Ketonah, NY Podiatrist Discusses Diabetes and Your Feet
Your feet are suddenly feeing wooden and pains are waking you up at night. What is that about?
One of the first symptoms of Diabetes/high blood sugar is numbness and tingling in your feet. It may wake you up at night This is called Neuropathy. The increased blood sugar affects the tiny nerve endings in the lower extremities. This may occur even before it registers in a blood test. Ironically, the most common drug for diabetes, Metformin, is a big culprit in causing neuropathy also.
What is neuropathy?
Neuropathy is a condition that occurs when the nerves in your body that are out side your brain and the spinal cord are damaged. They are called peripheral nerves. The are the little fibers that give you sensations.
Early symptoms include.:
Tingling
Burning
Numbness
Muscle weakness, cramping or atrophy
Undetected sores of the feet.
Peripheral neuropathy and PVD (peripheral vascular disease) are the leading causes of amputations and disabilities in the US. There are several causes of neuropathy including Chemotherapy, B 12 deficiency, Metformin use, Idiopathic (unknown causes), Poor blood flow, Elevated homocysteine, etc.
How is this treated?
I recommend you see your Podiatrist or internist. I place patients on B vitamins. L-methylfolate, B6, Benfotiamine (B1) and Riboflavin (B2), Alpha Lipoic Acid and Vitamin B12. There are good combos of these supplements, so they do not have to be taken separately. The results are incredibly good with this therapy.
Since patients do not feel their feet it is particularly important that their shoes fit well. There is the Diabetic shoe bill which pays yearly for a pair of shoes that are extra depth and fitted properly. The shoe bill has decreased amputations by 60%. Please inspect your feet daily to avoid infections.
Pamela S. Hoffman, DPM
Katonah Podiatry, PC