Q: I am a male, 74 years of age. I am a diabetic and take Humulin 30/70. I take the insulin twice a day. The doctors tell me that the nerves in my feet are damaged. Two years ago I had an operation on my back called a laminectomy. I used to have to use a walker but now I can manage with a cane alone.
I now have a problem with burning in my feet, back and the skin on my stomach. I also have a rash on my back. I took a prescription called Neurontin every day but it didn’t help much.
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Can you suggest anything that would help? My blood sugar is well controlled. Would it be allergies
to something I eat or the insulin I take?
A: The back surgery was probably done to relieve pressure on the nerves in the spinal column. You may have had an old back injury at some time, causing a prolapsed disc that was pressing on a nerve, causing lots of pain and difficulty in walking. I am glad the operation was a success.
I think the burning sensation is a separate issue. I believe you are also suffering from a condition known as diabetic peripheral neuropathy.
Diabetes, even if it is well controlled, can sometimes cause problems in the nerves of the feet, and possibly also in the skin
over the stomach. There can be tingling, pricking or burning sensations, and in bad cases, complete
numbness. Sometimes other problems, such as a lack of vitamin B12, can cause this to happen, so you should ask your doctor to do a blood test to exclude this possibility.
Do you drink? Peripheral neuropathy can also be due to excessive use of alcohol.
Your doctor is correctly prescribing you the
Neurontin, which is a drug that can help inflamed nerves. There is really not much else you can do. Hopefully it will get better with time. Taking a daily multiple B vitamin preparation may help a little.
I doubt if the rash on your back is due to allergies, but you could be allergic to either the Humulin or the Neurontin. Try stopping the Neurontin for a week or so and see if it improves. You mustn’t stop the
Humulin without your doctor first changing you to some other form of insulin.
It is difficult to diagnose rashes of any sort without actually seeing them, but I would guess that a rash that is just on your back could be due to some external cause, rather than what you are taking by mouth. It could be an allergy to detergent or soap, or possibly just dry skin.
If it occurs in scaly, itchy patches, it might be a form of eczema, which often occurs at this time of year in cold, dry climates.
Dry skin problem
Q: I came back with a nice tan from two weeks on a Caribbean beach. Once back in the prairie winter my skin instantly started to dry up and flake away, no matter how much moisturizer I used. Can anything be done to stop the dry skin?
A:I think the problem here is that it is too late to prevent the dry skin flaking off now. It is really the top layer that has died from too much sun and it will peel regardless of any moisturizers.
It might have been prevented to some extent earlier by applying an oily type of suntan lotion before you went in the sun. These oils are not a sunscreen and won’t prevent skin cancer. Oils are not too bad if you have darker skin or already have a bit of a tan, but you could “fry” if you are light skinned.
An apple a day works
A new study by researchers at the University of California Davis Medical Centre has found that eating apples or drinking the juice may help to slow down the formation of plaque that leads to heart attacks and angina.
Apples apparently do this by reducing the oxidation of low-density lipoproteins in the blood. This is the bad type of cholesterol. High density lipoproteins are the good guys.
As little as two apples a day, or 12 ounces of apple juice, were found to have this beneficial effect.
