Waking Body Dysmorphia and Numb Finger in a Type 1 Diabetic :(

[GRNBTTSTY]

So I'm kind of freaking out a little and could use your help bluelight. I don't really know where to go or who to ask and I'll ask my "doctor" the next time I see them but I have doubts about their reliablility at any rate. So to preface this I'm a type one Diabetic and have been since about the age of two. Currently I weigh about 250-260 lbs but I'm trying to eat right and excercise on a daily basis and have been keeping up with it fairly well. I use all kinds of drugs (some IV) but no more then once a week and sometimes I will end up not ingesting anything for a whole month. I always moniter my blood sugar and I'm even more on top of it during drug experiences. I'm on an insulin pump and when I first went to the clinic I'm going to now they had never even heard of this. But I digress.

For a couple weeks now I've noticed low blood sugar levels late ate night, especially when I'm asleep. After making sure that the situation wasn't just from over bolusing I fixed it by changing my Basil (per hour) rate down and that seemed to solve that problem. But about a week and a half ago I started having what I can only describe as Waking Body Horror/Dysmorphia. I would wake with a start and immediately feel panicced. I would look at my hands which would feel like they where asleep/pins and needles and I would be unable to move them completely and they would look rather pale and ashen and the whole time I would be freaking out. This happened for about a week with it being more intense in the middle and less so at the begining and end. Eventually I managed to sort of "feel" myself coming awake and "feel" this coming on and was just able to sit in bed with my eyes closed and chill/relax my way out of this whatever it was.

Usually my hands would go back to normal and I would be fine and I wouldn't have any extraneous symptoms pertaining to this. This has become less and less frequent. But the past couple of days while I haven't awoken in complete terror I have woken up with my hands feelin like they where asleep. So I figured, hey maybe I'm just sleeping on my hands. But today there was and is definitely something slightly off with the pinky finger of my left hand. For many hours after waking it remained numb and tingly and even now it still feels and feelings from it are a little rough. I'm so worried. I looked up finger numbness in Diabetics online and of course was led to pages about neuropathy and amputation.

Do you guys have any recomendations? I will ask my doctor when I see her again but I really don't trust that place. I wish I had insurance. I wish I could see a doctor I could be honest with about my recreational drug use. I want to keep all my fingers. What can I do? I though t Diabetic amputations happened to prevent the spreading of gangrene from limbs that had lost circulation. I'm freaking out. Any info or opinions would help guys. Thank you.

 

[Vaya]

Hello there, GRNBTTSTY,

I feel that You will receive more appropriate responses in our healthy living forums. Therefore, I'm going to move this thread there. Take care of yourself!

~ Vaya

 

[GRNBTTSTY]

Thanks. I didn't really know where to put this. My finger seems to be back to normal and I haven't experienced these symptoms in several days so I'm a little calmer now, however I would still be highly interested in any info on what ya'll think any of this could be.

 

[GRNBTTSTY]

Also is there any legitimate way to doctor shop. I'd love to be able to confide in a medical proffesional about my recreational drug use.

 

[neversickanymore]

^ DR shopping is looking for prescriptions or multiple prescriptions from more than one Dr. If you are in the US and just want to confide this in a Dr. other than your normal one, pick a good one and and just don't approve any of your medical records leaving that new office. another thing to consider is where you have been injecting.. if you are using the front or back of your forearms then you may have begun to collapse major vessels that carry blood to your hands and this can cause what you are speaking of, do you sometimes get the same feeling when you sit in certain chairs with arm rests that constrict such prominent vessels, if so switch injection sights frequently, hell just switch them, even if you are comfortable with a certain area.. switch them all the time even if this isn't the cause.. I'm a type one and nerve damage from our condition may be the cause.. as you already know our condition causes nerve and vascular damage so this could be the cause.. set up a little work out regiment to get blood flow to your hands and do this.. It should help either way. D1 is the pits.. except you always have rigs

 

[motherofearth]

Lack of circulation is a possibility for diabetics, and I believe it is the cause of gangrene which engenders amputation. However, it sounds like your anxiety upon awakening may be a personality disorder unto itself. Although, I will testify that my low blood sugar spells (particularly in the night) bring on severe anxiety, so there may be a connection there.

Any possibility the numbness is from your IV use? I'd wake up w/ numb hands up to a month after quitting IV.

 

[HCandKROD]

I had similar problems to yours. I'm not diabetic but everything else is basically the same. Doc told me it was mild dehydration and low B vitamins. I thought he was full of shit till he loaded me up with IV liquids and shots of vitamin B. That was it no more numb fingers. Maybe your diet and exercise you aren't getting enough water or vitamins. Good luck.

 

[GRNBTTSTY]

Thanks for responding everyone! This has happened once since the majority of incidents. I've also considered that it might be some kind of Sleep Paralysis thing, although when I wake up freaking out I can move my affected hand although it is more difficult to move then normal.

I'm glad too hear that there are other type 1 injectors out there. I thought I was alone. i usually inject into the most common veins in the crook of the arm. I try to switch between all the ones that I have been able to hit. I don't inject too often, it's all still recreational at this point. But if you say you've still experienced symptoms up to a month after last injecting that could still have something to do with it. There was one night that I IV'd some Subutex at the beginning of the month. To promote vein health when I'm no longer in the read I'm definitley going to purchase on of those vein finders as well as a quick release turniquet. It sucks, my technique is poor. No matter how carefull I am, I am just not a very good flebotomist.

It is also possible that it has too do with blood sugar levels, as I too get much anxiety (insufferable depression and extreme angsty apathy) when my blood sugar is low. But these events didn't seemed to be specifically linked to low levels. Also it seems to me that when I have low levels at night I realy do not want to wake up. There is a pull to sleep. I don't like it. As far as a bloodflow to the hands work out regimen goes does playing the drums count? I've been doing this for several hours a day recently. I was considering this as a possible cause of the problem as well actually. I dunno. I've got so many problems, lol. I'll ask my doc when I see her next about those vitamins. I'm supposed to be getting lab results back then anyways.

I really wish I had a better doctor. I told them I was having severe back pain, at very random intervals and that i was certain it was confident that it was not my kidneys as it wasn't in the right spot for that it was back pain, lower back pain specifically. But whaterver, I assented to a simple urinalysis. They said I was fine and didn't follow up on that. When I have that problem Ibuprofen just doesn't cut it, lol. Alas, poor Yorick we knew him well.

 

[Foreigner]

Numbness is more common during sleep because that's when you are moving the least, and therefore circulation is more hindered. Anywhere you feel numbness, it means that the sensory nerves are being deprived of blood nourishment, either due to compression or something else blocking the blood supply. Diabetes or not, the most common reason for finger numbness is a problem in the cervical spine (neck).

This image is for educational purposes only:
http://www.assh.org/Public/HandConditions/PublishingImages/Fig2_numb_web.jpg

It displays the regions of the hands and which spinal nerves govern them. If you have any chronic neck pain, then that could be a reason for this problem. But it's hard to say.

Type 2 diabetes is usually the more risky variety when it comes to amputations and what not. If your blood sugar is under control and your diet is appropriate, then you can't for sure assume it's diabetes related.

This is really the best educational info I can give you. It's unfortunate that you don't have insurance, but you should really find a way to see a doctor who can properly diagnose you.