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Freezing feet

P

perth

Member
Messages
11
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi everyone, recently diagnosed and have found my feet are freezing quite often when I have the air con on. (It's summer where I am, 39°C as we speak) I feel cool except my feet are painfully cold. I usually get cold feet in winter but never in cooled air con.

My levels are around high 7's to low 8's and just started metformin and LCHF about two months ago.

Anyone else get this? If so what can help? Will ask my doctor next month but thought someone might have some tips
 
Hi perth,sorry to hear about your freezing feet, as diabetics one of the things we are prone too is carpels tunnel syndrome which is a narrowing of the blood flow to hands or feet, but just a word , please be careful ,don't apply direct heat or cold to affected area , you may want to google carpel tunnel syndrone for more exact definition.
 

Hi, I am a type 2 diagnosed just September, I've always had hot feet, but just recently suffering with very cold.

When sitting at home late evening, winter now here, although we have our heating on, my feet have become very cold, but then I have never had slippers for inhouse and often was bare foot.

Once cold however I was then unable to get them back to any degree of warmth even after being in bed for some time.

I now have slippers 'internally fur lined' and that appears to have cured the problem not letting them get cold first. I think the circulation for me is less and I am a good bit older than yourself so would expect a little less good circulation, but not sure it's the diabetes.

Neil
 
Hi Perth, I'm in Sydney where it's 33' and I'm in aircon and I've got cold feet too. Had them for years, my only answer is to wear socks even in bed.
 
Hi my name is Lisa and I always have cold feet. I can have socks and slippers on and they still are really cold and really hurt. And I keep the house warm. Any suggestions
 
sheepskin lined ugg boots and double merino wool socks might work
 
My pleasure Exercise is vital as well (just moving around the house) but if you pull on double thick socks and massage the feet AFTERWARDS and before you sink your toes into the uggs, I'd imagine an improvement. They insulate the other.

Also recommend calf high or at least well above ankle
 
Hi Perth, I've had cold hands and feet since September. Also get times when I'm cold while everyone else is warm. I have slippers, a foot warmer and a hot water bottle. Have you done a BG reading when your feet are particularly cold. As others have said get some slippers, As diabetics we should wear protection on our feet at al times. I was told at my recent check up to moisturise my feet daily. This keeps the skin supple but at the same time you are checking for any cuts or sores. Due to impaired circulation etc we are prone to feet issues.
 
Hi, I've been diagnosed a while and also have icy feet! (From Scotland so that won't help lol) I often just put 2 pairs of socks on at night, the proper wooly bed socks are way better than normal 'day' ones, and as someone suggested giving them a good rub or massage before socks works too, and if it really bugs you putting your feet in some warm water is good too! Just adding tho be careful with your feet as if they're like mine any bash and it takes me ages to heal up, xx
 
My suggestion was after you put your socks on, not before. That permits warmth to spread between cold feet / cold hands and let the wool do the work.
 
This is why I love this forum, I am quite newly diagnosed and have noticed that my feet in bed at night have been freezing when the rest of me is warm....now I know why and that it is not just me.
 
I also get cold feet. I've been inclined to put it down to poorish circulation but apparently that's not an issue for me (well, at the moment, anyway....).

Before I was diagnosed, I had a spell of doing the 5:2 diet and I noticed then that on days when I was "fasting" and by definition didn't have many carbs, I got cold feet; the rest of the time they were fine. Whilst I'm not a doctrinaire low-carber, I undoubtedly eat far fewer carbs than I used to (maybe 75 - 100 g per day) and it's noticeable that, since I started doing this, I've also been more prone to cold feet; not helped by the fact that I work from home most of the time, and sit at a desk most of the day in a rather cool* environment, waiting for the heating to come on . I wonder, therefore, if there is a link between low carb intake and the temperature of one's extremities?

The other thing I've noticed is that I don't have such a problem in the evening at weekends. The only common factor I can think of is that these are the days when I have a couple (and normally it is only a couple) of drinks before and with dinner. Maybe the alcohol makes a difference? (The drinks are normally scotch and diet ginger, or red wine, so I don't think I am introducing stealth carbs thusly).

I'm no scientist and this is probably all high grade tosh, caused by the random correlation of unconnected events - after all, the incidence of piracy has gone up in line with increases in average atmospheric temperatures, ergo piracy causes global warming

... But has anybody else noticed similar phenomena?




*(That's cool temperature, not "Hey maaaaannn..." )
 
I notice I get warm after I've eaten but don't think has anything to do with carbs as I have very few of those.

If the cold feet persist I think you should get your thyroid checked. Cold hands and feet were a major problem for me until I started on thyroid hormones. And the cracked heels disappeared and are now very smooth.
 
Hi
Hi,JHC... I have been experiencing all of the above, almost exactly the same... I wonder if you are right? I started low-carbing in October when I was told I was diabetic and my feet have been cold on and off ever since... the weather in Bahrain has been too mild for too long and so the a/c is often on, even though it's winter, and I really feel uncomfortable in between the rugs when I have no socks or slippers on... I have bought fur-lined slippers too, and they help enormously... I wear socks in bed and have a rug over the bottom of the quilt too, which helps... I think you may be right about the carbs - and the red wine... i shall experiment and keep track of what's happening to me in the diary that I keep my menus and daily readings... very interesting posts... So nice to know you aren't the only one it's happening to...
 
Hi Perth, sorry to hear you have these pains. Are your feet cold to the touch or do they feel normal? If they are cold to touch then it is circulation problems, if they feel normal or even warm then it may be neuropathy. I have had painful feet for some time and it is diagnosed as diabetic neuropathy. I am type 1, diagnosed as a 56 year old in 2013. I stay in Scotland where it isn't exactly tropical, but while cold males the pain worse warm weather doesn't make it better. While my feet feel extremely painful, as if encased in ice they are not cold to the touch and my circulation is OK. Frequently the pain will intensify and I will feel like I am having electric shocks at points all over my feet. Then at the worst I feel like the skin is being ripped off my feet and I cannot walk.
I need to wear thermal socks day and night and often use a hot water bottle.
This makes life hell as you can imagine. To treat it my GP and consultant have prescribed me 600mg of Pregabilon daily and advised to back this up with paracetamol. I was also on Amitriptline but that wasn't agreeing with me. I am just about to start Duloxetine into the mix to see if that helps. I wondered if the drugs were helping and tried to do without them for a bit - it was 10x worse without.
I hope you get some relief from all the advice in the posts here and something works for you.
 
I often post about how fab I find being VLC and in ketosis - it has sorted out all sorts of things for me (better sleep, warmer feet, better concentration and energy levels, etc. etc. etc...).

But it is threads like this that make me wonder whether my feeling so much better is due more to the absence of carbs, than the introduction of ketosis.

The fact that some of you are saying that you low carb and still have cold feet is astonishing to me.
Of course, I believe you.
But maybe my ketosis is different from your ketosis?
I can now go out in a light coat, with no gloves, and walk the dogs in a cold winter wind without that bone deep chill setting in. I still feel the cold, but my body now seems to mobilise better/quicker and keep me warmer. It's like being the Reddybrek Kid. Remember that advert?
 
I wonder if there's something in the hypothyroidism post from earlier? I dropped my meds because the doc said the results of my tests showed too much of, I think, T3 floating in my system... my hair started to fall out again and my skin became dry and my thumbs cracked... so I have self-diagnosed and upped my my meds again... my hair has stopped falling and my heels and thumbs are not cracked now - and, my feet are warmer... I have received the book I ordered - STOP the Thyroid Madness... when I have time to read and digest I will post about what I discover... there are a lot of people out there with this problem and now they are linking it to the onset of diabetes... so much to learn... Since I joined this forum I have learned about low-carbing and I feel so much better on it... Thank you Legends for all your help and support...
 

You may well be right.

I keep reading sources saying that VLC has a beneficial effect on hormone imbalances, but have no way of knowing if it has that effect on my body.

My mother has had a hypothyroid most of her life, and I have been tested regularly. But all the results come back inside the 'normal' range. Although I have never bothered to check quite how normal - I will in future, thanks to the excellent advice given on this forum.
 
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