Should I be concerned about diabetic neuropathy in my metatarsals?

One Comment

1. Van A says:

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   Hi lloydtj,
   Your symptoms can be temporary, this is sort of like a wait and see thing. What you are describing is normal for diabetics and I know because I have had this very thing, the numbness coming and going. It also show up if you had major surgery. You wake up from the procedure and there is this constant numbness that never really goes away.
   Now about diabetic neuropathy in your metatarsals, it has been know to happen. First off metatarsals are the small bones in your feet and current research has shown that patients with type 2 diabetes have developed this type of problem. You obviously know that as you get older there is a possibility for you to develop neuropathy.
   First off and just for the sake of information diabetic neuropathies are actually a family of nerves disorders that are brought on by diabetes. Nerves are actually in tissues not bones. You know this because if you slap your fist to a wall it would hurt more and longer too. There are many kind of neuropathies and some common ones are peripheral, autonomic, proximal, or focal. Each affects different parts of the body in various ways. I am not going to go into them in detail, but just know that they exist. Many things that cause diabetes neuropathy are high blood sugars levels, high body fat levels, and low levels of insulin. Other factors that cause this to are the autoimmune disorders e.g lupus.
   You can prolong the neuropathy by keeping really good control of your blood sugar, use light exercises to keep your body weight constant or to lose a few pounds. Let me strees exercise here, current research show that with exercise and weight loss, type 2 diabetics can actually be taken off insulin provided that strict control of the diet is maintained. Imagine that for a second, just by taking off a couple of pounds improves your condition. Key point here, when you go to the bathroom if bowel movements are good, one can lose almost or little over 1 pound. Keep that in mind.
   Lastly, diet and proper foot care are an absolute must. Check your feet daily, especially between toes, make sure that they are dry. Wear proper fitting shoes and don’t be afraid to wears your sandals outside sometimes. I know that doctor will say this is a no no, but we diabetics are not dead, so don’t foget to enjoy life sometimes.
   As to neuropathy and bones, if you develop diabetic neuropathy, it obvious that you won’t feel anything in the feet. This means that you can slam your feet against an object, break a bone and not even know about it. Mechanical damage to the feet like this are not uncommon, but the thing is that joint problem called Charcot’s Joint can develop. These are also named neuropathic arthropathy. This is a problem whereby you experience bone break down. the foot will heal on it own, but it will heal in a warp congifiguration causing swelling due to inflammation build up. Remember diabetes can cause bone breakdown also slow healing of the tissues.
   Another problem to be aware off is diabetic amyotrophy. This is basically where the muscles and joints waste away causinging the muscle to become weak, but you feel no pain. Here are the syptoms that you should be on guard for when trying to detect neuropathy. I copied them straight from my text in case I should miss any.
   numbness, tingling, or pain in the toes, feet, legs, hands, arms, and fingers, wasting of the muscles of the feet or hands, indigestion, nausea, or vomiting, diarrhea or constipation,dizziness or faintness, due to a drop in blood pressure after standing or sitting up
   problems with urination, erectile dysfunction in men or vaginal dryness in women, weakness.
   One final note if your feet don’t get better, contact your MD office, its better to be safe than sorry. Let me know how its going.