Feet driving me mad!

[Maisywhippet]

Hi, was diagnosed with PAD a few yrs ago.Never suffered with cramps or swelling..just a feeling of skin tightness in lower legs occasionally, but could still walk 2/3 miles..Been taking 40 mg Atorvastatin since Feb and now have really tight calf muscles and backs of thighs and a feeling of numbness in soles of feet and toes, but really strange as can still feel things, when I’m on my feet then everything seems better. Also at times feet feel normal temp to touch but feel burning inside. They are worse when sitting in the evening.I know this heat doesn’t help! Also get restless legs at times.Could this be the statins or the fact that last blood tests said pre-diabetic. Any advice please? Thanks

[MichaelJH Heart Star]

As a lifelong Type I diabetic and PAD sufferer from 2010 you have my sympathy. Sorry I cannot do anything about the heatwave but gave two suggestions.

i) Have you had a Doppler together with ABPI (Ankle-Brachial Pressure Index) done. If not it needs doing to put a marker in the ground and if done previously it needs doing again to see if thing have deteriorated.

ii) We need to get your HbA1c down to non-diabetic levels. Do you know your daily intake of carbs? I would suggest a daily carb intake of 80 - 100 gms per day coupled to an Mediterranean style diet.

It is important to take both a statin and Aspirin to try and avoid a blood clot in a leg artery (leg attack). Sometimes statins need to be changed - for instance Simvastatin may suit you more. I am on Gabapentin for phantom pain but it is also good for nerve pain and restless legs. It may be that a low dose in the evening alleviates your symptoms.

[Maisywhippet in reply to MichaelJH]

Thanks for your reply. I had Doppler and ABPI done a few years ago at the docs when I was diagnosed with PADMy last HbA1c result in May was 6.2 and comment was

“expected and no further action”. when I had yearly heart check nurse said cut down on sugar.

Trouble is I try to keep sat fat low so tend to snack on fruit and low fat crisps. I am really confused about diet as I realise that carbs turn to sugar...but not really sure if pasta bread etc are really bad...have looked at the med diet....but not a fish eater apart from the odd piece of salmon and just can’t stand lentils beans and pulses🙁

I do like most veg and eat a lot of chicken and salad, no fried food. If I can’t have the wheat based things, then does that mean no ryevita for lunch ?

Can you recommend a good site for advice please?

Also, yes I am on regular aspirin. Strange thing is that when in hospital last year for autoimmune condition I said to a doctor that I had been diagnosed with pad, he felt my pulses and said he would be very surprised if I did as my pulses in feet were so good and I don’t get the usual cramping symptoms or suffer with cold feet therefore I have good circulation...so very conflicting opinions 🙄

[Chappychap]

I'm afraid I can't help with your numbness question, but I'll build on Michael's point about drifting into Type 2 Diabetes.

Like you I saw my HbA1c scores ratcheting up, but the good news (the really, really good news!) is that it's perfectly possible to reverse that and get back to healthy HbA1c blood test scores with very little risk of T2 Diabetes.

As Michael said, a low carb Mediterranean diet is the recommended route, in my case I also restricted my eating to between 1.00pm and 9.00pm each day which may or may not be appropriate for you. If you can increase your exercise level that will also help, even a bit more walking will get your muscles warmed up, which in turn will pull sugar out of your blood stream and into the active muscles where it belongs. The science is pretty clear that even a few pounds of weight loss materially reduces the risks of T2 Diabetes.

I've now increased my carb intake to more like 130-150g a day, but my HBA1c scores have stayed in the safe zone for over two years now. There's nothing special about my experience, many people have seen similar results. The earlier you catch T2 Diabetes the easier it is to fix through diet, exercise and weight loss.

In many ways we can consider ourselves the lucky ones, our heart problems meant we got the right blood tests to show deteriorating HbA1c scores, that gives us a precious opportunity to fix it before it's too late.

Good luck!

[Maisywhippet]

Thank you, I suppose I just need willpower to say no to things that I enjoy..ie chocolate, crisps, biscuits ..although I wouldn’t say I over eat on these and I think my diet is reasonably healthy..meat and veg, meat and salad. I am always on the go gardening ,dog walking etc...so not a sedentary life style! I am about a stone overweight,so could work on that. Can I still have Diet Coke and no added sug squash or does it have to be water...Have been trying to cut down on sat fat because of the heart, so when I say biscuits...it’s plain rich tea type and crisps are lentil curls....are these still a no no carb wise??

I find it all sooo confusing!!

[Chappychap in reply to Maisywhippet]

Confusing isn't the half of it!

With only a stone to lose I wouldn't try and make things more complicated than necessary. What about simply cutting back portion sizes a bit and stopping sugary carbs like Rich Tea Biscuits? I know, they're hardly Chocolate Hob Nobs but I bet they still pack a sugary punch!

Given that you lead a pretty active life maybe try that for a few weeks and see what the scales are telling you? I'm no expert on this stuff by the way, and I always think diets are so intensely individual that ultimately we have to figure out for ourselves what works for us.

Good luck!

[Maisywhippet in reply to Chappychap]

Thank you, have been doing some googling and it appears that wholemeal bread and pasta are a good option and as you say I will reduce portion sizes. Where did the days go when we were all fit and healthy and didn’t have to worry about cholesterol and carbs!!.....this getting older ain’t what it’s cracked up to be, but I guess it’s better than the alternative 😂

[Kristin1812 Heart Star]

If you are pre-diabetic, the NHS National Pre-diabetes Prevention Programme is excellent. Your GP can refer you. It is Zoomed at present, All the questions you have been asking will be answered there.

[Maisywhippet in reply to Kristin1812]

Thank you

[7476]

Have you been tested for low B12 my husband had similar symptoms and that was the problem just a thought

[Maisywhippet in reply to 7476]

I had lots of blood tests whilst in hospital last year and nothing was mentioned about B12, so would have thought they would have noticed if it was low....

[Qualipop]

Do you have any fluid build up in your lower legs? You can check by pressing on eth skin and seeing how quickly the depression goes back to normal. I have exactly eh same sensations as you from about mid calf down to mid foot but my GP just says it's peripheral neuropathy and ignores it. Mine started before I went on statins. I believe ( Not certain) that peripheral neuropathy can ben connected to diabetes so you really should get it checked.

[Maisywhippet in reply to Qualipop]

No fluid in legs and I think the peripheral neuropathy is probably the reason..caused by the PAD condition and also being pre-diabetic isn’t helping either😬and also worse in the hot weather!

[Qualipop]

Then you have my sympathy. I've lived with it for years. BY bedtime I feel I can nardly bend my ankles to go upstairs. It's not painful, just feels so tight and prickly. You do need to see your GP about it and possibly a neurosurgeon

[Maisywhippet in reply to Qualipop]

Have spoken to a doctor today, she says try stopping the statins for a month but she doubts that is the cause. She read my notes about PAD and said that’s probably the cause, but didn’t seem overly concerned🤷🏼‍♀️I discussed whether part of the cause could be because I’m pre-diabetic...but she said symptoms of this sort in feet and legs usually occur much further down the line if/when I’m diabetic. I have tried massaging in magnesium cream which sometimes seems to help on the days when it is bad.

[Qualipop in reply to Maisywhippet]

Yes that's what I got told about the statins. It seems to be the standard reply when anyone mentions possible statin problems. My husband was pre diabetic for over 20 years and never had such symptoms and you don't even know for sure if you have PAD. I would think the way to go is to get that confirmed or denied for sure then look at tablets. If Magnesium helps have you tried soaking your feet in Epsom salts? I suspect mine is being irritated by a problem in my spine or internal nerves. I have pretty severe adhesions after 2 abdominal operations. I do find it's much worse late evening when I've been sitting for a long time. I can't get he GP to take it seriously. Good luck.

[Maisywhippet]

Thank you, people don’t understand how horrible it is as everything looks fine on the outside..as you say the docs are very unhelpful....but I’ve also suffered with back issues for years, had nerve conductivity test years ago and was told they found a compressed nerve somewhere, but no treatment needed!🙄.sometimes I think we’d have more results if we went to see a vet!!😂. Nice to know I’m not the only one though and good luck to you too!🦵🦶