Diabetes Talking

Question:

Hi Bev That is what mine looked like too but since I have been on the lipitor it has gone away it wasn’t fungal. What was so funny is the more I walked the more they came and my leg would hurt deep down within. It was always from the ankle up but now no problem except with the pain of course. I will ask my sister what her doctor said about her red dots because she was told different than me and still has hers sometimes and get back to you. Diana — May You Live Today By How You Want To Be Remembered Tomorrow

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Now, the red dots I’m talking about are not a fungus infection.  I have the small to med red dots of fungal infection sometimes, and I have to treat that. But this is different. What I’m talking about, and what I think Tru is talking about, is a measley looking pinpoint looking rash.  I have this rash from the top of my ankles to right below my calves. Anyone got an answer? Bev Remove the "SpamFree" for email, please.

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Now, the red dots I’m talking about are not a fungus infection.  I have the small to med red dots of fungal infection sometimes, and I have to treat that. But this is different. What I’m talking about, and what I think Tru is talking about, is a measley looking pinpoint looking rash.  I have this rash from the top of my ankles to right below my calves.   Anyone got an answer?

Just a suggestion to rule out environmental reasons.  This includes which detergents you use to wash your clothes (try colour- and fragrance-free), be sure that your washer properly rinses, bleach is another culprit sometimes. Also when you bathe or shower, be sure that all traces of soup is rinsed off your legs and feet.  Also be sure that the elastic on the tops of your socks is not too tight. Another problem is vermin.  Fleas from pets.  Ticks from outdoor activity. I had a problem for a while since my computer is set up in the basement and there are a lot of little insects from time-to-time.  Some spiders can be really small.  So I use a spray pesticide once a week in a large circle around my desk, usually just before I’m going out for an hour or two.  That helped *some*, but I didn’t lick the problem until I did the same at the office.  Spiders like enclosed dark spaces. Well, these might not be your problem, but it might help others. Jude —                  - Coming Soon –  BestOrgs.NET         Oak Park, IL  708-848-0134  URL: http://www.pobox.com/~jcrouch

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Now, the red dots I’m talking about are not a fungus infection.  I have the small to med red dots of fungal infection sometimes, and I have to treat that. But this is different. What I’m talking about, and what I think Tru is talking about, is a measley looking pinpoint looking rash.  I have this rash from the top of my ankles to right below my calves.   Anyone got an answer? Bev Remove the "SpamFree" for email, please.  

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my foot doc told me the red dots were a fungus infection usually shows up that way in diabetics and is like athletes foot  i week or so of tinactic and they disappeared I’m beginning to think the doctors don’t know what’s going on either, but this at least sounds like something to do!  Thanks; I’m going to give it a try.

I concluded it was a kind of contact dermatitis, I could always associated it with a particular type of shoe and some very specific types of socks. The combination did it almost every time. I gave up both, and haven’t seen them since.

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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hey Tru, I’d be interested to know about the red dots.  I  have had them for years. Looks like I have the measles around my ankles. My doctor has never expressed any interest in them,  but then, I don’t see an endo.  My doc doesn’t like to refer out. At one time I had them around my eyes where I would throw up so hard the pressure would cause them.  Those are gone, thank goodness. Please post when you find out exactly what they are and what caused them. Let’s start the red dot club.  I have them too, and up my shins a bit.  When I asked my doctor about them, he said it’s a rash that’s often seen on obese people my age.  (Jeez, I wish he’d just say fat and get it over with.)  I know that my diagnosis came about pretty quickly (no more than a year after I’d developed diabetes),  but there were more than a couple of years in between when I was not well controlled, so it may be the diabetes, don’t know. Wendy — Just remember…if the world didn’t suck, we’d all fall off.

my foot doc told me the red dots were a fungus infection usually shows up that way in diabetics and is like athletes foot  i week or so of tinactic and they disappeared

Response:

my foot doc told me the red dots were a fungus infection usually shows up that way in diabetics and is like athletes foot  i week or so of tinactic and they disappeared

I’m beginning to think the doctors don’t know what’s going on either, but this at least sounds like something to do!  Thanks; I’m going to give it a try. Wendy — Just remember…if the world didn’t suck, we’d all fall off.

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    Bob, my wife Kristina has diabetic neuropathy. (type 1, 36 yrs)     She wonders if you have peripheal neuropathy?  Or are on any particular pain or other medications.     You are welcome to swap Emails on that info since it is personal for both of us.      Thanks and good luck with controlling the effects of it.

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Gerald, I tried to send you this directly to you but I could not get through on your server. So I am posting it here. Hope you get it. Hi to both of you! To answer your first question, yes I do. There are two medications that help me a lot.     1) Neurontin 400mg 2 capsules 3 to 4 times per day for the "sunburn feeling"     2) Vicodin ES 1 to 2 tablets "at night only" for "foot pain" This pain medication is too strong to take while working. I hope this helps you. Please stay in touch and let me know how she is doing. Best of luck. Bob – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text —— Original Message —– Newsgroups: misc.health.diabetes     Bob, my wife Kristina has diabetic neuropathy. (type 1, 36 yrs)     She wonders if you have peripheal neuropathy?  Or are on any particular pain or other medications.     You are welcome to swap Emails on that info since it is personal for both of us.      Thanks and good luck with controlling the effects of it.     Bob, my wife Kristina has diabetic neuropathy. (type 1, 36 yrs)     She wonders if you have peripheal neuropathy?  Or are on any particular pain or other medications.     You are welcome to swap Emails on that info since it is personal for both of us.      Thanks and good luck with controlling the effects of it.

Response:

Hey Tru, I’d be interested to know about the red dots.  I  have had them for years. Looks like I have the measles around my ankles. My doctor has never expressed any interest in them,  but then, I don’t see an endo.  My doc doesn’t like to refer out.   At one time I had them around my eyes where I would throw up so hard the pressure would cause them.  Those are gone, thank goodness. Please post when you find out exactly what they are and what caused them. Bev Remove the "SpamFree" for email, please.  

Response:

Hey Tru, I’d be interested to know about the red dots.  I  have had them for years. Looks like I have the measles around my ankles. My doctor has never expressed any interest in them,  but then, I don’t see an endo.  My doc doesn’t like to refer out. At one time I had them around my eyes where I would throw up so hard the pressure would cause them.  Those are gone, thank goodness. Please post when you find out exactly what they are and what caused them.

Let’s start the red dot club.  I have them too, and up my shins a bit.  When I asked my doctor about them, he said it’s a rash that’s often seen on obese people my age.  (Jeez, I wish he’d just say fat and get it over with.)  I know that my diagnosis came about pretty quickly (no more than a year after I’d developed diabetes),  but there were more than a couple of years in between when I was not well controlled, so it may be the diabetes, don’t know. Wendy — Just remember…if the world didn’t suck, we’d all fall off.

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Hi I was diagnosed Hyperlipidemia by my red dots. My doctor told me that is what caused them is too much fat in the lymph areas of my legs and gave me some kind of ointment for it. I still have a little but since my triglycerides and cholesterol are down from taking Lipitor it is just about gone. So I don’t know but sounded ok to me. Diana — May You Live Today By How You Want To Be Remembered Tomorrow

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hey Tru, I’d be interested to know about the red dots.  I  have had them for years. Looks like I have the measles around my ankles. My doctor has never expressed any interest in them,  but then, I don’t see an endo.  My doc doesn’t like to refer out. At one time I had them around my eyes where I would throw up so hard the pressure would cause them.  Those are gone, thank goodness. Please post when you find out exactly what they are and what caused them. Let’s start the red dot club.  I have them too, and up my shins a bit. When I asked my doctor about them, he said it’s a rash that’s often seen on obese people my age.  (Jeez, I wish he’d just say fat and get it over with.)  I know that my diagnosis came about pretty quickly (no more than a year after I’d developed diabetes),  but there were more than a couple of years in between when I was not well controlled, so it may be the diabetes, don’t know. Wendy — Just remember…if the world didn’t suck, we’d all fall off.

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I’m scared too, but before dx for me I was already in big trouble and you are right I felt like i swallowed the same damn rock …. big sinking feeling , but you kow i have to live so i have to get on with it . I have bad retinopathy and neuropathy and the begnnings of what looks aren’t …. there are so many of us and we can all help you …

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I see one, I use him for helping me with my neuropathy (sunburn feeling in my legs and torso, and sharp pains at night in my feet) I’m 46 years old and in my Neurologist’s office I see people of all ages.A Neurologist is a nerve doctor, and the best kind of doctor to see with your symptoms. Good Luck Bob

. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I finally saw the foot doc.  He cut my gnarly toe nails.  He also pointed out some red dots on the top of my foot and a few inches up my ankle.  I never noticed them before.  I forgot what he called them and I woud like to know their proper name.  He said they indicate tha I’ve been diabetic a lot longer than the 6 months I’ve been dx.  I already knew that..maybe as much as a year.  The doc said more like 6-7 years – because of the dots. How much damage could have been done?  The eye doc pretty much said the same thing.  My eyes were okay but he wants me back in 2 months rather than the normal one year. Does any one here see a neurologist for diabetes?  The foot doc recommended one.  They work in the same office. Another thought.  6 patients in the waiting and not a one of them under 65.  There was one who could pass for 65 and she was there with her mother.   I have nothing against old folks.  I’m looking forward to being one someday.  I just don’t want their diseases — not ever and most certainly not now.  I’m thinking my body might be ageing faster than normal because of the untreated diabetes.  I want to kick myself in the ass. I feel kind of numb (not that kind of numb).  Numb all over.  I don’t know what to make of it. I feel like I’ve swallwed a big rock, and it’s just sitting in the pit of my stomach.  Just when I was getting the bg numbers to work.  80-100 in the morning, under 120 the rest of the day.  If it’s not one thing…. Other than that everything is just peachy! — Always Tru P.S. Did a mention that I’m scared?  Really scared.

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I finally saw the foot doc.  He cut my gnarly toe nails.  He also pointed out some red dots on the top of my foot and a few inches up my ankle.  I never noticed them before.  I forgot what he called them and I woud like to know their proper name.  He said they indicate tha I’ve been diabetic a lot longer than the 6 months I’ve been dx.  I already knew that..maybe as much as a year.  The doc said more like 6-7 years – because of the dots. How much damage could have been done?  The eye doc pretty much said the same thing.  My eyes were okay but he wants me back in 2 months rather than the normal one year.

It could be one of several dermal manifestations of diabetes and no one here can tell you which one.  Your doctor knows and a phone call to his office is the easiest way to get the answer, not to mention the most likely way to get the right answer. If you are a type 2, it is probable that you were asymptomatic for an extended period.  The average time before diagnosis is on the order of a half dozen years, depending on whose study and estimate you choose.  Many type 2 diabetics are not diagnosed until complications start. Now that you have been diagnosed, the single most important strategy is to do whatever it takes to lower your blood glucose values toward the normal range.  Specific targets must be set on an individual basis, but do your best to reach them.  Weight loss, if appropriate, dietary modification, and regular exercise are the first line of treatment.  Their importance cannot be over stressed. — Charly Coughran

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I feel kind of numb (not that kind of numb).  Numb all over.  I don’t know what to make of it. I feel like I’ve swallwed a big rock, and it’s just sitting in the pit of my stomach.  Just when I was getting the bg numbers to work.  80-100 in the morning, under 120 the rest of the day.  If it’s not one thing…. Other than that everything is just peachy! — Always Tru P.S. Did a mention that I’m scared?  Really scared.

Tru, I have nothing useful to say, except that I can relate to your feelings, absolutely.  I laughed when you said the thing about the old people — it’s the same for me when I go to the eye doctor’s — everyone’s in their 80’s, and then there’s me, in my 40’s. I felt sort of the same way that you describe when I went to my new endocrinologist (who I absolutely adore, btw).  I was meeting with the certified diabetes educator, and I was saying something about how my control had gotten weird all of a sudden, and she said that every year you have a birthday, your diabetes does too.  It’s a progressive disease, and — as she put it — "We’d like to think that we can know everything there is to know about diabetes, but we can’t.  There are just too many unknowns."    It sucks. But the one thing you can take comfort in is that all of the studies have shown that keeping your bgs in a good range, as you are obviously doing, DRAMATICALLY — and I do mean DRAMATICALLY — cuts down the likelihood that you’ll develop complications. I think that you cut your risk of retinopathy by something like 70%, for instance.  And other things that I’ve been reading suggest that there are new treatments all the time.  I was reading one e-mail from a doctor with a huge diabetes practice in which he said that they’ve gotten so sophisticated in handling circulation problems in diabetics that they haven’t had an amputation  in years.  So… Which is not to say that you aren’t entitled to feel scared or angry or anything else.  We all do. Wendy — Just remember…if the world didn’t suck, we’d all fall off.

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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -I have nothing against old folks.  I’m looking forward to being one someday.  I just don’t want their diseases — not ever and most certainly not now.  I’m thinking my body might be ageing faster than normal because of the untreated diabetes.  I want to kick myself in the ass. I feel kind of numb (not that kind of numb).  Numb all over.  I don’t know what to make of it. I feel like I’ve swallwed a big rock, and it’s just sitting in the pit of my stomach.  Just when I was getting the bg numbers to work.  80-100 in the morning, under 120 the rest of the day.  If it’s not one thing…. Other than that everything is just peachy! — Always Tru P.S. Did a mention that I’m scared?  Really scared.

Tru, I know just what you mean.  It is scary.  One of the best things I got out of Dr. Bernstein’s book was that if you control your bgs then your risk of developing complications drops almost to that of the non-diabetic population.   It sounds like you have found a way to control your bgs so I would bet that you will find that any problems with your feet and eyes either stabilize or actually get better.  No guarantees but statistically probable. As far as getting old and ill, it happens to everyone at some point. Unfortunately our bodies are not immortal.  My goal is to maintain my body so that the truly ill part is as far into the future as I can control.  I had 3 grandparents with diabetes and they all exceeded the average lifespan of their contemporaries.  Their final illnesses were short and did not ruin the quality of their lives.  I hope to do as well. Type 2 diabetes is not a now you have it, now you don’t disease.  Even though your doctors are saying you were undiagnosed for up to 7 years, what probably happened is that you had increasing insulin resistance and increasing secretion of insulin without an increase in bgs.  Under current protocol no diagnosis would have been made until your bgs exceeded the point considered normal.  As you have found, "diabetic" complications can begin before that time.  I think that we will find a decrease in actual Type 2 diagnosis once doctors start giving as much emphasis to treating the conditions leading to Type 2 as they now do to the treatment of raised bgs.  

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