diabetes709

I can't believe it, but I do...... Dx'd at T2 this past July with a 6.8 A1c. Three months later, I had lost 20 pounds and was at A1 5.5 so I thought I was doing pretty good.

Well, my toes are failing fast, and I am looking for others who have issues with their toes/feet to learn what they do about it. I have a dr appt in a few days, but from what I can glean off the net, and at the library, there is nothing that can be done to stop it, only to make it so I can live with it. Cold toes, and sore from the ball of the big toe, forward. When I walk with shoes and socks on, it feels like I am walking barefoot on concrete. Same shoes and socks as always, and I am not sure I can connect the cold toes, and the lack of what feel like a cushion on the balls of my feet. Could be two different things


Yesterday I absolutely could not get my toes warm. It took half the night in bed with socks on, and the electric blanket to get them to be as warm as the rest of me. Paranoia may feel a slight tingle. I don't know, I stress out pretty easy over this stuff, lacking insurance to go and see a specialist, especially when the consensus is, there is no cure, and the only way to make it better is keep BG real tight. I haven't been over 130 in months (that I know of, don't test every hour, but most meals)

I massage them, I warm them in front of a radiant heater, carefully, the shoes I wear every day, I have worn for a year, very comfortable and not at all tight.

Don't have any cuts, or infections or anything like that. Just started about three days ago, to get cold, and the toes are not really all that pink, but I never really noticed. Didn't occur to me that such a thing could come on so fast, so early on, although who knows how long I was diabetic in the first place. Still, my last A1c was 5.0. Not gonna get much tighter than that <shrug>

Anyway, I am trying to walk my way out of it, meaning staying on the treadmill and hoping the exercise increases the circulation. I was off for about a week with a bad cold. I hope that is the right approach.

Can't go outside, as the cold ground comes through my shoes pretty quick, and I can feel the toes getting cold which scares the living hell out of me, trapped inside until summer time.

I am massaging, soaking, keeping my BG tight, and gonna exercise through it. Anyone been here before that can share what you are doing about it. I suspect that the doctor will not have much beyond that to offer, and as I said, research shows me that there is not much one can do to increase circulation. Imagine being dx'd that low, and six months later, I have major feet/toe issues? Happy days all around.

No insurance, so a specialist is out, unless I can get myself convinced that there is something they really could do, which so far, I am not.

Would love to hear from someone who is going through it.

Thanks

John

diabetes709

Hey, I just realized I probably put this in the wrong forum. Those who know how to move it, would you mind?

Thanks

John

Richard157

John, you are experiencing a complication and so this is the right forum. Which forum were you thinking about?

I have had cold feet ever since I started having good control, many years ago. That is a very common thing among diabetics of all types. If I have an occasional high like 140 or above, my feet and toes become very warm. If I drop below 90 they are very cold. I usually stay 80-120 and then they are moderately cold, even in the summer time. I do not think of this as a complication at all. My doctor is not concerned either.

If you think this is something different from what so many of us experience then you can see a specialist. A neurologist could give you an EMG test to see if it is neuropathy or some other nerve problem. A podiatrist might have some input. Your endo would probably tell you this is very common and nothing to worry about.

__________________
I have been Type 1 for 64 years. I have no complications. My A1c is 5.4. I pump with the MM 522 and use a Dexcom CGM.

Details about my book are in my profile.
My ISBN number for placing orders for my book at bookstores is: 1450515967

diabetes709

Thanks Richard. No endo, no insurance, no money, and a lot of foot pain...... Pain might be the wrong word. Perhaps discomfort at a high level would be more descriptive. I can live with cold feet, but I cannot walk on marbles the rest of my life. :-) that is what it feels like up under the joints where the toe meets the foot, and on the ball of each foot. Not numb, and no tingling or anything. Hard to judge color.

Came on way too fast for me to believe its plain old neuropathy. It started with just the toes feeling cold, and by the end of the day, over the weekend, my feet were in major distress. The crappy thing about it is, when I walk funny, my knees and back take a beating and now they are all messed up. I am used to that, been like it since forever, but it doesn't help my outlook.

I haven't come across anyone who has said they have neuropathy, with the extreme discomfort which feels like I am walking on bare bone, with marbles in the front of my feet. Hoping it will get better. The cold may have to stay, and so be it, but not being able to walk is a real downer emotionally. From what I read, there is no way to increase the blood flow to the feet/toes but for massages but who can sit around all day and rub their feet? That job doesn't pay much :-)

I have soaked them in the old Dr Sholes foot bath/vibrator, use the small vibrator that comes in those neck massagers, rubbed em, and never have ever walked around barefoot, and it helps for a bit. Early in the day, its tolerable. By evening, I can't wait to go to bed and get off them.

Dr appt on thursday. Just my family doctor as he gives me a nice break for paying cash. I will let him tell me where he thinks I should go next, and then decide if I can afford it, or it is worth it. From what I have researched, neuropathy has no cure, so I will have to decide if there is good cause to pay a specialist out of my pocket for what I can only imagine will be a really big bill.....

Hey, for all I know, I have always had cold feet in the winter. Its Utah, its cold, I keep (kept) the heat down due to costs, so I am just out here trying to decide the best course of action. Maybe my doctor can help me find that.

Thanks for the input. Always good to hear from you.

John

Richard157

Now that I have heard more about the problem, I am wondering if it may be the beginning stages of gout. I have had three gout attacks and ghey always start off this way. Gout is caused by excessive uric acid in the joints. The most common joint is in the big toes. In the more advanced stages the pain increases, there is swelling, reddness and the affected area feel very warm to the touch. My last attack was in early Nov. The inflammation eventually set in and the area (back of my heel) was as almost fire engine red. I use Allipurinol for gout and I used an anti-inflammatory med too. I was walking funny too and developed pain in my opposite leg and hip. Gout is more common among diabetics but my gout may not have been diabetes related.

__________________
I have been Type 1 for 64 years. I have no complications. My A1c is 5.4. I pump with the MM 522 and use a Dexcom CGM.

Details about my book are in my profile.
My ISBN number for placing orders for my book at bookstores is: 1450515967

Breeze 2 User

If you ask my wife she'll tell you I have a B I G foot problem. It seems like I keep on putting it in my mouth.. and sometimes I end up with both of them there!

Breeze 2 User