My lower body is going numb

[Quahog]

It is very strange. I have lost the sense of light touch. My legs feel heavy like lead weights. I also keep getting these weird dizzy feelings were the room moves for a second or two and then all is normal. If i sitting for too long it's almost like i am floating and the numbness get worse.

It all seems to be from movement. Another thing that has me worried is my blood glucose levels are starting to fluctuate all over the place. I was Dx'd as being pre-diabetic and for the longest time my levels were in check (A1C below 6%) but now i am not so sure. I check my levels very frequently and they are usually normal but if I eat something that I know I shouldn't I've seen my levels shoot up to 160. I know it's not super high but it is for me. My fasting levels are normal however at least they are for now.

I can't help but wonder if this numbness has to do with diabetic neuropathy? and not just from my cervical spine. Personally, I think most of it is from my spine but when my doctors find out my glucose has been high they will blame it all on that.

I force myself to exercise and try to eat right but I think I am going to have to face facts and realize that this may no longer be enough to control it. I hate the thought of needing more medications. Diabetes runs in my family and I am scared to death of it. I have seen what it can do personally and on a professional level. Several of my close friends have even died from it. I will not allow myself to succumb to it but once the ball starts rolling it can't be stopped in some people. I only hope I'm not one of those people.

[Mark N]

Q, you have enough going on with getting your cervical spine checked out. I hope your NS appointment takes a good look at the site and see if you are having cord compression. I would just tell the NS about the lower body numbness and see if he attributes it to the cervical problems. Your PCP can deal with the diabetes issues and your NS doesn't need the info right now.

Your symptoms could be from cord compressions and you need to call the NS to see if you can be seen sooner. Good luck and I hope you don't have diabetes to your list.

[BrokenBladder]

Quahog, I have to agree with Mark on this one. I think you should first concetrate on your NS appointment.
I know you said you have known alot of people with diabetes, but one thing that I remembr from being in the hospital is that they were concerned with my fasting levels. They brought in some kind of specialist and he said right away that my fasting levels would tell them if I was truly diabetic. Thankfully it turned out that I wasn't.
Get in touch with the NS and tell them you're getting numb.
If you find out from the NS that it's not your spine then see you PCP.
Take Care,

[Kathi49]

Q,

If it makes you feel any better, my brother is a severe diabetic. He does have neuropathy but only in his toes and he has had diabetes for at least 20 years or more. So, I seriously doubt the "heavy feelings" in your legs would come on from diabetes that quickly.

But, one of the signs of cervical issues can be gait disturbances, a heaviness in the legs, etc. I would get the with NS and concentrate on your cervical spine. My legs will feel like that sometimes too.

I really believe the dizziness you are experiencing is the C3/C4 level. I had it all the time. And I know what you mean by feeling like you are floating. And, yes, the room would seem like it would move. And a strange thing that happened to me is when I looked at a carpeted floor that had a pattern, it made my eyes and head go bonkers! It sounds strange I know but I just couldn't look down at a patterned carpet or something without getting dizzy or nauseated and it seemed to move too. And I think I said before that just going into a grocery store would REALLY make me sick. It was all in the visual disturbances and truly made me sick as I felt I couldn't balance myself. And this is kind of silly too. But if you ever watch "House" and they show people who have flashes, or things are blurred around the edges; well, that is how I saw things sometimes. But most times it is as you said, like everything is moving even while you are sitting still.

My PM told me once that the nerves are so tight in the neck that they will crosstalk to the auditory nerves. Well, the auditory nerves also help you keep your sense of balance. So, it is no wonder my head was spinning! He also said consider the neck as "fusebox" and once something goes bad in there, just about everything can go haywire. Of course he said much more than that. This is just the short version.

As for the sense of light touch, had that too after my first fusion. I felt like I had something on my hands and feet that I needed to wash off but wouldn't come off and it was burning in nature too. That's when I went to my Neurologist and was tested and tested and tested. It was the QSART she did that determined I had small fiber PN. All other tests were normal. So, what brought that on I don't know. I tend to think it was because the nerves were compressed for so long and once they were freed up, they woke up! Who knows for sure? It is gone from my hands but still in my feet...not as bad though now.

I am hoping Dr. Steve will come along because he could probably explain it better than I can.

These are just thoughts because I know what that C3/C4 can do. If you can, I would call the NS and see if you can't get in earlier. Or, at least explain what is happening.

[Mark N]

Q, have you contacted the NS yet? Get going and don't waste any time wondering about calling or not. It could be your cord compression causing more serious problems. Whe my entire left side from T8 down went dead my OSS ordered emergency surgery, insurance company baulked and it took 3 month before the fusion but all my functions returned. You need to not wait because when you lose neurological function they may not come back.

[GardeniaGirl]

I hope you are able to get an answer as to what is going wrong.

I understand the stress and frustration of new, unexplained symptoms all too well.

[Quahog]

Yes I have contacted a NS but unfortunately I will not see them for another month. My appointment is on the 24th of April.

I have asked about being added to a cancellation wait list but it doesn't look like I can get in to see them any sooner. In fact I will see my new PCP before the NS and she is the one that made the referral.

The wait is killing me. It's also difficult because I have no idea if my spine is even the cause.

For the past week my fasting glucose numbers are around 90-105. It's only when I eat high carb foods that I have a problem and I don't do that very often.

Then I can't hep but wonder if the ID docs were wrong and I still have Lyme.

The fact that I have little answers to this and the fact that my body is going numb more often than before is killing me. Then when I finally get to see the NS there is no guarantee that it will be something they can fix.

[Kathi49]

Glenn,

Did you tell them of the numbness? If so, what did they say about that?

[BrokenBladder]

Glenn I'm so sorry that you have another month to wait before your appointment with the NS. I know how frustrated you truly are. When I finally found my wonderful Rheumy it was a 4 month wait to get in. I was so discourged, but it proved to be worth every single agonizing moment. I hope the same will be true for you.

[Quahog]

Well, I may have spoke too soon about my glucose numbers. Today it seems my levels spiked to 160 again :eek: I was feeling terrible and there was much numbness , pins and needles, etc.

Fortunately, after an hour on my treadmill my numbers dropped to 90 and the numbness eased off. So, I am starting to think my spine may not be the cause of this at least not all of it. This whole thing is driving me crazy.

I have been very grumpy and my fiancée and I have been arguing and fighting as a result. :mad: :( :confused: Things just aren't going well and I see no end in sight. but after this last episode I can safely say that no NS will see it as because of my spine.