Electronic Health Reporter

Diabetic neuropathy occurs because of diabetes, a disease that can seriously harm your health. Although it is not a fast-developing disease, it is a painful complication to live with. High levels of blood sugar for a long time can put you at the risk of this complication, which may take years to show symptoms.

Diabetic Neuropathy is of four types:

• Peripheral
• Autonomic
• Proximal
• Focal

If you have diabetes and feel either; numbness, a prickling sensation on your skin, pain, and/or weakness in your hands or feet, you should immediately visit your doctor. All of these are signs of peripheral neuropathy. However, these are just the early signs. In the last stage of neuropathy, you may develop an ulcer on your foot and grow numb to pain. Diabetic neuropathy treatment must be sought after the first few signs of this complication.

The Signs and Symptoms of Diabetic Neuropathy:

When your nerves get damaged due to prolonged and ill-managed diabetes, it’s known as Neuropathy. Diabetic Neuropathy has the chance to lessen if treated at the right time and if these signs and symptoms are not ignored. The symptoms are below:

• Sweating
• Sensitivity or complete loss of sense of touch
• Difficulty walking
• Nausea
• Indigestion
• Bloating
• Numbness/pain in parts of the body
• Lightheadedness
• Burning sensation or prickling sensation in feet
• Diarrhea
• Constipation
• Problems urinating; frequent urination, or trouble emptying a full bladder.
• You can no longer tell when your glucose level is low.

If you have any of these symptoms, visit your doctor. Prescription medicines can help ease your pain, but this condition does not have a permanent solution as of yet. Damaged nerves cannot regain their original form since your body has no such mechanism to repair such nerve tissues. For frequent urination or incontinence, a temporary solution can be women’s pads or men’s external catheter kit. However, it is still vital that you get your diabetic neuropathy treatment done in time.

How to manage your symptoms:

We can suggest precautions and aftercare if you are at risk of this disease. They are down below:

Lower your blood sugar level:

Keep your blood sugar level in check. Go on a strict diet and do not consume food that may risk increasing your blood sugar level because this will worsen your condition. Drink healthy and eat clean. You cannot consume food rich in sugar and take your insulin shots or oral medicines regularly. Monitor your blood sugar level every few hours.

Treat the nerve pain:

Your doctor will most likely prescribe you with medicines to help control the symptoms and pain. Other than that, you can also take OTC medicine to help you with your pain.

Keep extra care of your feet:

Always keep a check on your feet to ensure that they do not have any type of injury or infection. When you suffer from Diabetic Neuropathy, your ability to feel damage or injury on your feet or legs can weaken, so you may never even realize if you accidentally cut yourself or hurt yourself. Always keep strict foot hygiene by regularly clipping your toenails and washing your feet with body soap. Do not walk barefoot.

Use OTC pain medication:

There are many OTC medicine options available to help ease your pain. No medicine is available to vanish the pain entirely, but aspirin, ibuprofen, and Acetaminophen work well enough to soothe mild to moderate pain faced in diabetic neuropathy.

Get tons of Vitamin D:

Vitamin D is the easiest vitamin to get a hold of since the sun is the biggest source of Vitamin D. According to studies, Vitamin D has been known to help ease the pain that is caused by nerve damage, i.e., Diabetic Neuropathy. People with low levels of Vitamin D may feel more pain than people with high Vitamin D levels.

However, it is impossible to get the recommended amount through the sun and food. If you need a kickstart, start taking a Vitamin D supplement.

Diabetic Neuropathy treatments:

There may be no permanent treatment to end this complication but your doctor will still give you treatments that will help lessen your symptoms:

Anti-Seizure prescription medication:

There are many various medicines available to treat disorders like epilepsy that can also be used to lessen nerve pain.

Antidepressants:

Antidepressants are prescription drugs used to treat depression, but they have also proven to work to ease Diabetic Neuropathy pain. For moderate nerve pain, the tricyclic classed antidepressants like; desipramine, imipramine, and amitriptyline may help.

If needed, your doctor will combine your anti-seizure medicine with your antidepressant drug. You may also use both these medicines alongside OTC medication and/or painkillers.

Complications you may face:

With this painful disease, you may face several complications, which are all listed below:

Frequent Urinary tract infection or problems:

All the medicines you take have side effects too. Some drugs may affect your bladder’s normal function. If this happens, consult your doctor because they may suggest changing or stopping the medication.  You may note your urination timing or go on a strict schedule where you only urinate after a few hours.

Digestive problems:

You may develop digestive problems like indigestion, bloating, and gastroparesis. For this, it is best to eat smaller portions in a more systematic manner. Your doctor may encourage some changes in your diet and also switch or stop your medication.

Low blood pressure:

If you have been facing this problem or feel like everything goes black when you suddenly stand up, you need to make some lifestyle changes. Lifestyle changes like cutting back on alcohol, high water consumption, and slowly getting up will make a significant impact on your low blood pressure.

Conclusion:

Diabetic Neuropathy is a condition that only gets worse with time if its symptoms are not spotted and controlled early on. Scientists are working on a solution to reverse tissue damage caused by this disease, but there is nothing that can officially be a permanent solution. It is only smart to make lifestyle changes, monitor your blood pressure, and visit your doctor religiously.

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