Carpal tunnel syndrome was never going to explain the symptoms in anyplace but your hands, so you really didn't lose as much ground here as you think, LordJohn. However, I do note that you have never directly answered the question I asked you about the medications you're taking to control your diabetes.
Many cases of adult-onset diabetes are caused by something called metabolic syndrome. One of the defining characteristics of metabolic syndrome is a condition known as insulin resistance, where your body slowly loses the ability to efficiently transport glucose into your cells, which is what insulin produced naturally in your body is supposed to do. The fact that your diabetes has responded so well to the prescribed metformin, which is a drug that reduces insulin resistance, indicates that you probably do have insulin resistance, rather than an actual lack of insulin being produced.
However, there is also another condition that goes along with metabolic syndrome that has to do with how your body produces and metabolizes lipids, or fats in the body. One of the hallmarks of metabolic syndrome is cholesterol problems -- very low HDL (good) cholesterol, very high LDL (bad) cholesterol, and extremely high triglycerides. Currently, the standard of care for that is strict diet supplemented with cholesterol-lowering medications such as statin drugs (Lipitor, Zocor, Mevacor, etc.).
Most doctors are aware of the muscle problems that go along with statin drugs in some people. Many fewer doctors appear to be aware of the nervous systems side effects of statin drugs, however. Many of the types of cells that make up the nervous system are heavily dependent on cholesterol to produce things like cell walls and the myelin sheath that surrounds and insulates your nerve fibers. If those cells are unable to get the cholesterol they need to maintain healthy cell walls and healthy myelin sheaths, then you'll see symptoms of neuropathy as the cells cease to function properly.
Just as some individuals are more susceptible to the muscle problems that statin drugs can cause, others are more susceptible to the nerve cell side effects of statin drugs. Patients who are just starting out on statin drugs are warned about the muscle side effects because they can lead to a potentially fatal condition that caused the FDA to pull one drug completely off the market. However, from my own personal experience and those of members of my family, the doctors are not so quick to warn you about the possibility of nervous system side effects and will actually argue with you if you bring it up and try to blame things like diabetic neuropathy for those symptoms.
I was on statin drugs for more than five years. Shortly after I was diagnosed with ALS, I saw a newspaper article that suggested a possible connection between ALS and using statin drugs. When I researched it for myself, the explanations made sense, so I stopped taking the statins. Neither my primary care physician or my neuro endorsed that decision, but I'm glad I did it. And when I did, I discovered that I had been having all kinds of minor side effects from the statins that went away after I stopped taking them.
Sorry to have hijacked your thread to lecture on one of my pet peeves, but it goes to show that nobody but a trained doctor with all the tests and examinations of the patients in front of him can give accurate advice. If you only tell part of the tale, you're only going to get part of an answer and it might be a wrong part. I asked the question about medications two weeks ago and olly reiterated the importance of taking a look at your medications. Frankly, I feel like you are dribbling out just enough information for us to be forced down the path you want us to go and I've come to resent that treatment from you. If you really want our help and support, then cooperate a little. Otherwise, go sit in the corner and feel sorry for yourself.
