Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Complications?

On Thursday, while going about my afternoon nannying routine, I felt the strangest sensation in my right leg. The entire leg felt as though it was vibrating. Not tingling like it was falling asleep, but like I had a cell phone vibrating in my right pocket. The vibrations were equally strong from my hip all the way to my toes. The feeling lasted only a few seconds and I quickly dismissed it because cupcakes from Crumbs, Valentines Day books at Barnes & Noble and CMOM were calling our names! I finished up the evening feeling fine but then felt the exact same sensation while walking home from the subway later that night.
As the evening progressed, my leg began to feel numb and strange. By the time I woke up on Friday morning I was having INTENSE pain in my right heel in addition to the general feelings of strangeness/numbness. I spent the afternoon limping around with the two little ones while wondering in the back of my mind "What is happening to me??? Is this a diabetes complication??? I was only diagnosed 6 months ago! How could this be happening already??? It couldn't!!...... Could it?"
I read everything I could find online and in my many diabetes books about neuropathy. Some things matched up, "more common in taller individuals who have longer nerve fibers to damage," "numbness," "tingling," "worsening symptoms at night." And some things didn't, "most common in people over 40," "loss of balance or coordination," "insignificant weakness."
By Saturday the pain in my heel had decreased but I now was having major pain in my calf and knee every time I went to stand up (The numbness and strangeness were still there). Weird. Sunday had much less pain but an equal amounts of "numb" and "strange." Still. Yesterday, (Monday) the pain was basically gone but the other symptoms were still there.

I spent this morning/afternoon at the NYU Neurology center being evaluated. After much pain (Needles! Stuck into my foot and leg muscles! Ow!), discomfort (lots of electrical shocking on both legs to compare), and money (a lack of insurance is a very bad thing when you have diabetes) it was proclaimed that I "Do not have any permanent nerve damage."

Great!! Thank God!!

But...... why is my foot still numb?

Has anyone experienced something similar? Know someone who has? Help! Please!

9 comments:

Shannon said...

I really wish I could give you something on the weird leg vibrations. With you being diagnosed within the past year, I'd say you definitely didn't have damage yet as that could take decades to occur.

I found you through Kerri's blog. I look forward to reading more about you :)

(I have a diabetes blog which was started because my son has Type 1).

Cecily said...

Hi Shannon!

Thank you for the reassurance. It seems kind of silly, but it's nice to hear and I really appreciate it.
What a truly odd feeling this is though! Hopefully it will disappear as quickly as it started.

What is the url of your blog? I would love to check it out!

Shannon said...

Believe me, when my son was first diagnosed, I thought a week's worth of 200 range numbers would cause damage within weeks. But the more I read and asked his endo questions, the more at ease I felt.

It's not out of the ordinary to think the way you did :)

I fixed my profile so that you can get to the link, but my url is momwantsacure.blogspot.com

It's always smart to call your doc with any weird sensations because you never know what will or won't be an actual thing to worry about especially when you have Type 1.

Major Bedhead said...

Have you tried going to a foot doctor? My mother has something wrong with her foot - plantar faciitis, or something like that - that causes heel and leg pain. It's a pretty common thing, apparently. She uses an orthotic insert in her shoe and it helps a lot.

Kassie said...

I had pain in my foot the other day, all day, and spent the whole day worrying about complications (I've had D for 20 years). Turns out I had a LEGO stuck in my shoe. Oy.

I hope this resolves quickly for you. Is it possible you twisted or pulled something? A pinched nerve somewhere along the way could cause numbness.

cc said...

hmm. this is really good to know. first i ever read about testing to see if you have permanent nerve damage. but it sounds painful. i don't know if it is paranoia or if it is real, but sometimes i get strange feelings. some numbness or tingling sometimes. but not persistent, more intermittent, and easily remedied. other times, i get twinges. but like you, i don't have any loss of balance, i certainly have no weakened muscles or legs in general, i am not over 40. and well... it doesn't happen to me at any particular time of the day. just random i think.
but now that i know there is a test, i wonder if i should go and get it done. but now i am scared that it will really hurt.

cc said...

oh. i forgot to mention. i did have a temporary loss of feeling in my leg that lasted about a half a year, about 2 years ago. it was in my thigh, not my lower leg though. and i was told it was because i was hospitalized, and was laying in the same position for 3 days. similary, my dad (non-d) told me that he has had hands and feet lose sensory for over a year because of a pinched nerve, only to return in full force. i have read that pinching nerves can sometimes cause temporary loss of feeling. maybe that is it.

Tony said...

Hey Cecily,

I felt the same feeling in my left leg 2 years ago..vibrating sensation..it sense went to both legs and down to my feet.
I was diagnosted with Diabetic Neuropathy 6 months ago :-(
It still hurts me many days..I'm on all sorts of meds..but I'm learning to live with it.

type 2, 2 years
neuropathy 6 months

Anonymous said...

Hi Cecily! I am writing you first off to say, I can totally relate to the tingling in the leg. I have been experiencing the same thing! I have been worried sick too. It has no parallel with going low or being high either which is weird. I have no idea what it is...I am also a type 1.. have been since i was 13 (now 25). 3 months ago i got off of a tour (musical theatre actress too) and I am now residing up here. please email me if you want to chat more. I have a blog too on here. "On my Road to becoming a Strega"