabetic neuropathy, not even my diabetes doctors!
Your thoughts and experiences would be MOST welcome to hear as I am completely at a loss as to what is the cause and where to go from here!!
I seriously cannot live on this kind of cocktail of drugs much longer, it's making me totally distraught and (despite the diazepam and amitriptylene) pretty depressed feeling like there is just no conclusion or solution in sight. I've been 'officially' signed off onto incapacity support as being 'unfit to work' and it's incredibly demoralising as well as making me feel like I am no longer the one in control... it's either the pain, being high on the drugs, or exhausted from it. :cry: 