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How did your neuropathy start?

HSSS

Expert
Messages
7,675
Location
South of England
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I’ve had some other nerve issues so it may not be this at all but all of a sudden I’ve started getting a numb/pins and needles big toe. It comes on suddenly/instantly and only lasts seconds to a minute max but multiple times a day, I think only when moving my foot/leg around. No previous foot issues, just passed my foot check, consistently low prediabetic figures since 3 months after being diagnosed at 55mmol hb1ac. Very few pinpricks above 7, mostly 6’s all through the day. Some 5’s. No meds at all.

Any thing similar anyone ? Or is it usually more generalised and gradual?
 
It could be caused by something other than diabetes. B Vitamin deficiency B-1, B-6 and B-12 — vitamin E and niacin are crucial to nerve health?
 
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ert said:
It could be caused by something other than diabetes. B Vitamin deficiency B-1, B-6 and B-12 — vitamin E and niacin are crucial to nerve health.?
Click to expand...
Yeah I’m aware and mindful of the b situation ( I believe I have issue there but the drs won’t listen). I have a neurology appointment later this month for my other issues (A year from referral so long as it’s not cancelled) but they are no peripheral so may or may not be related. It was more because it’s a toe and seems a very distinct pattern I was curious about the “typical” presentation for diabetes related pn
 
I'm curious about this too. Does it start with just one toe, or would it be symmetrical? Right now, I am experiencing a similar feeling in one thumb, only on the thumbprint side. Weird.
 
I'd echo @ert 's call out to have an open mind to the root cause of any given symptom.

I do have some neuropathy, on my ribs, caused by surgical intervention, so not diabetes related at all. Doesn't stop it hurting though! (Time does appear to be improving it though.)
 
Just to be clear I do have an open mind about the cause of my toe issues. I’m curious about the typical presentation of diabetic peripheral neuropathy given that this is one of the options it could be.
 
Caprock94 said:
Anyone have any more input on this?
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It seems not. Apparently no one has any experience of peripheral neuropathy in toes they can relate. I am quite surprised at the lack of response. I thought it was a fairly widespread experience.
 
HSSS said:
It seems not. Apparently no one has any experience of peripheral neuropathy in toes they can relate. I am quite surprised at the lack of response. I thought it was a fairly widespread experience.
Click to expand...

I'm replying one more time to bump to the top in hopes that you get some more feedback!
 
My PN started in my toes and feet. Had tingling and numbness which I had just put down to my Sciatica playing up. Over time, I started to get shooting pains in some toes and on the top of my feet. One time I was lifting something from the microwave and was suddenly gripped with shooting/burning pains on the top of my feet. It was so painful that I actually cried out and i thought the contents from the microwave dish had melted through and fell on my feet! Things then progressed to my experiencing pain in my legs and also get numbness and shooting pains in my fingers. I saw the doctor and he diagnosed PN and i was put on Pregabalin to try and take the edge off the pain. Unfortunately due to kidney issues I have to be on a low dose of this when I could really be doing with it being stronger. It's really impacted my mobility and the shooting pains can come out of nowhere. Hopefully you won't have PN and it will be something easily treated. Take care
 
I'm watching this with interest, too (spotted the thread a few days ago and then lost it.)

I have no diagnosis of neuropathy. It's something I haven't even spoken with the nurse about. But some things that have been going on for a few years potentially make sense in the context of diabetes. Numb thighs being one of them, and very occasional shooting pains in the tops of my feet being another. I had those this morning.

Diabetic hypochondria now means I'm actively looking for these things, and I can feel a vague tingling in both feet (that I'd historically have put down to them being cold) a lot of the time, including right now. However, since being diagnosed and getting my blood sugar under much better (though far from perfect) control, I haven't had numbness in my thighs at all.

Nothing I'd describe outright as pins and needles. Nothing is 'numb' in the sense that I can't feel it being touched. If I stood on Lego, you'd still be peeling me off the ceiling. If it gets no worse than this, it's no biggy. But (like most of us, I'm sure) I wonder whether these are warning signs of worse to come.
 
See your gp nurse practitioner for the tickle test on the toe but it could be your shoes or boots or just the socks you are wearing or the length of your work shifts. Or you are somewhat housebound or sit on your bed a lot and it cuts off the circulation to your feet due to your sitting position. A common problem for ex smokers and people whose blood sugar varies due to either gliptin oil being applied at night by someone ie you remain seated to avoid low blood sugar and going up and downstairs etc. Sound familiar?
 
Passed the tickle test, happens at home as well where I’m barefoot or in loose socks. Not housebound, Smoker, or having variable bgl. So in short none of these situations apply to me

I’ve now had a Neuro appointment a year after referral. All bloods normal done this month. Yesterday had mri on head neck and upper spine so awaiting results. Most likely diagnosis pending results = Functional neurological disorder, due to long term pain in hip/shoulder. Ie a wiring/software/sensitisation issue they can’t understand or treat other than say relax!
 
About 4-6 months ago my feet started feeling numb then shortly after than my legs were throbbing most evenings. Now my legs throb day and night. Shooting pain in my toes and feet are most recent. Legs have become numb. My right arm had gone weak. Not sure if it's neuropathy or something else. Had a blood test for vitamin b deficiencies and all came back fine. Do I continue to chase the doctor to find out what's going on or hope to improve my blood sugars and hope all this goes away. Feeling pretty miserable. I haven't been the same since catching covid. Type 1 of 9 years. HBA1C is 68.
 
Read up on studies online where diabetics, mainly T1s, have kicked off their neuropathy & retinopathy after getting their bloods in order through improved insulin regime.
I'm a T2 & this was my experiece aswell, kicked of with a numb thigh muscle then developed into tingling in the toes & all this was post remision.
Numbess changed to hyper sensitivity & overtime it just started to discipate & resolve.

Anecdotal rule of thumb I read online is that it takes the same length of time to repair as the length of harm which caused it in the first place.
Of course that could be poppycock but it's held true for me.
 
As this thread has been resuscitated I’d thought I’d update. The toe has behaved for a while now, some other nerve issues improved somewhat too with no more explanation for their improvement than their start. Perhaps despite it being after a couple of years of stable below diabetic bgl and never particularly high ones they were as a result of healing as @Ronancastled suggests. Perhaps I relaxed better as the neurologist suggested (highly unlikely explanation the last 6 months) Whatever. I’ll take it. Just the one area most likely associated with an earlier surgery left to sort now.
 
Best of luck, glad things seem to be improving. My foot neuropathy came on very suddenly and at full strength. Burning feet in the middle of the night. I've also had classic big toe joint gout a couple of times and it is nothing like gout - gout is much worse.

It progressed to starting as soon as I got into bed and would scale down when I stood up. Then it became fairly constant. My HbA1c was around the mid-forties at the time so I was firmly told it wasn't diabetes. My BG is well inside normal range now, the burning has become a tingle, and I usually only notice it late at night.
 
Well I as many on here know , had a below knee amputation back in 2014. I never really had any symptoms that I can remember , it was just a case of dropping a hammer on my toe and it becoming infected and the rest as they say is history , it’s a fact that my diabetic control was absolute pants , however I had regular check ups and had the sensitivity tests on my feet when I went to my diabetic appointment ,and never really felt any numbness, however i do now but for me it’s nothing to be over worried about .I had poor circulation in my right leg, obviously caused by very poor control for many many years , like every thing concerned with diabetes , it’s all about trying to keep blood sugars under control the more you can do that the less chance there is of complications , I’m living proof of it , my sugars are now excellent in comparison to what they were , I’ve had some serious cuts, which have all healed perfectly and quickly something that didn’t happen previously , With the addition of the new Libre system I find it so much easier to keep blood sugars under a better control , not regimentally strict control just under control.
 
How did I miss this thread first time around?

years ago (nearly 20) I got a numb big toe. Mainly just the top of it.
Back in those days I had never heard of neuropathy, and I kind of ignored it.
Then, after about 3 months, I met someone who said that numb big toes are kind of a giveaway for nerve entrapment in the L5 vertebra (just as numbness in little finger and outer side of ring finger is a dead giveaway for nerve entrapment of one particular nerve in shoulder/neck).
That person recommended a chiropractor, but at the time that wasn't practical, and I ended up doing some gentle spine aligning yoga poses for a while, and the numbness resolved itself.

Hope that helps.

Here are a couple of links that discuss the situation I found myself in.

https://centenoschultz.com/big-toe-...oe numbness can be,, and or, poor circulation.
and
https://regenexx.com/blog/big-toe-numb/#gref
 
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