Yes, on top of being diabetic and the need to watch my diet, take the pills prescribed for me and having to drink a lot of water to avoid dehydration, I suffer from diabetic nerve pain in my feet. I'm sure you've seen the ads on TV for a medication called Lyrica. I wondered why my doctor didn't prescribe it to me since the people in the ads sing the praises of it. He told me it was because of the side effects being so serious and also very common. Listen to that part of the commercials and it's damn near scarier than having the problem. I mean....Wow!
The medication he has me on for that doesn't seem to have a whole lot of affect on the pins and needles I feel constantly. That is, until I go a few days without taking any. Then, I can feel the difference with and without it. During the worst of the time after injuring my hip, I spent a lot of time sleeping and was lucky that I remembered to take my pills when the Beast fed me. Because I have been sitting a lot, my legs swell up from lack of movement. I end up laying down a lot because the sitting hurts the bone that goes into the hip socket. That is where the tendons I injured attach and, if I sit too long, it hurts me to stand up to use the crutches I am stuck with for a while.
When I was doing a lot of resting, more than sitting, that area seemed to be feeling better. I guess it needs more resting than I am used to giving it. When I have done a lot of sitting at my computer, I have a difficult time sleeping without taking a pain pill. I hate to HAVE to take one in order to get some sleep but that seems to be the only way I can sleep longer than an hour. I'm not sure if I get that much that isn't really exhaustion from the pain and inactivity.
I have been playing some games that don't require me to be online (ones I own and have downloaded on my computer). They are all either hidden object games or my Jewel Quest ones. But even I get bored with those and would prefer to be on the sites where I can chat with my online friends that play at my favorite game site.
I continue to take the medication prescribed for my nerve pain to help slow down the damage. I don't want to face amputation caused by the effect of diabetes on my body. An aunt of mine had to have one of her feet amputated due to a sore she had developed from badly fitting shoes that didn't heal and she developed gangrene. Her daughters told me how much she hated the prosthesis she got afterward. It's bad enough I lost my big toe due to an injury that ended up causing a bone infection in it. It still cracks me up that Chewlee keeps asking when my toe is going to grow back. To her, life is simple. You lose a tooth, you grow one back. You get a boo-boo and it heals up. I wish it worked that way.
When you are diabetic, you also have a lot of problems with pressure points on your feet and dry skin on your feet and legs. You MUST use lotions and creams on those areas and make sure to get rid of heavy callouses, too. I don't use anything on my feet that is sharp like Pedegg or other things that use a razor or grater for those type of things. That's because I heal slowly for the most part so any wounds to my feet is dangerous.
There's a lot more to diabetes than just having to take oral medication or insulin. So lose weight if you are overweight. Watch your diet. Exercise. Do what you must to stay healthy. I wish everyone a healthy (and happy) New Year. Love you all. ***Hugs***
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