# Have I had a hypo or two or more?



## ElStew (Apr 16, 2022)

Just before lockdown I was out walking in the hills and dales. After 5 miles, I noticed that my feet/legs had a tendency to pull me to the right and I had to correct the pull. After a rest in the pub we went on our way. About two miles later, my feet/legs were pulling me to the right again. This time they pulled me down a ravine. Fortunately, I saved myself by grabbing hold of a sapling and my friend pulled me out.  A ten minute rest at the local railway station had me all right. 
Over the next couple of years when out walking I had similar occurrences if I walked more than 2 miles - sometimes right, left or both! but nothing as dangerous.
A month ago I fell-over in the road and narrowly avoided being run over. The possible causes were my brother accidentally bumped me into the road, the kerb on the pavement we were crossing was to blame, or my feet which had started playing up - this time just shuffling as I walked rather than stepped along. I ended up in hospital overnight following concussion. It was in the hospital they diagnosed my diabetes with a reading of 116 falling to 104 a fortnight later.
Apart from diabetes, I am healthy according to the doctor who confirmed the diagnosis but did not think it was causing my feet/legs problem.
But I'm less sure because since I've started controlling my diabetes (walking six days a week and controlling my food/drink intake), I've not had any problems with my feet/legs even on a 5+mile walk uphill and down. What do you think?


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## Inka (Apr 16, 2022)

Welcome @ElStew  A hypo is low blood sugar not high sugar and usually occur when people are on insulin or similar meds. Perhaps your undiagnosed diabetes had started to affect the feeling in your feet, causing you to shuffle, as you said above, and misjudge the ground under your feet. Or maybe you had an ear problem affecting your balance, or were dehydrated and weak due to high blood sugar?

So no, I don’t think those sound like hypos


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## Chris Hobson (Apr 16, 2022)

A few months after I was diagnosed, nearly nine years ago now, I was cycling home from work and had a very strange wobbly feeling that made it feel as though my bike had gone all soft and squishy. I was still using insulin at the time so hypos were still a risk for me. I sat down on the grass verge, got out my kit and did a BG test. The result was 6.5 so it wasn't a hypo, I never did find what it was and, as it never happened again, I eventually stopped worrying about it. I don't know if this is any help but it seems that maybe diabetes just comes with some strange side issues.


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## silentsquirrel (Apr 16, 2022)

I think Vitamin B12 deficiency can cause dragging/shuffling feet?  Tagging @Pattidevans , whom I think has more knowledge than I.


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## Pattidevans (Apr 17, 2022)

Hi there @ElStew

I started to fall over very easily a few years ago.  I could trip over even the smallest difference in paving slabs, or for any other anomaly in the surface.  I kept on tripping on stairs and kerbs too, because I was dragging my feet and shuffling.  I was very concerned that I would be doing myself a serious damage (and I did suffer 2 broken ribs).  I read online that B12 deficiency could cause a change in gait due to neurological changes, so I got checked out and sure enough I had B12 deficiency.  I'm sorry but I cannot recall the numbers at the time.  I was then treated with injections every other day for two weeks and then one injection every 3 months.  The 3 monthly gap was too much and symptoms started to reappear about a month before I was due an injection.  I now have them 8 weekly and this seems to have cured the issue.

From the NHS...


> Causes of Vitamin B12 deficiency​
> For many people, the cause of their deficiency is not taking enough in their diet especially if they do not eat animal products. Some people are unable to absorb Vitamin B12 from food and some take medications which can reduce the absorption of Vitamin B12 from the stomach e.g. metformin (which is used for diabetes) or omeprazole (which is often prescribed for indigestion).



On the other hand, as @Inka said, your Hba1c of 104 (average BG over 15.9) is still very high and that can cause neuropathy (which may be reversible) which can also cause numb shuffling feet.


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## Chris Hobson (Apr 17, 2022)

I went for a quick Google due to the fact that I don't eat meat and wanted to make sure I wasn't at risk of B12 deficiency because of that. It is found in milk, eggs, cheese and fish, particularly trout and sardines. So, vegans are likely to have a problem but I think that I should be OK.


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## Inka (Apr 17, 2022)

It’s not just what you eat @Chris Hobson Sometimes people eat enough sources of B12 but have problems absorbing it.


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## Leadinglights (Apr 17, 2022)

There is something called intrinsic factor which is required for absorption of B12 from foods and the production of it can be affected by damage to the area of the gut producing it from gastric issues or medication. So if that is the problem oral B12 doesn't help and injected B12 is needed. There are tests that can establish if somebody is producing intrinsic factor but I suspect they are rarely done.


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## Pattidevans (Apr 17, 2022)

Leadinglights said:


> There are tests that can establish if somebody is producing intrinsic factor but I suspect they are rarely done.


No, but GPs are quite amenable to giving B12 tests.  As @Inka says, some people cannot absorb B12 from food and so it is pointless taking B12 supplements.


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## ElStew (Apr 18, 2022)

I appreciate the responses. I'll put hypos as a cause on the back burner. I'm going to follow up the others and see where I find the solution for me. I'll post when I do but it may be some time given it's not proving easy.


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## picitup (Jun 24, 2022)

ElStew said:


> Just before lockdown I was out walking in the hills and dales. After 5 miles, I noticed that my feet/legs had a tendency to pull me to the right and I had to correct the pull. After a rest in the pub we went on our way. About two miles later, my feet/legs were pulling me to the right again. This time they pulled me down a ravine. Fortunately, I saved myself by grabbing hold of a sapling and my friend pulled me out.  A ten minute rest at the local railway station had me all right.
> Over the next couple of years when out walking I had similar occurrences if I walked more than 2 miles - sometimes right, left or both! but nothing as dangerous.
> A month ago I fell-over in the road and narrowly avoided being run over. The possible causes were my brother accidentally bumped me into the road, the kerb on the pavement we were crossing was to blame, or my feet which had started playing up - this time just shuffling as I walked rather than stepped along. I ended up in hospital overnight following concussion. It was in the hospital they diagnosed my diabetes with a reading of 116 falling to 104 a fortnight later.
> Apart from diabetes, I am healthy according to the doctor who confirmed the diagnosis but did not think it was causing my feet/legs problem.
> But I'm less sure because since I've started controlling my diabetes (walking six days a week and controlling my food/drink intake), I've not had any problems with my feet/legs even on a 5+mile walk uphill and down. What do you think?


I noticed that my feet/legs had a tendency to pull me to the right and I had to correct the pull

Hi
I had something very similar a few years ago.  I couldn't walk straight, pulling to the left and then fell over to the left,  kind of in slow motion. It was really weird.  I got some medical attention and it was suggested it's labyrintitis.  I didn't have any treatment for it and it cleared up pretty quickly.  Dunno if this helps:









						Labyrinthitis: Causes, Symptoms, Treatment & What it Is
					

Labyrinthitis, or vestibular neuritis, is an inner ear infection that affects your ability to balance.




					my.clevelandclinic.org


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## ElStew (Jun 26, 2022)

Thanks for thinking about me. I had some tests by my doctor who ruled out ear problems. However, there is some similarity to our symptoms so I will keep labyrinthitis in mind.  Patti's B12 story is also still in my mind. 

I did say that I would share my findings with the group when I've worked out what is causing my issues. From what I've discovered so far, there is no single cause. It will be caused by a combination of factors from the wrong socks to expecting too much from my body. I'll know more when I have my first 3m Diabetes review next month.


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## picitup (Jun 27, 2022)

Hi no problem and best of luck with it.  Yes, do let us know how it turns out.

Cheers

Steve


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## Mare (Jun 27, 2022)

Chris Hobson said:


> A few months after I was diagnosed, nearly nine years ago now, I was cycling home from work and had a very strange wobbly feeling that made it feel as though my bike had gone all soft and squishy. I was still using insulin at the time so hypos were still a risk for me. I sat down on the grass verge, got out my kit and did a BG test. The result was 6.5 so it wasn't a hypo, I never did find what it was and, as it never happened again, I eventually stopped worrying about it. I don't know if this is any help but it seems that maybe diabetes just comes with some strange side issues.


You can say that again. This disease is one surprise and mystery after another. I can just cry sometimes...


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## trophywench (Jun 29, 2022)

Err, I don't wish to upset anyone but I have intermittent claudication (which is what used to be commonly known as hardening of the arteries and that's exactly what it is)  and that causes me to drag my left foot and had caused that for 5-10 years before I started getting pain in both calves and had it diagnosed as such.  Mis-spent years of smoking in my case is the most likely reason in my case I suppose, but there again if you've never ever either smoked or worked/lived where other people did (and most people did in the past cos it wasn't banned anywhere - our GP used to smoke Players plain (ie untipped) same as my dad and had a wonderful heavy cut glass ashtray on his desk that my mum always used to covet!)


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## ElStew (Aug 23, 2022)

This is what I am doing now to improve my balance following advice:

a. NHS Balance Exercises on the web.
b. ’Leg Strengthening Workout for Beginners and Seniors’ video (You Tube).
c. ‘How to fix hunchback posture in 3 minutes’ video (You Tube).
d. Bought better socks and restricted the shoes I wear.
e. Stopped abusing my 68 year old body and started to treat it with thought. I have a regime for walking from 2 miles to 9 miles.

When I follow e, I get the benefits from a-d. My approach is for me and it works for me.

Trophywench, I was lucky that my heavy smoking aunty gave me a fag when I was 7. It put me off smoking for life!

Incidentally, I have just had my first Diabetes review (after 5 months not three months because the nurse was absent for a while). On the 24 February my HbA1c was 116, last week it was 44. It's come down 72 in 175 days and, on average, 2 Metformin tablets every day.


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## trophywench (Aug 23, 2022)

Great result - well done you!


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## Bloden (Aug 23, 2022)

Wow, well done @ElStew - that's a brilliant result!


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## Rob Oldfield (Aug 23, 2022)

Excellent work.  You should feel very proud of yourself.  Do you have set routes that you walk or mix and match?


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## daxsmith05 (Aug 26, 2022)

did I read your aunt gave you a cigarette aged 7?
not appropriate at all
what did your parents say?


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## Rob Oldfield (Aug 26, 2022)

daxsmith05 said:


> did I read your aunt gave you a cigarette aged 7?
> not appropriate at all
> what did your parents say?


Think that would have been 61 years ago!  Early 1960s I think it was still being claimed that cigarettes were healthy.


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## daxsmith05 (Aug 26, 2022)

must have got this thread confused with another (cannot find where it said that now)
I had B12 deficiency "megaloblastic anemia" and possible pernicious anemia and another condition that was the opposite of and pancytopenia (later) (both stated to be only possible).
I have multiple conditions including PKU. and mental illness (multiple) and autism too among others
I also had a psychiatrist who said I had no mental illnesses but had been diagnosed before and since with multiple types going back years. I believed his opinions were based on "non medical" reasons (without explaining why I think that)


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## daxsmith05 (Aug 26, 2022)

my gran was advised to smoke for her "nerves" she died of lung cancer despite not taking the advice. 3 members of my family had the same and only one of my grans smoked and the other and her daughter never did but still got it. 
Why you think I tried so hard to give up?? Nicotine gum is great!! cut to 2mg 2weeks ago from 4mg (strength of each gum not total dose)


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