I have been pain free for three days now. I've had relief in the past. Always seems to happen with no logic to it. I continue to take my Lyrica, tramadol and oxycodone.
I am exercising at a normal rate. Back still sucks. But, I have stopped all desserts for the past week. Now, my doc insists through all my tests, that I'm not diabetic, and I still question if it could still be an issue. For example:

GLUCOSE,FASTING 108 70 - 100 mg/dl
HOURS FASTING 12 hours

And:

CHOLESTEROL 213 0 - 199 mg/dl
TRIGLYCERIDE 174 0 - 149 mg/dl
HDL 40 >40 - mg/dl
LDL, CALC. 138 0 - 129 mg/dl
HOURS FASTING 12 hours

I just wonder if it could be this simple. Probably not. I'm not sure if I should dump the Lyrica...tramadol and or the heavy duty stuff....oxycodone 10mg 3 times a day.

Any ideas?

--that does look to be in the range of imparied glucose tolerance, at any rate--and that is certainly a possible cause of neuropathy, especially small-fiber burning, length depenedent varieties.

(Also noticed those triglycerides are a bit high, speaking of causes of painful small-fiber neuropathy--and often this goes together with impaired glucose tolerance in metabolic syndrome . . .)

Have you had a multi-hour glucose tolerance test lately, with half-hour glucose/insulin level draws? Or the longer-term hemoglobin A1c test?

geesh, what planet is your doc from?.....108 IS NOT normal, by the test standards...pretty straight forward...and one reason for elevated trig. is TOO many calories.....unless you have familial hypertriglyceridemia......looks like you are on the right track....food as medicine, or as in some cases poison....good luck!
ps...if the doc wont do a 3-5 hour glucose tolerance test, ask for a post prandial glucose level and a fasting INSULIN level.....

Hi
If your doc still insists you don't have D, go to WalMart or Target, get a cheap meter and house brand strips. Test right before you eat, 1 hour after, then 2 hours after. Keep a log of what you eat, and drink for at least a week, along with your bg #s. If they are out of "normal" range take it all into your doc for proof. The cheap meter and strips are accurate as the "name" brands.

Hi jakatak, with an overnight fasting glucose score like that I would certainly be insisting on a 3- 5 hour glucose tolerance test or as aussiemom mentioned grab a blood glucose monitor and test your self.... just for a quick test I would try, eat a very high carb meal, top it off with something like jelly beans, icecream and wash it down with some soft drink and then test 1 hour after, 2 hours after, and also wait to see in [approx 1 hours time] if the pn symptoms flare up or not, this is exactly what would happen to me if i had something sweet.

good luck mate

I had the one, where you drink the liquid that is composed of a ton of glucoser sugar or something...it is supposed to see how well my body handles the spike. I was tested an hour later, and everything was back to normal.

--for an hour, though.

People's bodies process glucose at different rates, depending on a lot of factors, including insulin release, and the patterns are often very interesting,

When I get mine done, I have them take a 12-hour fasting glucose/insulin draw, which usually reveals an okay glucose level (80's/90's) but somewhat elevated fasting insulin, indicative of insulin resistance, the first sign, often, of glucose dysregulation. (Translated--my body has to produce more insulin than "normal" to keep my glucose at normal levels--my cells have become somewhat resistant to insulin's effects, and it takes more to force glucose into the cells.) I then take the drink, and get draws at .5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 4, and 5 hours--insulin and glucose each time. (I admit this is boring, and you can't move around a lot during this, or you'll skew the results--I just put a lot of stuff on my iPod before going in, and bring some reading material, too.)

Usually, what happens is I have a quick glucose spike--though I haven't had one into the frank diabetic range yet--followed by a major insulin release around 1-2 hours that drives my glucose well down into borderline hypoglycemic territory (60's/low 70's) by 2.5-3 hours and then recedes, allowing my glucose to normalize by hour 5 to near it's original levels. The insulin comes down before the glucose eases back up.

So--what seems to be happenin gis that my insulin-resistant body overcompensates for a small glucose challenge, almost as if expecting that the insulin will be less effective. This is often a precursor to impaired glucose tolerance--if I am not careful one day the insulin system will not respond as well, and I'll wind up with too-high glucose levels. It's why I do watch the diet (though it's more difficult this time of year--I try to eat very Zone-like) take R-lipoic, which helps stabilize insulin levels, and exercise--especially muscle building exercise, as muscle is generally a more efficient user of insulin than other body tissue.