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We have another almost full week of doctor’s appointments as follows for me:

  1. Monday 8/4 dialysis labs at 1300
  2. Tuesday 8/5 1115 postop catarac surgery plus new eyeglass prescription
  3. Wednesday 8/6 1100 Dr Watkins Ft Worth Neurologis workup for neuropathy treatment 8/18

I have been doing more research into my lower extremity diabetic neuropathy. Below are twenty symptoms of it, with comments as to whether I am experiencing them: Graphic above and symptoms from this link: https://neuropathyjournal.org/top-twenty-symptoms-of-peripheral-neuropathy/

Each person’s experience varies depending on their type of Neuropathy, but in general, the following are the most common Symptoms of Peripheral Neuropathy:

1) Severe strange pains in your feet, legs, hands, and other parts of the body; including “crawling insects” under your skin; Mine come and go

2) Balance is difficult when walking, getting dressed, getting out of bed, or whenever you close your eyes; Yes, I have this. My wife has to help me get out of bed.

3) Numbness / heavy / cardboard / heavy cement feeling/ Novocain feeling in your feet and legs; Yes, bottom of my feet at times.

4) Tingling or “vibration” like feelings in your feet and hands; Just my feet.

5) Electric shocks starting at the bottom of your feet/foot that shoot up your leg(s) and on almost any part of the body; No, not my trip.

6) Bone pain, especially in the feet on walking or standing; No, not yet.

7) Painful muscle spasms/cramps; Yes, all the time; wakes me up.

8) Skin may become painful to touch or lose the feeling of touch, with Agent Orange skin rash; Yes, loss of touch

9) Burning sensations in your feet and hands; Very few times, but yes

10) Loss, or lessening, of sensation for hot and cold; Yes, plus cold feet.

11) Feeling like you are wearing socks when you are not; Nope.

12) The feeling you are walking on crumpled socks or stones; Yes, a few times.

13) Feet feel swollen or large; Nope.

14) Difficulty moving your hands or feet; Feet, yes.

15) A feeling of clumsiness, tripping (foot drop) or dropping things; Yes, as relates to feet.

16) Attacks of daily severe exhaustion with strange fatigue; Exhaustion, yes.

In more severe cases of Peripheral Neuropathy, you may also experience the following:

17) Problems with not sweating in the lower body with excessive sweating in the upper body; Yes, upper body.

18) Digestive (fullness; alternating diarrhea/constipation) and/or urinary problems (overflow incontinence); Yes, fullness but could be do to IPN

19) Sexual problems (loss of sensation/feeling/moisture); Yes, no feeling.

20) A tightening of your chest with an increased difficulty in breathing and/or swallowing; uncorrectable vision problems. Not yet.