Hi Melody,

Thanks. Sorry for the double post. I Know it that many people on these forums know more about neuropathy than their doctors. I will respond in the other thread.

good morning. i merged the two threads.

welcome janonius.

Woops, glenntaj I meant to respond to you in post #6. Thanks for your help.

Jason,
You've come to the right place for frank discussions of SFPN, prediabetes, polyneuropathies, etc. There is a wealth of info on this site and as people have noted much of it is not generally known and or recognized. I looked up your doc @ UPenn, I'm not familair w/ him but I also go to UPenn and my experience has been much different and more positive. If you seek a second opinion I'd push hard for Dr. Mark Brown, the dept chair - his specialties are diabetic and prediabetic SFPN.
If you want pm me and we can discuss in more detail offline. I'm sorry for your plight PN sucks at best but it's nice to have someone in the same general area to talk with.
Best of luck to you.
Alkymst

Brian wrote you a great post on diabetes, and gives good advice. My take is that you need someone excellent to handle the diabetes (prediabetes is a silly concept) and get that under control. The ulnar neuropathy needs to be explained. Where is it from? The wrist? The elbow? It is NOT typical of small fiber neuropathy to get a neuropathy of a single LARGE nerve like this. That's more typical of compression. It's not even something that looks like it's from a spinal disk. So I'd want to know why the ulnar neuropathy.

In terms of the burning feet...You probably have your cause right in front of you, in terms of the diabetes, but if you want a better workup, it looks like you need another neurologist.

Many doctors are threatened by patients on the internet; others just don't realize that an intelligent person can distill out the good information from the worthless. If he hasn't looked at the net from a patient's perspective, he doesn't know. He doesn't sound like someone to have an ongoing relationship. Depending on where you live, you might a very good general neurologist (many of them are excellent), or another neuro who calls himself a neuropathy specialist. Or, I might be safe to just get the diabetes under control---as long as you have someone good and caring taking care of you---you can always go for more tests if it goes in the wrong direction after taking care of the sugars/insulin.

But I'm not sure that whatever explains the feet explains the ulnar symptoms.

It's possible to have termites AND ants, my own neurologist told me.

......outcomes of which I'm sure we are all aware of, but often do not necessarily take seriously - soft drink consumption!

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/560344

Jason your question: ‘Also why do people with pre-diabetes get PN when people with long standing diabetes don't get it’, has me totally puzzled too. It just doesn’t make a lot of sense. I wonder if there are other as yet undiscovered comorbid conditions related to this! I went to a diabetologist/endocrinologist a couple of weeks ago and he totally denied that there was a connection BUT that is NOT what the published literature that I have been reading, is saying.

Also from Jason’s post: ‘Brian, thanks for the info. That site says that QST uses temperature to test the small fibers and vibration to test the large fibers. He didn't use QST but he used hand held tools to test temperature and vibration and asked me for feedback’. That is the same with the neurologist I went to. Only used some ‘tools’ on hand – nothing computerised to test sensations and proprioception. Do neurologists usually have this equipment in their rooms or do you have to get QST done as a separate test in a specialised lab?

Hi Jason and other responders,
By all means, do not let doctors minimize blood sugar levels. Not to alarm you, but I am now in a fine pickle because I followed a doctor's uninformed dictates and pooh poohs. I now have serious problems as a result of ignoring my problems since I wanted to believe that the doctors know best.

This is just not true. Doctors more and more have their specialized interests/focuses and don't keep up with the general growth and change in all things medical. The number one issue is attention to medications. The number two issue is lack of attention and willingness to investigate beyond their comfort zone. My doctor was very well-versed in many areas and yet knew nothing about diabetes. My three month average tests were normal, yet my blood sugar was ping ponging and would (like yours) be high and very low. Since the numbers indicated no diabetes, I was actually scorned for being paranoid and concerned about my condition, and told not to waste my time going to a diabetic specialist.

Huge mistake. All of the things I have been experiencing off and on over the last few years...extreme dryness of skin, exhausted and/or sweating after meals, painful feet, legs, arms and hand areas, have come home to roost.

I don't even have that high of blood sugar levels, and yet have major pain, and neuropathy. I, literally over the period of a few weeks, became very ill, and now know that it was all about my blood sugar. I am on medication currently, but suffering constantly with pain due to the neuropathy.

Mine is a story of neglect, and consequences which I hope can help others follow through with their own personal care, based on what they know is going on with their bodies, and not be dissuaded by a doctor or group of doctors, who, in all likelihood, are speaking out of ignorance and inexperience.

In closing, I think of many years ago when I was lucky enough to be sent to Mayo Clinic due to what I thought was a hasty doctor's diagnosis. How it works there is...you have one doctor who sends you all around the clinic for tests based on your symptoms. No stone was (and hopefully they still operate like this) left unturned in the testing. The tests were not based on what they thought you might have, but on all of your systems. Then the one doctor reads all of the reports and presents a well-informed diagnosis to you. In my case, it has saved my life on two occasions (not exaggerating).

I still want to trust doctors, because you can't handle your medical care without them. Finding the right one is no different than finding a mechanic you can trust.