November 11, 2002
Complications
Question from Portland, Oregon, USA:
I am a 49 year old female who has had type 1 diabetes for 10 years with reasonable control (hemoglobin A1c: 7.5%) along with rheumatoid arthritis (also under reasonable control) for six years. Over the course of the last year, I’ve developed numbness in the tips of my thumb and index finger and back (dorsum) of my hand. My rheumatologist says it doesn’t look like carpal tunnel and is probably diabetic neuropathy, but my endocrinologist says she doesn’t think so since diabetic neuropathy generally starts in the feet, and that it is probably the result of rheumatoid arthritis in my wrists. Is there some way to get to the bottom of what is causing the numbness?
Answer:
A test called an electromyogram (EMG) may be helpful in distinguishing nerve compression (as seen with carpal tunnel syndrome) from diabetic neuropathy. I would ask your physicians whether this test may be ordered, and the results reviewed for more insight.
JTL
