There
 

are some metabolic doctors who believe that most if not all
people become somewhat insulin resistant after 40.

The degree of this depends on genetics.

I suspect Ed, that you are beginning to get this.
And when that happens, there are small signs.
One of which is that muscles do not receive enough to run on.

Now besides glucose there are fatty acids that the mitochondria can consume for energy. They can be enabled by acetyl carnitine, lipoic acid and biotin. Some people add CoQ-10 to that.

Dr. Ames, a noted biochemist, believes as we age we lose this ability, all of us. Some more than others, to have good energy derived from our mitochondria, the energy parts of our cells.

Yes, diet and some supplements may help. Smaller meals, with more protein and good fats with lower glycemic carbs. But if you have the diabetic genes this is only partially effective.
Some small quality snacks in between help too.

Make the changes slowly. It is easier that way to make new habits. Check out Dr. Sears' Zone plan, on line. He has had very good success with Metabolic syndrome.

There are some things in our environment that are worrisome.
One is the plastic Bisphenol A. It has been implicated in causing weight gain and hence type II diabetes. Another new issue is the lack of sleep people have. Melatonin loss has recently been shown to affect the pancreas.
You can read about that here:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread68433.html

Your muscle weakness may be due to something else, but it could also be a sign of poor glycemic control.
Many doctors don't recognize early signs. So that it is up to the patient to do so. Back in the 70's there was a diagnosis of "hypoglycemia" that was a fad. The Schering corp even made a drug for it called ProGlycem...which was a terrible failure.
Millions were diagnosed with it. And in the end...where did that diagnosis go? We now call it pre-diabetes, metabolic syndrome, etc.

I have been fighting this fight for 20 yrs. And even now, I seem to be losing it. Diabetes is in my maternal side, each generation, and I guess I am doomed eventually. But I have controlled it this long. My mother was less than 40 when it started for her.

We all do what we can do with what we have.

Another thing for males.... historically speaking thyroid issues are less common in men. But that is changing fast. Some doctors do not test thyroid commonly in men until old age, or only if drastic symptoms are present. But flame retardants in the environment and our water, are implicated in causing hypothyroidism. So if you haven't had yours checked, please do so. That muscle weakness can come from either hyper or hypo
functioning of the thyroid. More and more men are now developing thyroid disease than ever before.

add pilates
 

to help your muscles. Yoga can be helpful too.
I found these 2 techniqes - very helpful for me.

muscle weakness
 

Ed, I have the exact same symptoms, I have this intermittant weakness in my legs and arms. I had my second neuro appt today, and he said I have mild sensory motor neuopathy. He feels its about my glucose levels.(because he cant come up with anything else) My neuro does not feel at this time to do any more tests. Did you ask your neuro about Charcot Marie tooth (CMT), or chronic inflammatory demylenating neuropathy( CIDP).He ruled those neuropathys out for me but , but what is your next step? Are you going to do any more tests. I also started the vitamins, the only advice he gave me with those was watch B6, too much can cause neuropathy. Well hope that helps. Lynn

Sensory to Motor?
 

Mrs D,

Do some Peripheral Neuropathies become Motor? Can that be seen on EMG?
Just curious.

Lynn

Lyn - my neuropathy has been sensori-motor from the get go, so it hasn't been a case of sensory progressing to motor. My motor issues definitely cause more problems for me than the sensory issues and are treated aggressively with limited success.

cheers

raglet

I think the hereditary ones
 

may be combined, and progress this way.

Also acute toxin poisoning will affect many nerves.

But the vast majority of PNs remain sensory.

For example poisoning with arsenic affects both systems.

But diabetic neuropathy typically does not. But some people with diabetes progress to autonomic and gastroparesis, when others do not.

So it might be a matter of overwhelming the systems suddenly,
or genetic failure of the nerve cells (something within them
fails and the cells die).

Neuropathies are very complicated. This is why we don't see more progress with their treatment by the medical community.
Each person presents with different symptoms and degree.

From what I have seen, the more aggressive treatments are offered (IVIG and plasmaphariesis) when motor elements become affected.

I know this is kinda an older post, but I haven't been on neuropathy boards in a long while.

I was diagnosed with a "sensory greater than motor" peripheral neuropathy this last summer.

I think sometime around Christmas I started noticing that I was depending on shopping carts to get me around the store.
And now I have increasing problems to the point that I can not go to the gym.

My Dr. said I probably have a "foot drop" which is muscle weakness of the ankle.

So now its back to neurology to me, and I am on Gabapentin to try to get some sensation back in my feet. (I don't have pain)

Hope that helped a bit?

i have never heard of gabapentin or lyrica,or any other drug getting sensation back in feet or elsewhere. Is that the reason your doctor prescribed it?

I agree... Neurontin and its cousin Lyrica do not restore anything.
They are for pain relief.

I would wonder if a vaccine triggered this?
Flu shot
Gardasil
Menactra (has a warning about GBS)
Hep B

I would explore autoimmune issues. Losing motor functions is alarming and should be investigated further.
Treatment for autoimmune is IVIG.

And I'd also explore the hereditary issue.
 

Even going to a specialty center is not a guarantee these tests--the ones that exist, anyway (there are probably a number of hereditary conditoins that involve neuropathy which have not yet been linked to anomalies in the genome)--will be performed. One has to be one's own advocate.

See:

http://neuromuscular.wustl.edu/time/hmsn.html

http://neuromuscular.wustl.edu/time/hsn.htm