Originally Posted by mrsD

You should test a fasting rate first thing in the morning. (no food after midnight). This will show if you are having too much insulin (if very low) or if your liver is starting too much gluconeogenesis just before you wake up. Do a fasting every day for a week and see what dinners the night before affected.

Sometimes prediabetics show low readings at first (except for perhaps the fasting morning one) for a while. This is because you are making MORE insulin than you should. These lows are really also bad for the nerves.

None of your readings can be considered accurate until you calibrate that machine (testing solution) and strips.

When you are prediabetic the HbA1C is a very good indicator of overall risk of diabetes. If it is over 7 and you are 60 and above, that is the start of type II.

There are other food things that can cause burning in the hands/feet.
1) gluten intolerance -- this can be acquired, and is insidious and complex.
Avoidance of wheat, rye and barley in everything sometimes helps. We have a Gluten forum with information at the top of that page.

2) some people have food intolerances. The biggest for me was Nightshade vegetables. I cannot really tolerate potatoes anymore. I get burning the night of the day I have them. I still cheat now and then but 90% of the time I am potato free. Some concentrated tomato sauces will do it to me too, but not all of them. Each person may have some food issue: eggs, chocolate, soy, dairy are all potential culprits. The only way to find out is to do an elimination diet, remove one group for a month, and reintroduce it and see what effects if any there are.

Originally Posted by mrsD

I am not sure how the SFN and food link manifests for each person. I've had PN for 30+ yrs.... and it was only recently that the burning got out of control for me. I've had insulin resistance for many years, and control it with the Zone Diet. Most of my PN prior was PAIN, and not burning. So with time this other issue appeared, and the trigger for me was the potatoes. (I found this by following suggestions in Dr. Jensen-Kittley's book:


Her suggestions to eliminate certain foods, and also use Inositol were very helpful for me specifically. It has been a long road and much effort for my solutions. I use this as an example so you don't expect a quick one, necessarily.

Originally Posted by Brian

Not sure how it works in US but in OZ you can buy a glucose meter in a pharmacy or over the net but we get a script to suit the meter from a doc for the testing strips, the needles can be purchaced over the counter at any pharmacy.
I did try low dose Neurontin at first but it made me feel awfull, so the doc put me on Tramadol SR [slow release] and Endep as well, they worked very well for me, meds are an individual thing, what works for some may not work for others.

The hot/cold sensations is proof that your small fibre nerves are affected as their job is to send messagers of sensation [ hot, cold, pain ] to the brain, if they are damaged they send confused signals which the brain misinterprets.