-even at levels that are not frankly diabetic, can certainly result in neuropathy, especially painful, small-fiber varieties. In essence, it mimics the beginning stages of diabetic neuropathy.

A lot of medical people disputed this for a long time--the feeling was one had to have diabetic levels of sugar dysregulation for a while before experiencing neuropathic symptoms--but there's been a lot of recent research that impaired glucose tolerance may produce exactl the same thing.

Take a look at these:


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...=pubmed_docsum

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...d_AbstractPlus

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...=pubmed_docsum

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...=pubmed_docsum

http://care.diabetesjournals.org/cgi...full/24/8/1448

http://www.jabfm.org/cgi/reprint/17/2/127.pdf


We've had a lot of dicussion on this topic in the past. Brian, in particular, has very interesting posts on how his prediabetic neuropathy developed, and how it improved with supplementation and strict dietary control.

I believe if this is supected, a four-five hour glucose tolerance test is indicated, with blood draws for both glucose and insulin level every half-hour; one want to see if one has insulin resistance (overproduction of insulin to small glucose challenge, a precursor to impaired glucose tolerance) and also wants to see the feedback loop of insulin/glucose levels, to see if there's dysregulation that would be of concern.