Hi folks,
I'll warn people in advance that this is a bit of a depressing topic and is my own personal experience with my latest diagnosis from the GP yesterday ... so at the moment I am a little bit down to say the least.
I was diagnosed in late July last year with Type 2 after presenting to the Dr with pins and needles in my feet and hands. I was told at this time that it was 'nothing more than peripheral neuropathy' I accepted that fact along with the fact that I had type 2 and duly set about finding how to deal with it. Initially I followed the dietary advice as advocated by the NHS and DUK which just seemed to make things worse especially the pins and needles in the hands and feet. I then started to follow peoples advice on here and soon had numbers under control in the 5-6 range even an hour or so post meal. Things improved apart from the problems with the feet and hands although the pins and needles only occurred occasionally. In November last year it seemed to get a whole lot worse and I badgered a number of Dr's at my surgery about it being Peripheral Vascular Disease (PVD or PAD as it's sometimes known). My reasons for this were mainly based on my good control and the fact my hands and feet were almost always cold even when wrapped up warm or sat almost on top of the fire. I also had cramps when walking and also at rest the other shout out factor to me was I had no leg hair at all. An ankle brachial test was performed and I was told that I was fine.
Fast forward to just last week and my regular trip to my cardiologist. (I have suffered with various arrhythmias since the age of 14 and am regularly monitored SVT,NSVT and a couple of AFIB episodes) During a 12 lead ECG the technician noted how hairless my legs were and some brownish spots near my ankle and asked if I had PVD. I replied my Dr's say not but I think I do. Later whilst speaking to the cardiologist he brought the topic up and I informed him that I had had an ankle brachial test and that I was fine. He shook his head and informed me that in the presence of long standing diabetes that an ankle brachial test should be part of a series of tests as calcification of the leg arteries and indeed any blood vessel can give a false high reading that indicates your fine when you are not (my understanding is they are not elastic enough to give an accurate reading). Given the presentation he had seen today it would be wise to go back for a further work up by my GP. I almost blurted out 'why can't you do it now ?' but just thanked him and the fact that he had such an on the ball technician who had obviously passed that information on.
So off back to the GP's I went, same tests performed at which stage I calmly informed them of my Cardiologists advice (now I am sure at this point I was going to be told that I was fine ... in retrospect I should have let him give his verdict and then informed him of what the Cardiologist had said) After a little pause I was informed that I have PVD and that at the moment it appears to be mild and nothing yet needs to be done other than keep my blood sugar control exactly as it is and walk as far and as often as possible.
So I now have PVD to contend with, scared myself stupid with the prognosis and outcome for people with PVD and diabetes and to be honest am really worried that the best form of attack is to walk walk and walk! I just assume I have to exercise my arms in some sort of fashion to try to control the pain as well :s
I guess what I am trying to impart is that if you ever need to be evaluated for PVD then an ankle brachial test in long standing diabetes is not conclusive on its own. It's something I didn't know and walked away at least 3 times from my GP under the impression that if the ankle brachial test said I was fine then I was exactly that.
Just as a side note the Cardiologist has decided to do some further testing to see if there is any cardiac disease present as this would impact upon my treatment for what at the moment are considered benign arrhythmia's.
This whole experience to me has driven home just how invasive diabetes can be and the far reaching consequences that it can have for some of us. It seems early detection is key to actually beating diabetes but is often a diagnosis that comes further down the line for many. On that rather depressing note ...
All the best peeps!
Richard.
I'll warn people in advance that this is a bit of a depressing topic and is my own personal experience with my latest diagnosis from the GP yesterday ... so at the moment I am a little bit down to say the least.
I was diagnosed in late July last year with Type 2 after presenting to the Dr with pins and needles in my feet and hands. I was told at this time that it was 'nothing more than peripheral neuropathy' I accepted that fact along with the fact that I had type 2 and duly set about finding how to deal with it. Initially I followed the dietary advice as advocated by the NHS and DUK which just seemed to make things worse especially the pins and needles in the hands and feet. I then started to follow peoples advice on here and soon had numbers under control in the 5-6 range even an hour or so post meal. Things improved apart from the problems with the feet and hands although the pins and needles only occurred occasionally. In November last year it seemed to get a whole lot worse and I badgered a number of Dr's at my surgery about it being Peripheral Vascular Disease (PVD or PAD as it's sometimes known). My reasons for this were mainly based on my good control and the fact my hands and feet were almost always cold even when wrapped up warm or sat almost on top of the fire. I also had cramps when walking and also at rest the other shout out factor to me was I had no leg hair at all. An ankle brachial test was performed and I was told that I was fine.
Fast forward to just last week and my regular trip to my cardiologist. (I have suffered with various arrhythmias since the age of 14 and am regularly monitored SVT,NSVT and a couple of AFIB episodes) During a 12 lead ECG the technician noted how hairless my legs were and some brownish spots near my ankle and asked if I had PVD. I replied my Dr's say not but I think I do. Later whilst speaking to the cardiologist he brought the topic up and I informed him that I had had an ankle brachial test and that I was fine. He shook his head and informed me that in the presence of long standing diabetes that an ankle brachial test should be part of a series of tests as calcification of the leg arteries and indeed any blood vessel can give a false high reading that indicates your fine when you are not (my understanding is they are not elastic enough to give an accurate reading). Given the presentation he had seen today it would be wise to go back for a further work up by my GP. I almost blurted out 'why can't you do it now ?' but just thanked him and the fact that he had such an on the ball technician who had obviously passed that information on.
So off back to the GP's I went, same tests performed at which stage I calmly informed them of my Cardiologists advice (now I am sure at this point I was going to be told that I was fine ... in retrospect I should have let him give his verdict and then informed him of what the Cardiologist had said) After a little pause I was informed that I have PVD and that at the moment it appears to be mild and nothing yet needs to be done other than keep my blood sugar control exactly as it is and walk as far and as often as possible.
So I now have PVD to contend with, scared myself stupid with the prognosis and outcome for people with PVD and diabetes and to be honest am really worried that the best form of attack is to walk walk and walk! I just assume I have to exercise my arms in some sort of fashion to try to control the pain as well :s
I guess what I am trying to impart is that if you ever need to be evaluated for PVD then an ankle brachial test in long standing diabetes is not conclusive on its own. It's something I didn't know and walked away at least 3 times from my GP under the impression that if the ankle brachial test said I was fine then I was exactly that.
Just as a side note the Cardiologist has decided to do some further testing to see if there is any cardiac disease present as this would impact upon my treatment for what at the moment are considered benign arrhythmia's.
This whole experience to me has driven home just how invasive diabetes can be and the far reaching consequences that it can have for some of us. It seems early detection is key to actually beating diabetes but is often a diagnosis that comes further down the line for many. On that rather depressing note ...
All the best peeps!
Richard.
Reading through your posts, you have been having problems for a few months now. I do hope that your team can help you through this difficult time. Your blood sugar levels are really good and it does seem that the notion, expressed by some, that good levels will stop anything happenening is not always true. We do not have a crystal ball and we do not know about the twists and turns of this chronic illness. I can imagine you are still in shock.