Neuropathy
On Monday of this week I learnt a new word: "neuropathy". If I had heard it before, I certainly did not know what it meant. The alarming reality is that it was being applied to me by a physician's assistant down at our health centre. She had my bare feet on her lap and she was testing my reactions to a simple instrument I had never seen before. It is called a monofilament. Please see the top picture. I kept my eyes closed as she poked the filament on and around my toes, asking what I could feel. I am afraid that this is one examination that I did not pass with flying colours. In the past fourteen months, I have been teetering around the threshold of Type 2 diabetes. That is why I stopped taking sugar in hot drinks, reduced my alcohol intake and even paid good money for continuing weight loss reduction injections. Monday's meeting has added impetus to my efforts and the next time I see my doctor I am going to be asking about a prescription for a drug called metfor...