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Diabetics Neuropathy

H

HeatherMacKenzie

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I was diagnosed with Type 1 about a month ago after going undiagnosed for a very long time (my healthcare team reckon 3 years) and in the last couple of weeks I’ve developed diabetic neuropathy which has been extremely painful. Does anyone have any tips for managing the pain? The doctor I spoke to yesterday didn’t prescribe anything but suggested I ask my GP to do it for me, but it normally takes up to 3 weeks to get an appointment and I’m not sure I can wait that long!! Thank you.
 
Welcome to the forum. There's a med called Lyrica for peripheral neuropathy pain, but I've never tried it (although I did consider it). I found that the pain and "pins & needles" sensation went away after I got my blood glucose levels to normal levels (I had type 2), but it took several months.
 

Thankfully, I've not expeienced diabetic neuropathy, although I have experienced post-surgical neuropathy, which was very unpleasant. I didn't have to take anything special for you neuropathy, because I could usually just try to avoid it flaring up (it was on my ribs), by avoiding anything tight.

As others have said, getting the blood sugars under control is a fabulous help in itself, and some take a supplement call R-ALA which has been shown to help. If you do a forum search on R-ALA , you'll find a few things come back for you.

Should you consider trying R-ALA, please make sure you have R-ALA, and not just ALA as the R part is important!

Good luck with it all. I'm sure others will be keen to comment.
 

Thank you!!
 
@HeatherMacKenzie another thought...

If your glucose levels were previously running very high, and for the last month, they've been running closer to normal, that pain could be the nerves healing... Hope that's the case here.

Getting glucose levels down along with taking Alpha Lipoic Acid and a balanced B-complex made from whole foods reversed my neuropathy. Hope you're feeling better soon!
 

Thank you! I didn’t realise that it could be nerves healing, I really hope that’s what it is! I’m not surprised about the pain because my glucose levels dropping has been a huge change, I went years without being diagnosed so my BM was extremely high and I had developed DKA so my body is probably still very shocked and confused just now
 
Hello Heather.. As @Winnie53 states it could be the nerves beginning to do what they should be doing after a long period being damaged.

Ever see these TV programs where someone thinks they are going to be paralysed for life and can not feel there feet / legs, then at some point later they start screaming because of the pain as they begin to feel their feet / legs again.. Well thats what we are talking about (but without the Holby City anecdote!)
 
I too had a diagnosis of T2 last November but had obviously been diabetic for quite a few years but didn't have any symptoms until a couple of months before being diagnosed. Since then with diet and meds the levels have halved but I am really suffering especially at night with diabetic neuropathy in my legs. I have paracetamol with codeine and I did try Lyrica but it made me feel sick and dizzy. I am reluctant to try anything else as I still work full time. I really hope that it is my nerves healing themselves and not something permanent. I think I would go crazy if it was!!!
 
@Eliseanne @HeatherMacKenzie
I too have neuropathy from T2 diabetes. The R-ALA was helpful. It hasn't completely gone away but doesn't cause me any great discomfort now. I still take one a day since I'm too frightened to stop it. Haven't noticed any side effects. I'm looking into a TENS device to see if that will get rid of the final remnants. I haven't looked too hard but it is on the list of things to do. I'm just a bit slack with it because my feet no longer hurt.
Glenn
 
@Crocodile @Eliseanne I am now on 20mg of amitriptyline each night which is now helping me sleep however it has not helped with the pain whatsoever, I have a few days left of taking this dose and if it has not improved I am to move on to 30 mg. My doctor also gave me double strength vitamin d capsules as my levels were so low he believed this would be making the pain worse! Perhaps you could request a blood test and find out if you have the same issue?
 
I chose a different path to manage my peripheral neuropathy. I healed it using the low carb diet, walking, and specific nutritional supplements. I take no medications. And I'm not alone. Many here have done same!

Read more here - (and take notes as you read!)... https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/help-in-dealing-with-neuropathy.74653/

If you decide to take the recommended supplements, make inquiries locally to find a good quality brand. I take a number of supplements, but when I'm stressed, before I know it, I begin losing my routines, glucose levels begin to rise, and I begin noting symptoms. When that happens, I temporarily take a good quality B-complex and alpha lipoic acid until symptoms resolve. I also try to get a minimum of 3 good walks a week. I take other supplements too, but those are the main ones I take for PN specifically. Hope you all are feeling a lot better soon.
 
In this study, “Treatment with α-Lipoic Acid over 16 Weeks in Type 2 Diabetic Patients with Symptomatic Polyneuropathy Who Responded to Initial 4-Week High-Dose Loading” (2015), they used a loading dose of 600 mg of alpha lipoic acid three times a day, 30 minutes after each main meal for one week, then reduced the dosage to 600 mg once a day with good results...

https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jdr/2015/189857/

And here's another study, this one from 2017...

https://www.omicsonline.org/open-ac...tic-polyneuro-2161-1459-1000241.php?aid=91836

I encourage you forward these two studies to your treatment provider for their input too.
 

In the second study, more diabetics in the group that took alpha lipoic acid with a B-complex benefited than than the diabetics in the group that took only a B-complex:

"...12 out of 16 patients in vitamin B complex plus ALA group showed improvement in at least one property measured compared with only 6 out of 16 in vitamin B complex group (p=0.0732).

I take both.
 
 
Matteo, Amazon and HealthMonthly are good places to start, they sell the main brands like Swanson, Doctor's Best, Life Extension.
 

Hi.
This is really interesting.
My bloods are now well within the 'normal' range again and, it seems that my horrendous pains ( claudication, fizzing feet, electric shocks) appear to be on the wane, or certainly more manageable.
It's worth noting that I've been getting shocks all over my body, not excessively though.
I'm taking R ALA, though only on my 3rd dose.

If you don't mind me asking...
Did your symptoms go in one go or was it gradual?
 
Gradually, but I still have some numbness in my feet and they are sometimes cold or hot.
 
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