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Diabetic neuropathy help ASAP please?

Posted: Jun 12, 2010

I am terrified...I have steroid-induced DM and have just been on insulin for about a week.

Yesterday morning I woke up nearly paralyzed in pain from my knee area down. The pain was so intense at first I didn't even realize where it started from and had to figure it out. My feet, thighs, knees, calves, etc., was in the most twisting, squeezing, burning pain I've ever experienced. I took an OxyContin plus 2 Norcos and it still didn't subside for at least 2 hours, then no signs or symptoms the rest of the day.

This morning was an encore performance, more intense on the right side (yesterday had been the left).

Is this diabetic neuropathy? I'm so freaking scared. Does anyone here at MTStars suffer from this? Is there anything that fixes it? I'm terrified to go to sleep tonight, because it seems to be once my body is relaxed. I feel no symptoms at all during the day and today's bout took even longer to subside, even with the heavy pain meds.

PLEASE HELP ME IF YOU CAN...BLESS YOU!

;

Neuropathy - Linda

[ In Reply To ..]
You need to see a doctor ASAP.

Does this sound like diabetic neuropathy to you? - NewDM2

[ In Reply To ..]
Your post kinda makes it sound like you might suspect something...? I seriously woke up in the worst pain of my life, and I've had childbirth and MVAs and a bunch of other stuff to compare to. I've NEVER been in such profound pain, pain so blinding I couldn't even tell where it started from for at least 5 minutes of disorientation. It was literally crippling. This morning I woke up after about 2-3 hours of sleep with the same thing but I was kind of prepared for it and didnt let myself panic, just had my pain meds ready to grab and ride it out. It took twice as long today for it to subside and then (now) I feel fine.

I'm just one big crying panicky mess right now because I'm so tired and I don't want to go to sleep because that seems to be when it sets in. If I'm awake, it can't happen, right? Geez, I feel like I'm going to be in the next Nightmare on Elm Street movie, "DON'T FALL ASLEEP!!!"

I'm petrified, ladies, and I'm usually one tough cookie.

what meds are you taking? It seems that - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
you have a really bad reaction to 1 of those. I do not think that diabetic neuropathy manifests itself in this severe form right from the beginning.
It might be due to an electrolyte imbalance. Are you taking Lasix? Potassium deficiency causes painful leg cramps....
Ask your doctor!

Yes, they have me on Lasix and Novolog - NewDM2

[ In Reply To ..]
It took over 30 days for the Endocrinologist to see me, so my blood sugars have been running unchecked from the dexamethasone for about 2 months now. They just started the insulin (Novolog FlexPen) on Tuesday of this week. My PCP had me on the dex, lasix for my feet being swollen, and Norco and OxyContin for the pain (I have a tumor and they think brain metastasis for which my MRI had to be postponed because of my BUN and creatinine being crazy from the unchecked blood sugars). They had me on oral agents (metformin then to glipizide).

I've never had this happen til yesterday and I cannot even describe the pain. Plus she called and pretty much doubled my insulin Friday night. I didnt think diabetic neuropathy could set in so quickly, I thought it was after years of diabetes. I never had high blood sugar til the steroid was introduced. It has been amazing in what it's helped.

I'm sorry if this sounds disjointed or doesnt make sense. I'm blubbering like a baby dreading falling asleep tonight and waking up in that much pain again.

Thank you both for whatever help or advice you have. I've been trying to read about it but this just doesnt sound like "typical" neuropathic pain that I'm finding.

I hope that tonight you will have less pain, - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
and your doctor should be able to find the underlying cause for your pain and relieve it. Keep us updated.

If the Lasix causes low potassium, it leads to muscle cramps; eat before going to bed 1/2 banana and drink 1/2 glass of orange juice.
Good night!

Please go to the emergency room! - Nurse Jackie

[ In Reply To ..]
If you are in that much pain, you should go to the emergency room and get properly evaluated. None of us are qualified to give you medical advice, and it is much better to be safe than sorry.

I agree...I thought perhaps one of you had experienced this at some point - NewDM2

[ In Reply To ..]
Thank you all SO much. I'm having to adjust to so much, what with the original tumor then the brain metastasis and then the steroid-induced diabetes, and now this pain that I'm feeling totally overwhelmed just trying to fight for my life.

Thanks to all of you for caring. *hugs*

Hugs to you, too...please let us know how you are doing. - Nurse Jackie

[ In Reply To ..]
You will be in my thoughts and prayers! â�¥

Update - Last Night - NewDM2

[ In Reply To ..]
Worst morning thus far :-(.

After extensive Google and research, my husband and I decided we were dealing with the Lasix and its side effects because it all made sense. I found a website where other patients had seemingly experienced near-identical incapacitating, blindingy painful muscle cramps due to the lack of potassium in my system with the Lasix. I hadn't taken a Lasix for about 8 hours, so I ate a carton of yogurt and drank a glass of soy milk which put quite a bit of potassium in my system, then laid down to go to sleep and hopefully circumvent whatever had happened the 2 mornings before. Finally got to bed about 3 a.m., after my shift was over and waiting for the potassium to hopefully get into my system.

I woke up at 5 a.m., with my knees feeling as if they were on fire and literally being beaten on the kneecaps themselves with a baseball bat. I managed to make my way to the bathroom, then woke up my husband. The pain was so intense I was wondering if I had fallen directly onto both of my knees, but I knew I hadn't. This continued with me in near hysterics with the pain for at least at hour while my husband coached me on slowing my breathing (with each pulsation throughout my body, a new wave of blinding pain hit me). Once I got my breathing somewhat under control, the pain slowly began to subside and, here I sit, 5 hours later, FINE (except for being incredibly sore at the target areas).

This is 3 mornings in a row and, although the pain is definitely confined to my legs from about the knee down, each incident has been a completely different and distinct type of pain. Today's was the worst yet. Fortunately, my PCP is open 7 days a week so I have a call in to him.

Does anyone know if too much insulin in the body would cause the excess to try to secrete from a particular region of the body? Working nights, my schedule is a tad different than the usual person in that normally dinner is around 10-12 p.m., which is when I take the short-acting insulin; however, my final dose of the day I've been told to take it when I actually lay down to go to sleep which is about 2 hours after we eat dinner.

While waiting for the doc to call, I'm giong to Google around and see if there's any chance this is what's happening. I had thought the Lasix made sense as the culprit, but now I'm thinking maybe it's some bizarre excess insulin side effect.

With all of my heart, ladies, thank you SO much for caring and for your kind words and advice and taking the time to read this and my other posts. Things are so scary in my life right now that every day seems to be an obstacle course and just knowing I could post here and find caring, good-hearted people somehow makes it all a little bit easier with which to deal.

Please consider yourselves all "e-hugged." You made this stranger's life just a little easier, just for caring. Thank you. <3

OMG, figured it out...It's NOT the DM2! - NewDM2

[ In Reply To ..]
I had rheumatic fever as a child. I had actually wiped the horrid middle-of-the-night pain memories from my memory, and it all just clicked.

It's NOT the DM or the insulin. The symptoms are all there, I believe it's a relapse of rheumatic fever. I now rememember as a child waking up in the middle of the night in the same exact excruciating pain, except as a child it was in my elbows and wrists rather than my knees. With all my other cancer issues going on, I wrote off a sore throat and a deep cough as being change of weather or allergies. Most of the time I even forget I had RF as a child and somehow it all just clicked now. I always knew there was chance for relapse/recurrence, and I guess this is just the latest "obstacle" added in.

Thanks so much to everyone...I think being my own detective just solved this unsavory little riddle for me.

It's going to be a rough couple of weeks, to say the least.

At least the element of fear is gone now...that should make it easier to deal with.

Thank you again, ladies :-)

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