MagnoliaSmith
Newbie
I have neuropathy in various places...feet...left hip...intermittent blurred vision...probably have been diabetic for years before diagnosis...interesting comments here!
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has anyone had vision or foot or any other condition problems from diabetes?
- Thread starter spirits
- Start Date
spirits
Well-Known Member
it sounds like you and even other people have been a diabetic for a very long time not knowing it and even though you may have mentioned how you felt for years, it took to long for them to find the cause,i hope you are all right and it must not be easy for you either dealing with the neuropathy, and it is suprising just how many people are coming forward and speaking out and finding there are many people similar going through problems with health, late diagnosis or even not enough help with there diabetes, some are about to find out they got it, it is scary how many people are finding complications are emerging on top of the diabetes, i hope you have a good doctor now helping you.
rogbert
Well-Known Member
i know that im overweight or obese and must lose weight but my doctor/consultant at hospital told me i must not go on a diet as it could harm my kidney's further however im on a low carb diet and will try to excercise so i can lose some weight ?i sometimes have trouble with my eyes sometimes get blurred vision or if i use the computer or watch tv too much they water so i have to close my eyes for a while this normally happens in evening sometimes the pollution in the air makes them water if im outside it takes a while to get over this the doctors say theres not much they can do
spirits
Well-Known Member
so sorry to hear your not able to do a diet unless advised what is suitable for you as your kidneys at risk that i can understand,you need the food that is keeping your kidneys stable plus excercise such as just walking can be helpful rather than do a fitness excercise, just keep active is good enough it will help you lose weight slowly eating healthy that is working for you for your kidneys and diabetes is important what you been advised to do, must be very difficult when you go through the worry of everything, i do hope one day a cure for your eye condition can be here soon,your eyes are so important in your life. pollution does not help anyone's eyes. big hugs x
spirits
Well-Known Member
people with diabetes need positive hope encouragement to be able to see that there will be a cure and it is like for those with a peanut allergy, they thought a cure may never happen now a cure has been found for that, so i believe diabetes will be cured, when you think of how a computer works with the memory, without the memory it burns out or is no use, give it more memory it is back up running again, this is what i see in the diabetes there is one missing link that has not been discovered yet how to boot it back up in to full swing the location where the fault is in the pancreas or some where else the fault is in the body.we can all over come the hurdle with diabetes, we can do it.
Beshlie
Well-Known Member
My feet don't feel numb, Tonal, but I have a slight loss of sensation. I have just tested them with a lancet and I could feel it though not as much as I do in my fingers. My feet feel a bit sore now, but glad I did it.
this is too difficult
Well-Known Member
How does the hip one feel. I have never heard of that. The hip condition I have had for three years which I was told I would have to live with is much better now.
You will know when you get the pain in the toes! In a way you are glad when it gets number! Just been to the podiatrist and I'm still doing alright - main thing to watch out for is blisters that can turn into ulcers, I've had several and you MUST take care of them and see doctor. They go away with medication but are really dangerous if left. Also no I don't drive any more. can't feel the pedals. Take care everyone!
spirits
Well-Known Member
Hi tonal how are you doing today, sorry you have had problems with your feet, blisters are not good especially if they can turn in to ulcers, i know it is very important to check feet i think keeping an eye on the whole body and skin is important to,i think the nerves in the body are getting affected just as much as the feet and places around stomaches and heart if the nerves go too numb there that to can be dangerous as some people may not know somnething is wrong if anyone had a heart attack etc,i think the more people are body aware know of the changes they are going through inward and outward they are more likely to detect those problems easier, hope one day there is a cure for all this, hugs xx
AmandaAnne
Well-Known Member
Hi Spirits, I'm so glad you posted this about feeling that everything is getting stuck when you eat sometimes.
Just lately, probably the past Month or 2, I'm having spells of feeling really bloated, full, my appetite seems to disappear and it feels just like everything, digestive wise, is running at a snails pace! It's not a constant thing with me, just now and then, but it's really uncomfortable, I'm going to speak to my doctor about it and see what he says, I will come back and let you know what he tells me.
spirits
Well-Known Member
hi beshlie sorry for my late reply,there are so many illnesses that people can get or have and it can have and each condition can be similar in how it strikes the best way to know differences in pain is how you know it is a nerve pain that one is easy to detect,if you get a sharp or stabbing pain that comes under conditions listed for those types of pain, numb pains or dull pains will be listed under other categories of conditions some times it is very difficult to get to the true cause so you got to eliminate out all other possibilities in what is triggering the pain off, some times sudden pain attacks can come on with out warning yet how you moved your body at the time the trigger began the pain, there can be foods and drinks that can trigger pain in the body and especially if it is not any other type of illness causing it under health conditions,some times a person has to monitor there daily lives, what they ate and drank, what activities they have done and did they do or have something different to normal, people who suffer gout, some foods can trigger off the pain, same if it a gall stone or kidney stone, it is good keeping a food and drink diary listing every thing eaten and drank times and dates plus how you felt,include any activity or exercise done and if a trigger of pain occurs keep an eye of when it started and what you did or eaten or drunk during that time as it can be a clue to symptoms being brought on by that, if you are a person who cleans with chemicals or even house hold products, those to should be included in your diary because things like that if allergic can trigger symptoms off for some conditions.There are so many conditions with health that trigger pain however, diabetes is known to cause body pains, and this to is what you must look at it is like the glucose levels when they go up the higher it goes that can cause pain in the body, you may have a part of the body feeling it the most, so this is why it is important to find out what you eat and drink and check your suger levels to see what is causing the pain, once you get on top of which food or drink is starting it off, you can then get rid of it out of your diet, this will then help those pain levels reduce or stop.
this article tells you about diabetes and pain hope it helps http://health.howstuffworks.com/diseases-conditions/pain/nerve/diabetes-pain.htm
Pain expert Dr. Scott Fishman answers questions about nerve pain:
Q: What makes diabetes painful and what can be done about it?
A: Diabetes can destroy small blood vessels, which in turn can damage the nervous system, and these damaged nerves can cause pain.
The most common forms of diabetes, juvenile and adult onset, can damage many organs and systems. Diabetes can make it hard to digest food, cause heart disease, and destroy small blood vessels, while the nervous system becomes an innocent, injured bystander. The disease's most common pain syndrome is diabetic neuropathy.
The pain arises from nerves that are injured or malfunctioning. These crippled fibers can be found anywhere along their path, from the tip of the toe to the brain. Diabetes eats away at the thread-thin blood vessels that feed delicate nerve cells.
This is why diabetes pain usually strikes first in the hands and feet. A common pain syndrome from diabetes is described as "stocking and glove" pain because it appears in the hands and feet and usually makes it painful to wear gloves or socks.
Diabetes alters sensation in the smallest nerves, which happen to lie at the end of the peripheral nervous system, in the hands and feet. Diabetes starves these tiny nerves. As a result, the nervous system becomes confused about what is and isn't painful. Stockings, gloves-anything that that touches skin served by these tiny, hypersensitive nerves-is going to send signals to the spinal cord, where they may be mistaken for pain.
It is like having a stereo with frayed wires in the speakers so that you cannot hear music at a normal sound level. To adjust for the poor connection, you crank up the stereo to the highest volume. While the music may get louder, it doesn't necessarily get clearer.
Treatments for this pain are aimed at the nervous system and calming the nerves that are misfiring. The nerves are undergoing tiny seizures and these have to be halted to alleviate the pain. I often start with a five-minute infusion of the local anesthetic lidocaine. If this diminishes the pain, I know that similar drugs that can be taken orally will work for the patient. For instance, I may start with an oral version of an anti-arrhythmic drug, a heart medication that smoothes out irregular nerve activity and acts as an analgesic.
When lidocaine is not effective, I try other types of drugs. Anti-convulsants also quiet erratic nerve signals, and such drugs as carbmazepine (Tegretol), clonazepam (Klonopin), gabapentin (Neurontin), phenytoin (Dilantin), valproic acid (Depakote), and others are as fundamental to pain medicine as sutures are to surgery.
Researchers recently have been looking into other kinds of drugs that halt or slow down the overactive nerves. Animal studies testing a class of drugs called selective calcium channel blockers are raising tantalizing results for easing pain. Scientists are beginning to learn more than ever about newly discovered calcium channels and their tendency to alter the flow of calcium and electric signals in and out of cell membranes.
For years, drugs in this class such as verapamil, nifedipine, diltiazem, nicardipine, and nimodipine have been prescribed for hypertension and arrhythmia. Now, scientists are finding new calcium channel drugs that have special properties, one of which may be potent pain relief.
spirits
Well-Known Member
there are conditions that can trigger off these problems, there are different types, it is important you get checked out,it would be a good idea if your doctor could refer you for a camera to investigate down your food pine and stomach with a camera to see what is causing it, some people suffer acid reflux, gerd,hiatus hernia and there is another condition diabetics can get where the food starts to slow down going in to the digestion point to work as it should it reduces and can stop,
the full report is here the link to it is here also hope this info helps only part is posted up here
http://journal.diabetes.org/diabetesspectrum/00v13n1/pg11.htm
Delayed gastric emptying, or gastroparesis, is a well-known problem in patients with diabetes mellitus.1-5 It is at the far end of the spectrum of motility disorders collectively referred to as diabetic gastropathy or the diabetic stomach.
Although often believed to be more common in patients with type 1 diabetes, it is actually also quite common in patients with type 2 diabetes. In one study of diabetic patients receiving oral hypoglycemic therapy, 30% were found to have delayed emptying of solids.6
A substantial proportion of patients with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus have scintigraphic evidence of delayed gastric emptying of radiolabeled solid meals, which may or may not manifest in clinical symptoms.2,6,7 Conversely, many patents may have symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, early satiety, bloating, and abdominal discomfort or pain and yet have normal gastric emptying.
Diabetic gastropathy is thought to be a manifestation of autonomic neuropathy. The underlying cause of diabetic neuropathy, as well as other complications of diabetes, is hyperglycemia.8 While the entire gastrointestinal tract may be affected by autonomic neuropathy, we have a growing awareness of the role of the diabetic stomach in particular as the locus of a vicious cycle of delayed gastric emptying, poor glycemic regulation, and ascending hyperglycemia.6,9,10
The purpose of this brief review is to focus attention on the importance of early intervention in the development of diabetic gastropathy in order to prevent the debilitating symptoms associated with it and to improve quality of life.
PATHWAYS OF DIABETIC AUTONOMIC NEUROPATHY
The pathophysiology of the neuropathic complications of diabetes follows one of at least two pathways. The first is nonenzymatic glycosylation, which occurs when a persistently elevated blood glucose level results in the excessive glycosylation of proteins such as hemoglobin, other circulating molecules, and cellular structures.8 This leads to the development of advanced glycosylation end products, impairing the normal function of tissues including collagen and basement membranes of cells and capillaries.
The second pathway is enhanced activity of the polyol pathway, in which glucose is converted to sorbitol via the enzyme aldose reductase. This results in a decrease in tissue myoinositol, with far-reaching effects throughout the nervous system. As the integrity of cellular information, including the sodium-potassium ATPase system, is disrupted, nerve conduction velocity is diminished and the anatomy of nerve fibers is altered.11
Diabetic neuropathy can impair function anywhere in the nervous system. In the gastrointestinal tract, it causes, in effect, an autovagotomy.12 In addition, hyperglycemia results in cellular anatomic disruption throughout the gastrointestinal tract, but especially in the stomach. Nerve cells may swell with the loss of myelinated fibers, and smooth muscle cells may become rounded and hyalinized. In the stomach, motility may be reduced in the antrum and proximal stomach. There may also be pylorospasm.
Hyperglycemia also has secretory effects in the stomach, including decreased secretion of hydrochloric acid.13 The net result of these changes is a reduction in effective emptying, starting first with indigestible solids, then progressing to digestible solids, and eventually to liquids.14 The myoelectric and neuroanatomic consequences of hyperglycemia may be accentuated by abnormal secretion of various hormones, including glucagon, gastrin, cholecystokinin, and gastric inhibitory peptide in patients with diabetes.3
CLINICAL IMPACT OF DIABETIC GASTROPATHY
Gastropathy may result in a variety of potentially disabling upper gastrointestinal symptoms, among them postprandial nausea with or without vomiting, early satiety, anorexia, distention, and abdominal discomfort or pain. However, some diabetic patients with impaired gastric motility are asymptomatic.4 Also, some patients may experience these symptoms without an established delay in gastric emptying. This situation may be the earliest stage of the disease process of autonomic neuropathy; the first evidence of gastroparesis may be poor glucoregulation.
Gastropathy can contribute to bezoar formation and intestinal obstruction, ulcer development, acute gastric dilatation during ketoacidosis or after endoscopy, incapacitating vomiting, respiratory aspiration, and dehydration.3 In addition to impairing quality of life and compromising nutrition, gastropathy can wreak havoc on attempts to control blood glucose through insulin administration timed to meals.
Gastropathy may further retard the entry of oral medications, including hypoglycemics and pancreatic enzymes, into the bloodstream.15 Erratic absorption of nutrients and medications may result in misleading blood glucose readings, and significant hyperglycemia may occur if blood glucose levels rise out of proportion with the expected effects of insulin.3 On the other hand, slow absorption of food may lead to hypoglycemia. The toxic effect of hyperglycemia may acutely aggravate the gastropathy,9,16,17 possibly by reducing activity of both nerve and muscle.
Gastropathy may be underrecognized in clinical practice because the symptoms, if present, are nonspecific. Furthermore, the degree of gastropathy correlates poorly with the severity of gastrointestinal symptoms or with other evidence of peripheral neuropathy.3,5 The reverse is also true: dyspeptic symptoms do not confer a diagnosis of gastropathy in every diabetic patient.
AmandaAnne
Well-Known Member
Spirits thank you so much for your detailed reply to me. 
I don't think I can do cameras!............that's the one thing I just couldn't face.
But I'm having my diabetes bloods taken next week, so when I speak with the doctor, when the results are back, I will discuss this with him.
I don't think I can do cameras!............that's the one thing I just couldn't face.
But I'm having my diabetes bloods taken next week, so when I speak with the doctor, when the results are back, I will discuss this with him.
Basically I don't know which is causing the discomfort mainly because it's in the same place around my feet and ankles, but seeing that nobody knows what to do about either, it's just keep taking the painkillers! I'm 75 now so I don't think it will improve. That's life!
michellehayward
Member
I have been diabetic (type 1) for just over 30 years and have had quite bad control for the majority of that time. i luckily have no nerve, kidney or vision damage/trouble. My daughter who has been diabetic (type 1 also) for just 2 years and has had reasonably good control is experiencing nerve damage in her toes. i have no idea why we have reacted so differently, and why some people suffer side effects and others dont, maybe its just luck of the draw.
Beshlie
Well-Known Member
Thank you for all that info, Spirits, I have saved it.
I went for my 6 mth check up and blood tests today and while I was there found I had a very low pulse (Bradycardia) which explains why I am tired and have so much fatigue as I'm not getting enough oxygen around my body. My feet are fine though. I'm just hoping I don't have heart disease.
this is too difficult
Well-Known Member
Get well soon.
squeezelouise400
Active Member
I have calcification of the blood vessels in my right wrist which was diagnosed after an X-Ray a few months ago.
I have retinopathy in both eyes but my blood glucose control is good so it is not a problem and CKD Stage 3 but that too is fine because my blood pressure is well controlled so apart from that there is nothing wrong with me.
I have retinopathy in both eyes but my blood glucose control is good so it is not a problem and CKD Stage 3 but that too is fine because my blood pressure is well controlled so apart from that there is nothing wrong with me.
