Does anyone use a cream that helps with neuropathy?
I have seen several on Amazon
Thanks
Hi @A DiabetesTeam Member, and all you warriors.
My Bride uses gabapentin pills, 300 mg 2x a day.
She uses Voltaren gel for relief.
She also uses lidocaine stick on patches.
My Mom swore by Salonpas pads.
Neuropathy medications like Lyrica help many people.
Talk with your doctors. Ask for help.
Control your blood glucose numbers to below 139(7.8), to prevent further vascular damage. You don't want the neuropathy to get worse.
Baby steps. I wish for you more good days than bad and have many exceptional days too.
Never give up, never surrender, never ever.
You got this.
Have a wonderful day.
@A DiabetesTeam Member in Diabetics Claudication is caused by exactly the same thing that causes Peripheral Neuronopathy - restricted blood flow due to arterial damage caused by high blood sugars
The difference being that Neuropathy is the result of the nerves dying due to restricted/lack of blood flow which is needed to keep them alive
Claudication is muscle "pain" caused by lack of sufficient oxygen getting through those damaged vessels that would get the oxygen to the muscles
It would first show up as pain during exercise (initial warning sign) and would be exacerbated by muscle fatigue caused by reduced blood sugar transport, again, restricted by the damaged vessels
Muscles need oxygen to (work) and they are also "sugar hogs"
Muscles store glucose for energy and can go for a while on that stored sugar before they need to "suck more" out of our blood (which is why exercise can drop our sugar level rapidly particularly if it is more strenuous exercise) - when runners talk about "hitting the wall" that is (physiologically) the point where their muscles have burned up all their stored sugars and there is insufficient amounts in the blood that can replace the depleted stores fast enough to continue at that activity level so they effectively start burning up the muscles themselves
(when we do a blood or urine test that tests Creatinine levels, that is measuring muscle waste and a Creatinine Kinase test will check to see if we are actually "damaging" the muscles)
So yes, decreased arterial flow, whether caused by high sugar damage or some other arterial disease/condition can result in both peripheral neuropathy (nerve pain) and Claudication (muscle pain under physical stress) They are not "unique" to Diabetes but it is a leading (cause) of either condition
PS - if anyone has jumped out of bed in the middle of the night with that wicked cramp in the Calf Muscle - that is a "classic" case of Intermittent Claudication - your calf muscle was starved of oxygen and cramped up in response - this occurs without any vascular damage and is simply the result of some electrolyte imbalance combined with reduced blood flow while sleeping (the heart slows down while we sleep and the calf muscle is "pretty far away")
@A DiabetesTeam Member there is a number of (medicated) creams and ointments out there and probably the best you can do is try one and see if it works for you - most of them have some merit
My father suffered from extreme neuropathy in both legs/feet for almost two decades (he was diabetic for 28 years before it took him down)
He used a product (that he swore by) called Watkins Medicated Ointment (Petro-Carbo specifically since there is a few options in their product line).
He also wore the calf-high diabetic compression stockings if he had to spend any time on his feet.
Later on I will work out the cost of my meals for today and post it for anyone who is interested in keeping costs as low as we can.
Hi hkc.
This morning my FBS was 3.7.
Immediately Ihad 1/2 cup orange juice with 1 slice wholewheat toast, no butter or spread.
Later Ate breakfast :
3 eggs stired into this was a tad broccoli
Mushrooms
Followed by my usual cup of coffee. Small amount of white cabbage.
Blood sugar 5.6 before lunch.
With no insulin or tablets.
This lasted me until about 30 mins ago when I ate for lunch
stir fried red cabbage 1/4
I tin Portuguese sardines
1/4 cubed apple
I shared this in 2. The 2nd half I will have for dinner about 7 pm
Of course I cook only with coconut oil which seems to be satiating m÷ from meal to meal
.
With the food prices Increasing , I have to save on cost of nutrition as much as I can at the same time,
As food prices are skyrocketing as we all know good nutrition is just as important as before, even though cost is reaching astronomical costs.
I know how hard it is, but as hkc says NEVER EVER GIVE UP. NO MATTER WHAT!