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Is this Neuropathy?
nvmomketo
Posts: 12,019 Member
I had a holy crap/light bulb moment today. Over the last year or two I often wake up with tingling and stiff fingers. I thought I was just sleeping weird and maybe it had something to do with the autoimmune arthritis I sometimes experience.
Today I was sitting and muling over my high morning blood glucose readings. I have some big time Dawn Phenomenon that appears to be getting worse and worse despite the fat that I eat LCHF (90+% of the time in ketosis) and started walking 30-90 minutes per day a few months back. I was grumbling to myself about my morning BG, which was 6.7 in spite of it being 5.4 when I went to bed, and as I grumbled I was rubbing my fingers back and forth and playing with the slight numb tingling feeling still in my fingers which has now lasted 5 hours after waking up. It's less tingly now, but crap....
For some reason I never ever considered this to be neuropathy. But now that I think about it, this seems like something I better talk to my doctor about, along with my high morning BG. I am not on any meds but I am slowly thinking that I should be since my BG numbers are no longer 4's and 5's all of the time.
I'm rambling...
Does slight numbness and tingling in the hands upon waking sound like neuropathy?
Today I was sitting and muling over my high morning blood glucose readings. I have some big time Dawn Phenomenon that appears to be getting worse and worse despite the fat that I eat LCHF (90+% of the time in ketosis) and started walking 30-90 minutes per day a few months back. I was grumbling to myself about my morning BG, which was 6.7 in spite of it being 5.4 when I went to bed, and as I grumbled I was rubbing my fingers back and forth and playing with the slight numb tingling feeling still in my fingers which has now lasted 5 hours after waking up. It's less tingly now, but crap....
For some reason I never ever considered this to be neuropathy. But now that I think about it, this seems like something I better talk to my doctor about, along with my high morning BG. I am not on any meds but I am slowly thinking that I should be since my BG numbers are no longer 4's and 5's all of the time.
I'm rambling...
Does slight numbness and tingling in the hands upon waking sound like neuropathy?
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Good question!
As a vetetan of several delightful hand operations, I would venture to say there could be all sorts of causes, including neuropathy that's not related to BG, inflammation, or plain old mechanical issues related in some way to the smooth functioning of those marvelous mitts of ours.
A visit to a good hand doc could be highly entertaining!1 -
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Just food for thought.
http://www.webmd.com/diabetes/morning-high-blood-sugar-levels
It took many years of poor control to develop neuropathy in my feet.
They tingle most of the time.0 -
Well, it would be "interesting." Would you buy that?0
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Mine is in my calf muscles, very noticeable after any meal > 500 calories. Tai chi and other 'slow' exercise has helped a lot, but divvying up portions throughout the day has made the most noticeable difference.0
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KenSmith108 wrote: »Just food for thought.
http://www.webmd.com/diabetes/morning-high-blood-sugar-levels
It took many years of poor control to develop neuropathy in my feet.
They tingle most of the time.
Yikes. Tingly all the time? Damn.
I don't think I have had years of poor control. I had about a year of prediabetic FBG numbers. Then I switched to keto and had 6 months of good FBG numbers - mostly normal. Now? I mostly get prediabetic or diabetic morning glucose. So really, it's only been about 18 months or so of slightly high morning glucose. My BG then falls throughout the day. That works in my favor, I think.
I am guessing morning highs are dawn phenomenon. I take no meds so Somogyi is unlikely unless this is slowly progressing LADA. I'll occassionally get night swats that could be lows but I think it's probably more related to the fact that I am a 42 year old woman.
Thanks. It is something to think about. I may need insulin or metformin in my future. 6.7 is not good.0 -
Lots of protein in the evening?0
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Lots of protein in the evening?
Half a cup of nuts (Macadamia and some cashews lately) is my usual snack.
I haven't been logging much lately but my guess is that I rarely go over 90g of protein in a day.
I just reread my last post where I mentioned "night swats". It sounds kinkier than intended.
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"Night swats" did cause some raised eyebrows in some quarters!
Cashews are sort of high GI for nuts, esp. in the evening. ?? Macadamias on the other hand.. mmm! "Shouldn't" have much of an effect....
Have you tried hanging up the oat bag progressively earlier in the evening?1 -
(Protein will turn to glucose, albeit more slowly than carbs....)0
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Locking the pantry after dinner is a good idea. Just not a pleasant idea. I prefer eating at night... Darn it.
I should test that theory more I guess. I just don't wanna! (She said with a foot stomp and a whiny voice.)2 -
Of course you don't wanna! (Glass of gin around 8:30pm? It's not technically "food"...)
A poster commented somewhere recently that she activates "lockdown" mode if/when she hits certain nutrient ceilings. With greatest reluctance (and some resentment), I had to agree. Shutting off consumption, in addition to enforcing goals, also gives your daily fast a jump start.
Yep, da*n.
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Stopped eating at 6:00 pm last night. Even skipped the gin. I forgot to test after dinner (steak, 12 snap peas and cheese) but I tested at:
8:00 pm - 5.4
10:30 pm - 4.6
5:00 am - 5.3
7:45 am - 6.4
I am having a BPC with a bit of protein powder for breakfast at 8:30am.I'll test in a while.
I meant to wake up at 2am to test then but I slept through. I highly doubt I went much lower than 4.6. Maybe to a 4.4?
I doubt my BG was very high after dinner either. A dinner like that doesn't do much to me. Maybe I was 5.8 at the most. Still too high, but if I had a high FBG it takes all day for my BG to come back down. Yesterday's morning BG was high (6.7). I don't get sharp corrections.
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And it was 4.9 an hour after my BPC with protein powder. LOL Eat, BG goes down. Don't eat, it goes up.
Diabetes is a bit maddening.
And so much for me saying I don't get sharp corrections. Sheesh. My BG is like my kids: determined to prove me wrong!
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Oy. In oh so many ways is BG like a kid...
Try metformin or some straight liquor right before bed to distract your liver?0 -
You didn't eat for 3.5 hours after you woke up - if you do that regularly maybe your liver is just making sure you don't faint? Fasting is stress, stress releases cortisol, cortisol tells liver to release glucose to be ready to run?1
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You didn't eat for 3.5 hours after you woke up - if you do that regularly maybe your liver is just making sure you don't faint? Fasting is stress, stress releases cortisol, cortisol tells liver to release glucose to be ready to run?
Thanks for the advice.
I doubt that is true for me because I use a ketogenic diet. My BG doesn't respond like it used to (I had reactive hypoglycemia for years). I've been down into the 3's and I still felt fine; maybe a tad bit weak.
Also, I went back to bed at 5:00am. It was raining and I was feeling too lazy to get up. LOL 1 -
I've had BG readings down to 3.0 (54) and not noticed anything out of the ordinary.
It certainly did get my attention, but my endocrinologist told me not to worry about asymptomatic hypoglycemia, being on metformin only, and according to Phinney and Volek, people in ketosis seem to be able to tolerate significantly lower BG levels.0 -
It was quite the revelation when 3's felt fine. 4's too.1
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Hi @nvmomketo the numbness and tingling can also be a sign of carpal tunnel. I've been managing carpal tunnel for years with periodic physical therapy and wrist braces at night and have successfully staved off hand surgery, despite my surgeon's claims that it was necessary. I still get the numbess and tingling now and then, but it doesnt last for hours or days anymore, nor is it paired with excrutiating daily pain. My neurologist and surgeon both said diabetics are more prone to carpal tunnel.1
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^^ What paleo said..
Unfortunately, diabetics are more prone to a whole raft of other problems, including arthritis.
I have some neuropathy in my feet. I used to get those sharp shooting pains, but I started taking vitamin B12 regularly..and the hot, shooting pains have gone away. It didn't "cure" the neuropathy.. My feet still feel half-asleep most of the time in varying degrees, but the pains have stopped.
I hope you can get a diagnosis and figure out something that works for you, whether neuropathy or carpal tunnel.
Best wishes..0 -
PaleoInScotland wrote: »Hi @nvmomketo the numbness and tingling can also be a sign of carpal tunnel. I've been managing carpal tunnel for years with periodic physical therapy and wrist braces at night and have successfully staved off hand surgery, despite my surgeon's claims that it was necessary. I still get the numbess and tingling now and then, but it doesnt last for hours or days anymore, nor is it paired with excrutiating daily pain. My neurologist and surgeon both said diabetics are more prone to carpal tunnel.
Congrats for being able to l stave off the surgery!
I haven't needed carpal tunnel surgery, but I've had 5 trigger fingers released surgically (after cortisone shots didn't work) and kicked myself every time that I'd waited so long. Apparently, trigger fingers are another treat diabetics are more likely to enjoy.0
This discussion has been closed.