Type 1 nurse with Charcot foot urges others to avoid the complication

[DCUK NewsBot]

A nurse with type 1 diabetes has warned others with type 1 about a foot-related diabetes complication. Lesley Weeks, 59, has had diabetes for 30 years and had never experienced any problems until a pain struck her on holiday. Speaking to the Northern Echo newspaper, the urgent care nurse, said: "About 10 years ago I was in Tenerife on holiday, I was walking along and felt a sharp excruciating pain in my right foot. "It became red and swollen. Being a nurse, I did all the right things, resting it, keeping it upright when possible and so on. When I got back home I had x- rays and it was discovered that I had a condition called Charcot foot." The condition is a type of bone deformity that develops in people who have significant nerve damage, known as diabetic neuropathy. If the condition develops, it can lead to disability and in some cases may require amputation. Since then, Lesley said she has endured many problems with her feet and now takes antibiotics and strong painkillers, alongside her insulin. The 59-year-old said: "Just after Christmas I lost feeling in both my feet and I developed huge blisters in both feet. I woke up one morning and one of them had burst. I just had a hole in my foot. I was so upset. "Since then I have been visiting the podiatrists every week to have them dressed. I am very careful. As a nurse and someone who has had diabetes many years, I know the risks. But I still get caught out sometimes." Lesley now regularly sees a specialist healthcare team at North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust to keep a close eye on her feet. She added: "Every bit of your body is affected by diabetes. I just want to warn others in the same position to be cautious and mindful of what can happen." Claire O’Malley, a high-risk specialist podiatrist at the trust, said: "They may not notice an issue until the end of the day. By then they may have developed the start of an ulcer which can cause further damage. Working together with the diabetes specialist nurses, consultants and dietitians, we treat and advise our patients. You can never be too careful. Our advice is to regularly check your feet. It’s about early intervention." Keeping blood glucose under good control and checking your feet for any changes or signs of damage help to reduce foot problems developing. If you spot changes in your feet or any damage, it is important to let your diabetes health team know. Eating natural, healthy food and avoiding processed food, as best you can, is a good way to reduce the risk of nerve damage and foot problems occurring. Many people with type 1 diabetes have found reducing carbohydrate intake and upping the amount of healthy fats allows them to keep control of sugar levels better.

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[ickihun]

A nurse with type 1 diabetes has warned others with type 1 about a foot-related diabetes complication. Lesley Weeks, 59, has had diabetes for 30 years and had never experienced any problems until a pain struck her on holiday. Speaking to the Northern Echo newspaper, the urgent care nurse, said: "About 10 years ago I was in Tenerife on holiday, I was walking along and felt a sharp excruciating pain in my right foot. "It became red and swollen. Being a nurse, I did all the right things, resting it, keeping it upright when possible and so on. When I got back home I had x- rays and it was discovered that I had a condition called Charcot foot." The condition is a type of bone deformity that develops in people who have significant nerve damage, known as diabetic neuropathy. If the condition develops, it can lead to disability and in some cases may require amputation. Since then, Lesley said she has endured many problems with her feet and now takes antibiotics and strong painkillers, alongside her insulin. The 59-year-old said: "Just after Christmas I lost feeling in both my feet and I developed huge blisters in both feet. I woke up one morning and one of them had burst. I just had a hole in my foot. I was so upset. "Since then I have been visiting the podiatrists every week to have them dressed. I am very careful. As a nurse and someone who has had diabetes many years, I know the risks. But I still get caught out sometimes." Lesley now regularly sees a specialist healthcare team at North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust to keep a close eye on her feet. She added: "Every bit of your body is affected by diabetes. I just want to warn others in the same position to be cautious and mindful of what can happen." Claire O’Malley, a high-risk specialist podiatrist at the trust, said: "They may not notice an issue until the end of the day. By then they may have developed the start of an ulcer which can cause further damage. Working together with the diabetes specialist nurses, consultants and dietitians, we treat and advise our patients. You can never be too careful. Our advice is to regularly check your feet. It’s about early intervention." Keeping blood glucose under good control and checking your feet for any changes or signs of damage help to reduce foot problems developing. If you spot changes in your feet or any damage, it is important to let your diabetes health team know. Eating natural, healthy food and avoiding processed food, as best you can, is a good way to reduce the risk of nerve damage and foot problems occurring. Many people with type 1 diabetes have found reducing carbohydrate intake and upping the amount of healthy fats allows them to keep control of sugar levels better.

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Thank you Lesley Weeks.

 

[Robinredbreast]

Since the article about not informative of its topic, here is a full article on Charcot's Foot:

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/heal...rcot-foot/management-and-treatment?view=print

Note that it affects other people with Diabetes, not just Type 1s.

The lady in question is type 1 and it doesn't actually say ' only happen's to type 1 diabetics' so the nurse is letting people know about her own experience with Charcot foot. Also, If type 1 is diagnosed when young, that could be many, many decades of diabetes, my 30th year is in 2019.
http://www.humber.nhs.uk/Downloads/Services/Podiatry/Diabetes Charcot foot.pdf

 

[Robinredbreast]

I wasn't referring to the type 1 diabetic lady, but was giving some basic info on Charcot's, that the article didn't, and noted that it is something to be considered for all types Diabetes. I am only 17 years from diagnosis with type 2 but had gestational diabetes beginning in early 70s. According to Dr. Bernstein, the damage to our systems begins with the first forms and aspects of diabetes. especially in terms of cardiovascular, nerve, thrombotic, liver, kidney, and gastrointestinal issues. Gestational diabetes and prediabetes are, in their way, dangerous misnomers costing folks years of possible treatment or proactive dieting. In other words, Diabetes is Diabetes. What type at what stage of our lives only helps inform how we treat ourselves.

Were you suggesting that only type 1's with decades behind their belts ought consider, read about or talk about Charcot's?

As the lady is type 1, she was giving telling people about her experience with Charcot foot. My granddaughter has had type 1 from the age of just 2 1/2 years, my daughter, who is pregnant with my grandchild, has gestational diabetes. The UK, NHS link I posted is an informative one and I used this because I live in the UK and maybe reading it would benefit other member's and of course you may include yourself.

The Thread title :-
Type 1 nurse with Charcot foot urges others to avoid the complication