Diabetes can damage the nerves that carry signals throughout the body. This nerve damage is known as diabetic neuropathy.

When you have diabetes, you are more likely to have high levels of glucose and triglycerides floating in your bloodstream. Given enough time, these will damage the nerves that send pain signals to your brain and also the tiny blood vessels that supply nerves with nutrients … causing neuropathy.

Obviously, the best way to prevent or delay the onset of diabetic neuropathy is to control blood glucose and blood pressure.

Four main types of diabetic neuropathy

Nerve damage caused by diabetes can manifest itself in various parts and functions of your body. Symptoms vary depending on the type of diabetic neuropathy you have.

There are four main types …

Autonomic neuropathy is a group of symptoms that occur when there is damage to the nerves that control everyday bodily functions, such as blood pressure, heart rate, sweating, digestion and emptying of the intestines and bladder, and digestion. It causes a great alteration in the functioning of your body.

Mononeuropathy gold focal neuropathy is damage to a specific nerve in the face, torso (middle of the body), or leg. It is more common in older adults. Mononeuropathy often strikes suddenly and can cause severe pain. However, it usually does not lead to long-term problems.

Proximal neuropathy it is a rare and disabling type of nerve damage to the hip, buttock, or thigh. This nerve damage usually affects one side of your body, making movement difficult, but it rarely spreads to the other side.

Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is the most common type of diabetic neuropathy and is the main topic of this trial.

PND is nerve damage that allows you to feel pain, heat, and cold. It usually affects the feet and legs first, followed by the hands and arms.

Your symptoms can often be worse at night. These may include one or more of the following:

• numbness or reduced ability to feel pain or changes in temperature

• tingling or burning sensation, a bit like “pins and needles”

• “electric” shocks that run through your feet at random intervals (which can cause your feet or legs to move)

• sharp pains or cramps

• increased sensitivity to touch (even the weight of a sheet can be painful)

• muscular weakness

• loss of reflexes, especially in the ankle

• loss of balance and coordination

• serious foot problems, such as ulcers, infections, and bone and joint pain

If you experience any of these symptoms and the clinic you attend for your diabetes has not yet screened you for diabetic peripheral neuropathy, you should insist on getting tested as soon as possible.

However, you may not have symptoms even if your nerves are damaged.

How common is diabetic neuropathy?

About half of the people in North America and Europe who have diabetes also have some type of nerve damage. In fact, 2 out of 10 people already have diabetic peripheral neuropathy when they are first diagnosed with diabetes.

A person who has prediabetes, is obese, or has metabolic syndrome (three out of four for high blood glucose, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and abdominal fat) is much more likely to get NPD than a healthy person.

Therefore, if you are diabetic, it is very important to be regularly monitored by your doctor for PND … when you are diagnosed with diabetes and then at yearly intervals.

What are the controls for diabetic peripheral neuropathy?

Your doctor will do a series of checks to see if you have PND.

He will first visually check your feet and legs, looking for cuts, sores, and problems with your circulation. Then you may watch him walk to check his balance.

After that, you probably want to know how sensitive you are to changes in temperature … usually just by asking.

You will also want to know how sensitive you are to light touches. The doctor may hang a thin piece of string or string over your foot while you look away, occasionally tapping the string on your foot to see if it is felt. In another test, you can use a tuning fork on your toes and feet to see how sensitive you are to vibrations.

Your doctor will also do some blood and urine tests. These help you control your blood glucose and triglyceride levels.

These lab tests can also help rule out other causes of neuropathy, such as thyroid problems, kidney disease, low vitamin B12 levels, infections, cancer, HIV, and alcohol abuse … neuropathies arising from such causes may need a different treatment.

The consequences of diabetic peripheral neuropathy

Some of the symptoms of NPD can be very painful, making it very difficult to walk and even sleep comfortably at night.

Also, DPN makes you more likely to get a serious infection in one of your feet. This is because the reduced ability to feel pain associated with this type of neuropathy means that you may not notice minor cuts, blisters, or other injuries on your feet because you cannot feel them.

Because diabetes reduces the efficiency of your immune system, minor cuts can take longer to heal … these wounds can become serious before you find them. In fact, they could become seriously infected, which means that if you don’t get proper care in a timely manner, you could lose a toe or foot to amputation.

Charcot foot… is another threat that arises from DPN. Severe neuropathy can weaken the bones in your foot. As a result, the bones can crack or break.

Because your feet lack sensation, you could keep walking on a broken foot and thus deform it … the arch, for example, could collapse and bulge.

If caught early enough and after a period of rest, a trained doctor can treat Charcot’s foot with braces and special shoes. However, severe cases would require surgery.

How to take care of your feet

There is nothing you can do to reverse the damage to your feet caused by diabetic peripheral neuropathy.

However, there are several things that can be done to relieve pain and prevent DPN from getting worse.

Analgesics… over-the-counter medications are not very good for treating peripheral neuropathy pain. Products that are put on the skin to numb it, such as lidocaine, can help mask pain. Medicines used to treat depression (eg, Citalopram) and seizures (eg, Gabapentin) can reduce pain.

Personally, this writer has found Neurostil (gabapentin) to be very helpful in relieving pain in the soles of the feet due to DPN.

Plus, physical therapy in the form of special exercises designed to restore your sense of balance and the sensations in your feet can keep you moving (and improve your mood at the same time). Just Google “exercises for peripheral neuropathy in the feet” for many suggestions.

Taking care of your feet… because your feet are insensitive, you may not notice minor injuries that can turn into major problems. Therefore, you should check your feet thoroughly every day … for sores, cuts, or burns … without forgetting to check between your toes. You can use a mirror to see the bottom of your soles. If you discover a problem that is not resolved in a day or two, you should see your doctor.

Keep your feet clean. You should wash them every night in lukewarm water, testing the water to make sure it is not too hot before putting your feet on. Make sure to dry them well afterwards.

When lying down, put your feet up (on pillows, for example) to maintain circulation. Moving your toes will also help keep them healthy.

Appropriate footwear… splash around with good, comfortable shoes that breathe and have plenty of room for your toes. The width should be suitable for your feet. Make sure the seller takes the trouble to measure your feet correctly. Various types of runners are best, especially those with gel or air pads on the soles. Consider wearing inserts or buying special diabetic shoes.

Show your shoes to your doctor when you go for a checkup and ask for their opinion.