Muscle Loss?

3288 Views 10 Replies 4 Participants Last post by robidereck, 5 mo ago

HappyJack

Discussion Starter · Mar 24, 2021

I have been on a roller-coaster with my weight and continuous muscle loss over the last 10 years. I can diet and loose weight and feel good most of the time or better until I get close (with in 20 lbs.) of my recommended weight range. Then I feel weak and tired. This is with great BS control with A1C in the low 5's. When I start to eat more I feel good again and my BS slowly climbs until I'm in the 7's and heavier and feel bad again. So I start over with diet and tighter control. And it all starts again but it seems that the muscle loss is happening no matter what I do. I was told by a hand doctor that I had muscle wasting and sent to an orthopedic back doctor and found to have spinal stenosis c6/c7 and he wanted to fuse this. I talked to another highly respected nuro surgeon who said I did not need this unless I had shooting pain. Don't have the pain that was described. I do have sensation from my pinky to my elbow on both sides that was found not to be from my back/neck according to a nerve study.

So I have let my diet add a bit more food and have stayed in the 7's and have had my doctor increase my medication. I am slowly loosing weight but am still week. Next A1C from my morning BS levels looks to be in the 6's. I am on Glipizide 10mg twice a day and Jardiance 25mg once a day. But still weak.

Now for the questions. Has anyone had muscle loss for diabetes and how do you treat it or reverse it. Are there medications that are better for this than others. In other words should I ask my doctor to put me on different medications.

Thank you for any help you can provide.

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itissteve

· #2 · Mar 25, 2021

tbh as I read your note, HappyJack, my first thought was about your daily protein intake. I've been reading a few articles lately indicating that many people need more protein than the traditional guidelines prescribe. Do you know (or can you make a good guess) at how many grams of protein you take in in a typical day?

There also are the questions of exercise levels and age, both of which have an effect on muscle retention/loss. The pandemic has altered many fitness regimes. Nothing much we can do about age, but it would be helpful to know whether you're on the older side or the younger side of life.

Do you have an appointment with your doctor yet?

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itissteve

· #9 · Mar 25, 2021

Thanks for the additional info, HappyJack. mbuster has provided several data sources that could be helpful for you. Most of my initial thoughts about what could be going on with your muscle loss are either addressed by mbuster's comments or no longer apply with the information you've posted now.

I did a Web search for a few things. I have to put in the disclaimer here that neither mbuster nor I are medical professionals. It does not appear the Kobe University study mbuster linked to applies well to your situation. Diabetic amyotrophy seems to manifest itself in areas of the spine other than cervical and the other symptoms don't seem to fit with yours, either. It sounds like you get enough exercise; disuse is not an issue (though, of course, some exercises. like lifting weights, are better for building muscle mass).

It might be worth coming up with a rough count of your intake of potassium, magnesium and (as mbuster mentioned) sodium levels. Of course, coming up with an exact daily intake will be difficult. What I've done for myself is to look at the lists of foods containing the most potassium and magnesium compared to what I eat. I don't eat much of those foods, so I've started taking potassium and magnesium supplements; blood panels that my doctor has ordered show that I'm in the right areas for those minerals.

Finally (for now), I came across this article, which is geared to radiologists, but may be helpful in getting a better picture (uh, sorry...) for what's going on with you. It's full of medical jargon; the short of it (as I see it) is that if you can get some of these images, they might better point to what's going on (or rule out what's not). You may already have had some of these tests in your recent treatment.

I hear you about being referred around to various specialists, and I am aware that many doctors will attribute almost any ailment to whatever chronic disease a patient may have. As I'm sure mbuster will corroborate, we have to be our own medical advocates. If we can help you pinpoint what might be the issue, tests can help confirm or rule out, and that may put you on the road to finding out what's up.

Thoughts?

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