Glucose Spikes and Small Fiber Neuropathy Flare-ups

Hello @crustycat, Welcome to Connect. There are other members who have had similar experiences with sugar. @tdemaria and @sherlock have discussed sugar and neuropathy flares in another discussion and may have information to share with you. Also, @jenniferhunter shared some suggestions in the older discussion you may find helpful - https://connect.mayoclinic.org/comment/234391/

Since you mentioned you have Type 2 Diabetes, you might find the following discussion beneficial. @kbart posted that it helped reverse type 2 diabetes - https://connect.mayoclinic.org/comment/336062/:
-- Low-carb healthy fat living. Intermittent fasting. What’s your why?: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/low-carb-healthy-fat-living-intermittent-fasting-whats-your-why/

Do you mind sharing how long you have been diagnosed with small fiber neuropathy and how long you have had diabetes?

Thank you @johnbishop, I was diagnosed with SFN this past February, but have had the symptoms much longer. I have been chasing this for a number of years. Eventually had to go out of town to a different neurologist that quickly suspected SFN and a subsequent skin biopsy confirmed it.

I had a life threatening illness in 1999 and was given high doses of steroids and doctors suspect that was what caused the onset of my T2 diabetes. Unfortunately, I didn't heed the warnings and change my eating habits, etc. I spent many years gaining weight and diabetes worsened. At my worst, my weight was nearly 270 and A1C had reached 11.6. In 2017, I made a concerted effort to lose weight and my dropped 60 pounds. I really need to lose an additional 30-40 pounds but that will be difficult.

The good news is that I have gotten the blood glucose under control (as long as I behave) and have been able to reduce my diabetes meds substantially.

Unfortunately, my lifestyle choices took their toll and have left me with SFN. I have moderate long nerve fiber neuropathy, but not very bad.

I am currently treating SFN symptoms with pregabalin, oxcarbazepine, and tramadol. The tramadol is a recent addition and is not one that either my doc or I really desire, but it really does take the edge off in the evenings when my SFN seems to flare up the most.

I will take a look at the suggested links.

Thanks again for your prompt response.

cc

@crustycat - I can relate to what you are going through. At my peak I weighed 330 lbs before I got concerned about my health. I was able to get down to 250 through Weight Watchers but then decided this has to be a lifestyle change and I have to make up my mind and just do it...easier said than done. I've spent probably 10 to 15 years going back and forth between 250 and 280 but never losing what I needed to lose. A little over a year ago I saw a YouTube video by Dr. Jason Fung that got me started on intermittent fasting which helped me get down to 220 and successfully stay around that weight. Now I'm at about 215 and trying to get to 200 as my final goal but it has been a struggle until I learned about low carb health fat along with intermmittent fasting. Here's the Dr. Jason Fung video that convinced me to give intermittent fasting a try: https://youtu.be/7nJgHBbEgsE

Here's a YouTube video where Dr. Jay Wortman discusses low carb health fat:

Hi @johnbishop, thanks for taking additional time to share your experience and this video. I will view it today. Congratulations on your weight loss and I wish you great success with moving forward. I wish I had taken this illness seriously 15 years ago. The SFN is life changing (not in a good way) and affects my ability to experience life as I would like. However, I am grateful for the blessings that I do have, and try to maintain my focus on that. thanks again for sharing.

cc

I was diagnosed with Type 2 about 6 years ago. I took medication for a little over a year then began the Wheat Belly diet. No grains and no sugar. My A1C returned to normal levels.