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What Causes Tingling And Burning Sensation On Feet During Diabetes?

Posted on Sat, 19 Apr 2014

Question: Hello, I am a type 1 diabetic since 7.5 years. So far I have had no complications and I am in good health. My HbA1C reports have always been less than 7, with the last one(taken in feb) being 6.5. Currently I am on Actrapid and Basalog injections. Since the past few days I have been having this tingling and burning kind of sensation in my feet. I used to have them earlier also and my doctor used to give me some capsules which would alleviate it. The last foot exam I had was also in February in which nothing unusual appeared. My highest reading in a day are usually under 180 and almost never go beyond 200. If they do, I immediately take an appropriate amount(determined by me experience) of actrapid to bring it down. My question is, why am I having this sensation despite good HbA1Cs and a tight control on a daily basis(I check my blood glucose levels about 3 times a day). ? What should I do to get rid of this sensation? I remember the doctor giving me vitamin B12 capsules. Could you recommend capsule name? Thanks and Regards.

Answered by Dr. Minal Mohit (4 hours later)

Brief Answer: diabetic neuropathy. Detailed Answer: Dear XXXX, Hi! diabetes is a condition which affects microvascular and macrovascular beds. inspite of good glycemic control these complication will develop eventually. for treating diabetic neuropathy you must take drugs like pregabaline 75 mg once a day at night. and as you rightly mentioned B12 1500 mcg /d. along with that you must take vitamin D and calcium. also check your thyroid balance once a year . now you have asked for brand names. - 1. pregeb M OD 75, or lyrica 75 mg, or pregastar 75 mg 2. cap matilda forte or mecobal or neurokind plus. 3. d3 must 60 k or tayo 60 k or vitanova 60,000 iu 4. calcimax forte or corcal or ccm regards!

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Minal Mohit (7 minutes later)

Thanks for the detailed reply doctor. I will start the medication as suggested. How long should I take these medicines? I mean should I stop them once I get relief? or should I continue with them as a regular like my insulin. Also, is this a serious situation? Something I should be worried about?

Answered by Dr. Minal Mohit (58 minutes later)

Brief Answer: supportive treatment for symptomatic relief. Detailed Answer: Dear XXXX, hi! these are supportive therapies and need to be taken for a minimum of three months. once you get relief you can discontinue or decrease the dose . you may need them again if things get bad again. if you take them for life as well they will do no harm , rather good. nothing serious or alarming about it, it is a part of the disease spectrum. it can be managed. but definitely you need to care in terms of regularity of medicines, taking care of feet. getting periodic investigations. regards!

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Minal Mohit (5 hours later)

Last question.. I have used all the other things you mentioned without experiencing any side effects except pregabaline. Should I expect any side effects from it? Thanks

Answered by Dr. Minal Mohit (1 hour later)

Brief Answer: Sedation Detailed Answer: dear sir, yes you may feel little sedated so take it immediately after dinner and ensure 8 hrs sleep. if for some reasons you are not having sufficient sleep, skip it for that day. regards!

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Minal Mohit (22 hours later)

Hello ma'am, I took the medication you suggested and I can already feel improvement. I have one more question on a different note. After a long time period of diabetes, I do not experience any symptoms for hypoglycaemia. I experience extreme hunger and loss of concentration only when it reaches very low(I experienced a low glucose value of 28 mg/dl today). Even though I am quite cautious about it, but there are times when it just happens without any reason. I have heard about continuous glucose monitoring systems. I read about them on the internet. Do you think such devices are useful? If yes, can you tell me where can I find one in India(bangalore) and how much do they cost? Thanks

Answered by Dr. Minal Mohit (49 minutes later)

Brief Answer: CGMS costs around 3500 for one time. Detailed Answer: Dear sir, hi! good to hear you are feeling better. CGMS is a device costing around 100,000/- INR. the sensor which can last for 5 days costs 3500/- the sensor is one time use. it gives 72 readings in a day. so it can give 72 * 5 readings. any doctor with diabetes practise will do it for you. but that is a test to tell you how many lows or how many highs you had over a period of those 5 days when the sensor was used. that also you will know after 5 days when you or doctor is analysing the record. it has no added value other than diagnostic. so try SMBG rather. ie self monitoring of blood glucose. try eating regular diet and regularly exercise. Try taking timely and rightly insulin to avoid hypoglycaemia. regards!

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar