Diabetic Neuropathic Pain

Diabetic neuropathy is a type of nerve damage health condition that occurs if you have diabetes. High blood pressure can become a solid reason for injured nerves throughout the body. Diabetic neuropathy usually results in damaged nerves in the limbs.

Diabetic neuropathy symptoms include numbness and pain in the legs. The intensity of the pain depends on the affected nerves. The disorder also affects the digestive system, heart, blood vessels, and urinary tract. Depending on the severity of the disorder, some people have mild symptoms, and others can experience painful and disabling effects. 

Symptoms of Diabetic Neuropathy Pain

Diabetic neuropathy pain can be further classified into four main types that differ in the symptoms for every type.  

• Peripheral Neuropathy: It is also called distal polyneuropathy and diabetic nerve pain. Peripheral neuropathy pain is the most common form. This type of neuropathy directly affects the nerves that lead to your extremities, like feet, hands, arms, and legs. The nerves that flow through your feet are the longest in the body. Because of their length, these are mostly damaged. The feet nerve damage can lead to serious foot problems like deformities, infections, amputations, and ulcers.

• Proximal Neuropathy: This type of diabetic pain is also known as diabetic amyotrophy. This type of neuropathy causes muscle weakness which explicitly affects the muscles located in the upper part of your hips, legs, and buttocks. Proximal neuropathy also involves nerve pain. The pain is so severe that it shoots from the low back to down the leg. Most people refer to this kind of pain as Sciatica. Proximal neuropathy is the second most common type of diabetic neuropathy that usually affects elderly diabetic people. This type of pain can be treated with time.

• Autonomic Neuropathy: Autonomic nerves are responsible for helping your body function and run properly. Keeping that intact, the nerves also handle multiple functions of your body that you are unaware of. Sometimes, diabetes can negatively affect the autonomic nerves in your body, called autonomic diabetic neuropathy. This can cause your body to experience trouble in maintaining homeostasis. Autonomic neuropathy can sound complex as it affects multiple functions in your body. However, it should be noted symptoms of the disorder depend on the type of nerves damaged.

• Focal Neuropathy: Focal neuropathy affects one specific nerve and can also be called mononeuropathy. Focal neuropathy attacks the body suddenly and usually affects the nerves in the head, eyes, legs, and torso. Focal neuropathy can cause pain in different and specific locations on the legs. This type of neuropathy pain is unlike other pains and does not take the whole body into account. It focuses on one area and makes it the home for imparting pains. 

Causes Diabetic Neuropathy Pain

Diabetic neuropathy pain can be troubling and take time to be treated thoroughly. Although the causes of diabetic neuropathy pain are unknown, some researchers claim that uncontrolled high blood sugar can damage the nerves. The long-term high sugar can interject the ability of the nerves to send signals which leads to diabetic neuropathy. High blood sugar can also weaken the walls of the capillaries or small blood vessels that are responsible for supplying the nerves with oxygen and nutrients. 

Risk Factors

Developing neuropathy pain is common for people who have diabetes. The listed risk factors can make nerve damage more severe. 

• Poor blood sugar control: If the blood sugar is not controlled correctly, it can increase the risk of diabetes complications and challenges, including nerve damage. 
• Diabetes history: The longer the person has diabetes, the more severe and longer the neuropathy pain will be. If the blood sugar is not well controlled, it can elongate the problematic period.
• Kidney disease: Diabetic or uncontrolled high blood sugar can also lead to severe kidney disease. The kidney damage, in turn, sends toxins to the blood, ultimately leading to nerve damage. 
• Being overweight: A body mass index of 25 or more can increase the risk of diabetic neuropathy. 
• Smoking: Smoking can harden the arteries, reducing blood flow to the legs and feet. This slows down the healing of the wounds and also damages the peripheral nerves. 

Treatments for Diabetic Neuropathy 

Diabetic neuropathy pain can increase and negatively affect the whole body if not taken into extreme care. To take care of the disease and reduce its risk, you should definitely take care of your feet and manage your blood sugar. 

Here are some practical ways to take care of your feet:

• Manage your blood sugar
• Take proper care of your foot
• Keep your feet dry and clean
• Wear clean and dry socks
• Wear cushioned shoes that fit perfectly
• Moisturize your feet nicely

Monarch Pain Management

Gathering all information about the disease and self-treating it can be difficult. To avoid the fuss, make sure you visit Monarch Pain Management to experience a comfortable medical environment. Dr. Aaron treats the issue with effective measures and in-depth knowledge of the area. Trust us with your body pains and we promise to help you.