Problems with pain in the sole of my feet

My first guess is that you have diabetic peripheral neuropathy or in more common terms diabetic nerve damage.

This can be confirmed with a nerve conduction study. What they do is send electrical impulses through the nerves in your legs and record how fast and how strong those impulses are received at the other end. It is somewhat uncomfortable but not extremely painful and takes between 15 and 45 min for both legs.

If this is what you are dealing with there is no cure but the pain and discomfort can be managed with medications. Neurontin, Lyrica, Cymbalta, and several anti-depressants such as Effexor are medications often used for treating the symptoms. There are over the counter lotions available that some say help as well. You can check your local pharmacy or health store for these or "Google" for them. I can not comment on how well those work but I do know once you are on the right medication at the right dose those do work wonders as I have pretty severe nerve damage in my legs from diabetes. Myself I have had good luck with Cymbalta and Effexor. I was on Cymbalta for a few years until my "insurance" (IL medicaid) stopped covering it and was forced to try several other medications until finding Effexor. For me both of these meds stopped 90-98% of the pain 99% of the time leaving me with only numbness and the occasional jolt of pain.

In the meantime make sure to keep tight control of your diabetes. One thing I have noted is that when my sugar runs high for several days the pain is worse. Another thing is to do at least daily checks for any sores, calluses, etc on your feet and if you find any see a doctor ASAP about it and take care of them because they can become infected very quickly which is an entirely new headache.

Hello Rita and welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear your having such a time of it.

I have to say that I agree with Jim,it certainly sounds as if your problems are diabetic neuropathy related. However I don't know why your clinic was not more helpful or at least informative. It's common for diabetics to suffer from this although not curable it's certainly treatable.

As a diabetic you should avoid pedicures done by anyone other then a podiatrist. It's very easy to get a nick that can cause major problems and even loss of toes.

Are you on disability or work? You mentioned a clinic and not having insurance? You should certainly with diabetes to the degree your describing qualify for Medicaid or some part of it.

We are certainly glad you found us and others may have more ideas to help alleviate symptoms but you really should be seeing specialists.

Vickie

Thanks for sharing more and congratulations on the weight loss so far!

I would definitely keep working with your Dr. on the diet and reducing the blood sugar levels as that is still way too high. Are you on any medication for your diabetes?

And then finding a good exercise program that you can do that won't put pressure on your feet like aqua therapy/swimming or even a recumbent bike or elliptical trainer.

The thing with opiates like Vicodin...they really don't work well for nerve pain. The specific meds for that are as mentioned, Neurontin, Cymbalta and Lyrica.

So I would talk to your Dr. about the nerve pain you have and see what they say. The great news is that down the line with continued weight loss and reducing your sugars, many folks are able to completely get rid of their diabetes (type 2) and not have the associated nerve pain!

Good luck and keep us posted!

Post Edited (Snowbunny21) : 3/13/2013 11:49:58 AM (GMT-6)