Hello!
I'm new to your forum and haven't yet been diagnosed, but I have a question about neuropathy and its relationship to blood sugar levels that I think you guys might be able to answer! I have a strong family history of both type 1 and 2 diabetes (my dad, grandmother, 2 uncles, several cousins).
I'm 29 years old and was in excellent health until recently. I'm thin, eat relatively well (though could improve certainly), don't smoke, not taking any meds other than a multivitamin and Omega 3's. For the last 4 months I've been having symptoms that haven't yet been explained. One of the more significant symptoms is polyneuropathy in my feet. It came on suddenly one day along with dizziness, nausea, shakiness, and confusion. It resolved after 2-3 hours only to happen again the next day (and on and off every day since then).
I've seen a neurologist and he said that I can't feel vibration (with a tuning fork) or sense temperature appropriately in my feet. Sometimes they feel pretty normal and other times they get ice-cold, turn purple or blue in patches, tingle, go numb, very sore big toe, etc. I also have significant burning in my legs at night (mostly the calves). I do get mild tingling in my hands from time to time, but not nearly as bad as the feet. I also get muscle pain, tingling in a patch on my back and my left cheekbone, vertigo, tremors, and trouble thinking clearly quite frequently.
I had my HgA1c and fasting BG measured. They were 6.0% and 5.9 mmol/L respectively (2 months ago). I live in Canada so I think the BG readings might be in different units than in the US. The neurologist said these were both a bit high, nothing really serious, but worth pursuing with my PCP. I went to her and she said they were totally normal - she didn't even want to do any further testing. She said anything under 7 is fine for the HgA1c. I thought that non-diabetics should be much lower though. Thoughts?
I also have mildly low iron (I'm taking supplements) and have a positive (fairly high) ANA test indicating possible autoimmune disorder though all antibodies tested for were negative. I also had elevated chromium?! B12 is normal. Thyroid is normal. I've had a normal MRI so there aren't any obvious pinched nerves and I don't have MS or neurological disease.
So... do you think that with an A1c of 6.0 I could experience nerve damage? Or is it unrelated to blood sugar? Are my results normal and fine as my PCP says or borderline as the neuro says?
I'd love to hear anything you have to offer about neuropathy and BG readings, or any other comments!
Many thanks,
Zoe
I'm new to your forum and haven't yet been diagnosed, but I have a question about neuropathy and its relationship to blood sugar levels that I think you guys might be able to answer! I have a strong family history of both type 1 and 2 diabetes (my dad, grandmother, 2 uncles, several cousins).
I'm 29 years old and was in excellent health until recently. I'm thin, eat relatively well (though could improve certainly), don't smoke, not taking any meds other than a multivitamin and Omega 3's. For the last 4 months I've been having symptoms that haven't yet been explained. One of the more significant symptoms is polyneuropathy in my feet. It came on suddenly one day along with dizziness, nausea, shakiness, and confusion. It resolved after 2-3 hours only to happen again the next day (and on and off every day since then).
I've seen a neurologist and he said that I can't feel vibration (with a tuning fork) or sense temperature appropriately in my feet. Sometimes they feel pretty normal and other times they get ice-cold, turn purple or blue in patches, tingle, go numb, very sore big toe, etc. I also have significant burning in my legs at night (mostly the calves). I do get mild tingling in my hands from time to time, but not nearly as bad as the feet. I also get muscle pain, tingling in a patch on my back and my left cheekbone, vertigo, tremors, and trouble thinking clearly quite frequently.
I had my HgA1c and fasting BG measured. They were 6.0% and 5.9 mmol/L respectively (2 months ago). I live in Canada so I think the BG readings might be in different units than in the US. The neurologist said these were both a bit high, nothing really serious, but worth pursuing with my PCP. I went to her and she said they were totally normal - she didn't even want to do any further testing. She said anything under 7 is fine for the HgA1c. I thought that non-diabetics should be much lower though. Thoughts?
I also have mildly low iron (I'm taking supplements) and have a positive (fairly high) ANA test indicating possible autoimmune disorder though all antibodies tested for were negative. I also had elevated chromium?! B12 is normal. Thyroid is normal. I've had a normal MRI so there aren't any obvious pinched nerves and I don't have MS or neurological disease.
So... do you think that with an A1c of 6.0 I could experience nerve damage? Or is it unrelated to blood sugar? Are my results normal and fine as my PCP says or borderline as the neuro says?
I'd love to hear anything you have to offer about neuropathy and BG readings, or any other comments!
Many thanks,
Zoe
