Joint Pain

What causes the pain in feet when diabetes are also present?

My sister is 58, and she has been diagnosed with having diabetes for several years. She takes her insulin injections every day as prescribed. She is having extreme pain in her feet every day, she takes percocept but it has gotten to where that does not even help. The physicians just keep telling her its a side effect of having diabetes. Can anyone tell me if you have ever heard of having such and what can be done about it . There is no sense in anyone being in so much pain.....Thank You ahead of time....

Public Comments

1. possibly gout.. crystallized sugar in the blood if I remember correctly.. see a doctor.. but not a whole lot they can do.
2. Unfortunately, Diabetes can cause necrosis to the blood vessels in the legs and feet. Its not uncommon for Diabetics to have amputations, having said that, this does not happen to all diabetics. As for pain management, i would suggest getting a second opinion or even try natural therepies.
3. "Of the 16 million Americans with diabetes, 25% develop foot problems related to the disease. This is primarily due to a condition called neuropathy. Diabetic Neuropathy is a complication of diabetes that affects the nerves. The most common type of diabetic neuropathy is called peripheral neuropathy and affects the peripheral nerves. Peripheral nerves are the nerves that go out from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles, skin, internal organs, and glands. Peripheral neuropathy impairs proper functioning of these sensory and motor nerves. The most common symptoms of neuropathy include a burning sensation, numbness, tingling, and loss of feeling, usually in the feet and hands."
4. The answer that Ruin gave is correct . I know someone that can longer work at the age of 49 because of the same thing. He is now permanently disabled because the diabetes was discovered to late and the damage was already done. It also damaged his eyes. Have your sister go to diabetes specialist for the best advice.
5. It does sound like neuropathy. Unfortunately, there is no quick fix, but she can try taking inositol powder. Inositol is one of the B vitamins. It takes time, but eventually does help. Best of health to you and yours.
6. One of the long term complications of diabetes mellitus (both types) is nerve damage. It's not clear, even now, just why. It may be the high levels of glucose (it's slightly toxic, because it's chemically reactive), or it may be due to another derangement of one of the many body systems insulin controls or affects. And diabetics' insulin levels are usually out of whack (none for type 1) and even too much (in type 2, but with some of its important effects (controlling glucose absorption by about 2/3 of body cells). However it happens, the damage is often seen first in sensory nerves in the feet and lower legs and later, sometimes, in hands, fingers, and such. Nobody feels very well with their feet anyway (imagine wearing hot sweaty shoes on your sensitive hands!) and the loss in sensation is sometimes just missed. And you miss blisters, punctures, infections, ... until they get out of hand. Something that's not well understood at all is the pain "in' the feet and lower legs that sometimes occurs. If the sensory nerves are dead or out of commission, how could there be pain? It appears to be related to the problem of phantom pain in some folks who have lost limbs. the missing limb still has parts of the brain watching it, and something in the missingness of the part that's isn't there anymore, but still being watched causes the brain to decide tat the signals it isn't getting really, are from ice picks stabbing into the missing foot or some really painful such thing. Clearly, no treatment of the damage to the missing foot is going to relieve the pain. And the usual pain killers don't always work very well, as the pain seems to be happening in parts of the brain the pain killers often don't help. For diabetics, even if they haven't lost anything to infection or circulation damage, the feet and lower legs might as well not be there (the sensory nerves aren't reporting in like they should), and it may be that the brain parts listening to those parts may be getting just as out of whack as if the part were actually missing. No news, after all. There are some non-traditional pain killers which have worked for some people. One mentioned to me not long ago is something called Neurontin. It might help. The pain can be quite intense, even debilitating. If so, it may make sense to consult a doctor who's a specialist in pain management. But before that, make sure you've talked to a doctor with more the general expertise in diabetes. It's a complex situation in many people and the long term complications make it more complex still. since this appears to be a nerve damage problem, I'd suggest you might try a neurologist, or failing that, an endocrinologist. Both are likely to be better informed about odd diabetic nerve issues than the usual family practitioner. If nothing helps, try a pain specialist -- they're not very common and will be harder to find than neurologists or endocrinologists. A last possibility is a clinic at a teaching hospital, if there's one near you. The doctors in training need practice, and they're supervised by some of the sharpest docs and profs available, and they're expected to consult on difficult cases. And the clinics tend to be less expensive than hospitals, though more expensive than an office visit with a family practice doc. Best wishes for her. people who haven't experienced what this can be (horrid!) usually just don't get it. Walk it off is probably what the local athletic coach or trainer might say, or wait it out from some tough guy, or rub this cream on from a concerned nurse. None of these are likely to make much difference.
7. The above answers are too elaborate and complicated. Simply put, during episodes of high glucose the glucose enters the nerves where it is acted by an enzyme and is converted to a molecular substance that can't get out. The latter accumulates, bursts or tears the nerve resulting in numbness and or neuralgia pain. Narcotics like Percocet don't help much with neuralgic pain. Neurontin, some seizure meds and others do better.
8. When anybody has this ailment - there is a pressure on the nerve endings and other sensory perceptions. In fact incontinence is very often associated with diabetes. You can find some good information and home remedies at this website http://ailments.in/diabetes.html
9. It sounds like neuropathy, my dad has this along with medication he also puts Vaseline on his feet and wears socks at night and he also places a bar of soap under the sheet, this seems to work for him