Early on in my diabetic career, my skin was like wax. Like if I rested my arm on the edge of my desk for a bit, the resulting red mark would be redder, deeper and last many times longer (hours) than normal. The skin with the furrow in it was not just discolored and a little dented, it was firm like warm molded wax, having a very articulated impression from the desk.
As time went on, and I got better control, this condition went away. But my shins were getting ugly. The surface layer of skin was about as thick as onion paper. If ever so slightly bumped, it would peel off, but the skin underneath looked no different than the unbroken skin had - at first. But later in the day, blood would ooze out. Next day, a total redness was present where the skin had peeled back. Another couple of days and it was a thick, full-blown scab. I would carry the scab for months and it would get thicker. When it healed more or less, it left a nice red scar. All from a bump on the shin through my pants like you would get if you very slowly walked into a chair but it did not hurt at all. Now the scars are mostly brown. The condition now is similar, but about 90% less severe. It takes more than a little bump now to break the skin, and if it does, it heals in about a week (or two? - I'm not sure). But my shins are still pretty ugly.
I heal fast now. Whether it's a cut on my hand or anywhere else, or recovering from oral surgery. My skin is fine. Neuropathy has been a problem during the time I was recently using excess insulin, but now it's pretty much cleared up.
The first symptoms I had early on were numb feet and a little later, bloodshot eyes. The bloodshot eyes cleared up but left extra veins in the whites of my eyes. But for about a year, my whites were yellow. Then they went white again and still are. But the extra veins are still there. My feet are pretty normal now if I've been doing good and my sugar has not been elevated in the night. Otherwise, they can be as numb as ever, and sometimes, downright mincemeat feeling. My feet almost always feel fine if I have shoes on; it's when I am barefoot that I can tell how they really feel. Sometimes they feel great, even barefoot.
