My mom is right now having awful unbearable pain in her legs. They twitch and she moans so bad with pain and I don’t know what can be done to help her. She has had this problem for a long time and it just gets worse and worse. Morphine does not even help. What can she do to ease this?
Does Diabetic Neuropathy Cause Terrible Pain In The Legs?
12
Jan
anoldmic
January 12, 2010 at 3:35 pm
She should go and consult the doctor or a specialist.
I know somebody who is Diabetic 1 (infantile diabetes or Diabetes mellitus)..and has the same thing but not as bad..but complains that he has sometimes very hot and painful sensations in the upper thigh. It comes and goes..
I am not a doctor and specialised to give you an answer..but please tell your mom to see a specialist !
edit: have read Shanon’s answer…..but the guy I know does not have any problem in the feet and hands anyway.. but has been a diabetic since age 12…go see a specialist !!! and do not rely on my answer nor everyone else..
Heron Incognito
January 12, 2010 at 3:36 pm
Well, your question was whether diabetic neuropathy can bring on pain in a person’s legs. Yes, it can. More often, though, is a loss of pain and other sensation in the legs. That’s how a diabetic person can sustain a serious injury to the foot and not feel a thing.
In your mother’s case, I suggest strongly that her physician be alerted to her situation. There are other anodynes that can be tried (an anodyne is a painkiller). It’s odd that not even morphine relieves her pain, which suggests that drug should simply not be given her anymore. There is such a thing as drug tolerance, in which the person needs more and more of the drug to come anywhere near the sought-after relief. In the case of an opiate like morphine, there are complications that can be life-threatening.
There are worthwhile alternatives that should be offered your mother. But the doc has to be made aware of her ongoing discomfort. There are doctors who are pain specialists; if hers is not one of these, your mother is within her rights to ask for a referral to one.
Isabelle
January 12, 2010 at 4:31 pm
Has she talked with her doctor about maybe trying Cymbalta? You might check this: http://www.cymbalta.com/index_dpnp.jsp
C&T
January 12, 2010 at 4:51 pm
There are several meds for neuropathy. You need to check with her doctor and see what her options are. Also has she had a doppler done to make sure she does not have blood clots?
evieb2go
January 12, 2010 at 4:57 pm
It is not likely to have such severe pain with diabetic neuropathy. In fact, in diabetes sometimes sensation is DEcreased which causes problems because they cannot feel it when they get minor wounds, which then becomes infected.
If she has severe pain, is it in her calf? If she has concurrent hypertension and hyperlipidemia, she could be having vascular insufficiency and claudication. In this instance, the blood supply to the leg is insufficient. After some walking, it can cause severe pain, called claudication. One clue – is her leg a little cool to the touch compared to the rest of the body?
Hope this helps. If this is so painful, I suggest you bring her to see a doctor to diagnose the exact cause. It is hard to make a definitive diagnosis without seeing her. Painkillers may help temporarily but they do not solve the problem.
stanley
January 12, 2010 at 5:09 pm
That doesn’t sound like diabetic neuropathy to me, but more likely something more serious like a nerve disorder. If it was caused by diabetes the pain would be more in her feet and possibly hands.