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type 1 diabetic

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rachel 6661

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i have not had good control of my diabetes for 2 years since i've had it, but i now know that i should take it more seriously. for the past 4 days i have been getting slight pins and needles in my little finger and the side of my hand, it also feels numb like it's gone to sleep. can anyone give any advice please on what they think i should do?
 
Hi,

I had this many years ago. never got it diagnosed, so I will never know whether it was a trapped nerve etc or neuropathy. At around the same time, I decided that I was going to "sort myself out" diabetes wise...and my control has been so much better since, not perfect, but so much better. I am glad to say that I have ot had a reoccurance of the tingling in my hands, over 15 years later.

Like everything, improving your control is the key. This is a great site to help you do that! Al the best.
 
Hi Rachel,

I had this as one of my symptoms when I diagnosed with T1.
It is called radial neuropathy. If you have had bad control then it is possibly to be expected but if you are now getting things under good control then it may be reversed.

In my case I could draw a line between my middle and ring finger on my left hand down and across to the side to about 2 inches up my arm from my wrist. In that area I had pins and needles and on the outside edge of my little finger patches of complete numbness.

Given this rather major wake up call at the same time as diagnosis I took my condition very seriously and have worked very hard at it. A1c runs between 5.9 and 5.7.
While my blood sugar is fine my hand is good, when my sugars creep up then the tingles come back.
So essentially with good control the damage has been mostly reversed.

It is probably best to get it checked out so that your care team at least has some record of it and they can then keep track of things to see if they change any.

Good luck.

A
 
I agree with sugar2. I had exactly the same thing which was due to a damaged vertebra and a crushed disc (C6). Classic signs are usually Tingling and numbness in the little finger side of hand, can also show as a nagging pain down the arm and shoulder. Not always. It sometimes recurs if my posture is not what it should be !

If it continues you should get it checked out with your GP. Not everything is down to Diabetes. Neuropathy can be caused by Diabetes.......it can also be non Diabetic related causes.
 
Sorry yes, I should qualify my comments.

Initial reaction of Dr when I had the tingling was that I had trapped / crushed nerve. That was the original reason for the visit to Dr, the test for diabetes was mentioned as a side thing since my wife asked me to get it checked.

Once the T1 was diagnosed I was advised to keep en eye on it so in my case it was related.

But all the more reason to go and get it checked if you are not sure :)

A
 
Hi Andy.
Sorry....I wasn't getting at you. I was just answering the OP from my own personal view and experiences. I think we both posted at much the same time ...... :D

Cheers
 
No worries. Didn't think you were getting at me. It's not your style.

You did however raise a valid point that it's not always Diabetes that is the cause so I thought it best to just qualify what I was saying.

The end thing is good control is always the key, it will certainly help to take at least one variable away :)

Cheers
 
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